• Hunger Games Film Official trailer–Just Like Cinna Would Do It

    ByElizabeth
    15 Comments

    So, of course, we have some thoughts here about the just-released full-length official trailer for The Hunger Games. Even though the film isn’t out until March, the Gamemakers are amping up the hype. This trailer will be premiering in theaters with the first half of Breaking Dawn on Friday. This is not an unusual pattern, as Eclipse featured the preview for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last year. Yesterday, the trailer debuted on Good Morning America with all the razzle-dazzle Plutarch Heavensbee could want. I had the honor of actually watching it for the first time with my ENG 111 students who have read the novel this semester. Join me after the jump for thoughts on the trailer’s best moments, what it bodes for the film, and why this is the trailer Cinna would have made.
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  • New Hunger Games Profile Posters Provide New Glimpses With a Capitol Touch

    ByElizabeth
    9 Comments

    Lionsgate, the company in charge of the new Hunger Games film to be released in March, has just put out a series of striking new posters that each feature one of the story’s major characters, photographed in profile. The images are fascinating, and not just for their surface meaning (Come see this movie! Buy loads of popcorn!). In fact, their underlying meaning is just as riveting as the actors’ distant stares. Follow me after the jump for some overall thoughts on this whole poster campaign and some insights on each one. Read More “New Hunger Games Profile Posters Provide New Glimpses With a Capitol Touch”

  • CNN Tries to Catch On with Hunger Games–and Fails Miserably

    ByElizabeth
    6 Comments

    Today, CNN posted an article that predicts, wow! That this Hunger Games thing just might be a big deal. The tone of the article is ridiculously glib, apparently in an effort to deflect from the fact that such an article makes the folks at CNN look further behind the times than the crowd that keeps popping up with “Hey, this Harry Potter stuff is actually Christian! Who knew?” The reporter, who is listed as being “special” is evidently either not familiar enough with the book to get the basics correct (like the relationship between Katniss and Peeta prior to the Reaping) or is trying too hard to be cute. Once again, the mainstream media is missing the real power of this story, thinking that it will be a big hit because of the sex and violence factors, and completely failing to notice (again) the power of this story or its razor-sharp critique of that very gore and smut industry. After all, The Hunger Games uses a story of real, sacrificial love to reveal the tragedies produced by a culture obsessed with violence as entertainment. As the movie’s release date draws near (posters are already up at the local cineplex) we can expect more of this nonsense. But then again, how likely is CNN to get what this story really does? After all, the mainstream media and its news-as-entertainment focus is part of the beautifully woven (and very sticky) web Suzanne Collins has woven. It really isn’t that shocking that they can’t see the message our crafty spider has posted with her riveting tale.

  • Welcome to the Capitol! New Hunger Games Website with Pottermore echoes

    ByElizabeth
    9 Comments

    You may have noticed, in the recently released micro-clip trailer for next year’s film of The Hunger Games, a little blip about registering as a citizen of the Capitol. Well now, you can do just that. This new site, which looks to be mostly teaser at this point, gives you the opportunity to register via either twitter or facebook (I went with the latter, myself). Then you will be registered according to your district (which is chosen for you;). Evidently, more bells and whistles will be forthcoming. For some more thoughts on the new site, particularly what it gives us that we didn’t already know, follow me after the jump. Read More “Welcome to the Capitol! New Hunger Games Website with Pottermore echoes”

  • First Look at the Hunger Games Film

    ByElizabeth
    3 Comments

     At last night’s video music awards, Jennifer Lawrence (via video, as she’s  still here in NC filming), introduced the first teaser trailer for the new Hunger Games film due out in March. The clip is the very epitome of brief, just a few shots of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss walking through the woods, some footage which is obviously the fire scene from chapter 13, spliced in with a neat shot of Lawrence shooting the silver bow (taken from later in the film, as she does not acquire the bow until chapter 14 (the center chapter in the novel, incidentally) and the arrow landing in the mockingjay symbol, which then catches on fire. There is a little bit of voice over from Liam  Hemsworth as  Gale with some of the post-Reaping pep talk, and the music is the same as that used by Scholastic in their book trailers.

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