This seems to be a mostly British phenomenon...

I don't recognize any of the names...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9143409/The-Hunger-Games-and-the-teenage-craze-for-dystopian-fiction.html#disqus_thread

If this does well at the box office in the U.S. then I'll put more stock in the supposed popularity of the genre..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/9141875/The-Hunger-Games-will-Hollywoods-teen-film-break-box-office-records.html

Ben says he's read the book and it was great. I'm reading a lot about this. I think it will be a "go" here.

I recognized everything except 'samizdat literature' which turned out to be underground dissident lit in the USSR mid sixties through the early nineties...Interesting, now I have to figure out how to pronounce it and I'm good....lol


Post Apocalyptic/ Dystopian lit's been around a long long time...nothing new there, it's just The Hunger Games that's made it the thing right now...like vampires...blame the tweens. Heck Terminator is PA....look how popular that genre is.

The Hunger Games will do well in the US market...if the sirens are any indicator. The books are the real deal...good story, strong teenage girl lead. It's a done deal box office wise, just on curiosity alone. I hate this generalization...saying that only girls can appreciate a strong female character and the only thing that'll get the guys through the door is a reassurance of some good ole' violence. It's degrading to both...I have to add...because I know it matter's to you.. no buxom blonde...sorry. :P

More on the books, I'd never write it off as silly YA lit, it really doesn't fit in that category at all. There's a whole not so subtle undercurrent of politics that world vs this one and the similarity's are not exactly comfy.

Oh time to make dinner...probably a good thing....lol


edited to add...Berries it's a go! Jo made me read it....lol Just on that alone, and then we started a thread over at goof over it.

See Banjo...it's kind of like a big reality show....lol

The Hunger Games
BY ROGER EBERT / March 20, 2012


Lionsgate presents a film directed by Gary Ross. Written by Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray. Running time: 142 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images — all involving teens).

Like many science-fiction stories, “The Hunger Games” portrays a future that we're invited to read as a parable for the present. After the existing nations of North America are destroyed by catastrophe, a civilization named Panem rises from the ruins. It's ruled by a vast, wealthy Capitol inspired by the covers of countless sci-fi magazines and surrounded by 12 “districts” that are powerless satellites.

As the story opens, the annual ritual of the Hunger Games is beginning; each district must supply a “tribute” of a young woman and man, and these 24 finalists must fight to the death in a forested “arena” where hidden cameras capture every move.

This results in a television production that apparently holds the nation spellbound and keeps the citizens content. Mrs. Link, my high school Latin teacher, will be proud that I recall one of her daily phrases, “panem et circenses,” which summarized the Roman formula for creating a docile population: Give them bread and circuses. A vision of present-day America is summoned up, its citizenry glutted with fast food and distracted by reality TV. How is the population expected to accept the violent sacrifice of 24 young lives a year? How many have died in our recent wars?

The story centers on the two tributes from the dirt-poor District 12: Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). The 16-year-old girl hunts deer with bow and arrow to feed her family; he may be hunkier but seems no match in survival skills. They're both clean-cut, All-Panem types, and although one or both are eventually required to be dead, romance is a possibility.

In contrast with these healthy young people, the ruling class in the Capitol are effete decadents. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), bedecked in gaudy costumery and laden with garish cosmetics, emcees the annual drawing for tributes, and the nation gets to know the finalists on a talk show hosted by Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), who suggests what Donald Trump might do with his hair if he had enough of it.

The executive in charge is the gamemaker, Seneca (Wes Bentley), who has a beard so bizarrely designed that Satan would be envious. At the top of the society is the president (Donald Sutherland), a sagacious graybeard who harbors deep thoughts. In interviews, Sutherland has equated the younger generation with leftists and Occupiers. The old folks in the Capitol are no doubt a right-wing oligarchy. My conservative friends, however, equate the young with the Tea Party and the old with decadent Elitists. “The Hunger Games,” like many parables, will show you exactly what you seek in it.

The scenes set in the Capitol and dealing with its peculiar characters have a completely different tone than the scenes of conflict in the Arena. The ruling class is painted in broad satire and bright colors. Katniss and the other tributes are seen in earth-toned realism; this character could be another manifestation, indeed, of Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar-nominated character Ree in “Winter's Bone.” The plot even explains why she's adept at bow and arrow.

One thing I missed, however, was more self-awareness on the part of the tributes. As their names are being drawn from a fish bowl (!) at the Reaping, the reactions of the chosen seem rather subdued, considering the odds are 23-to-1 that they'll end up dead. Katniss volunteers to take the place of her 12-year-old kid sister, Prim (Willow Shields), but no one explicitly discusses the fairness of deadly combat between girl children and 18-year-old men. Apparently the jaded TV audiences of Panem have developed an appetite for barbarity. Nor do Katniss and Peeta reveal much thoughtfulness about their own peculiar position.

“The Hunger Games” is an effective entertainment, and Jennifer Lawrence is strong and convincing in the central role. But the film leapfrogs obvious questions in its path, and avoids the opportunities sci-fi provides for social criticism; compare its world with the dystopias in “Gattaca” or “The Truman Show.” Director Gary Ross and his writers (including the series' author, Suzanne Collins) obviously think their audience wants to see lots of hunting-and-survival scenes, and has no interest in people talking about how a cruel class system is using them. Well, maybe they're right. But I found the movie too long and deliberate as it negotiated the outskirts of its moral issues.

Seems like it will be a big movie. At first I was totally turned off by the ridiculous premise of the book/movie, (children forced to kill each other for entertainment). But after reading a few reviews I am starting to warm up to it a little.

" where hidden cameras capture every move.

This results in a television production that apparently holds the nation spellbound and keeps the citizens content."..........well there you go ! You're right Sandi ! I'm feeling so content I might go see this....

" My conservative friends, however, equate the young with the Tea Party and the old with decadent Elitists. “..........I'm sure this is correct...

I'm going to see this next weekend....Friday to be exact when all the teenage girls are in school. It's come to the point that if a movie is made from a book series that has a large teenage girl fan base, then the movie(s) will do well. The lead actress seems to be a normal, appealing girl based on her late night talk show appearances, and she's from Kentucky which annoys some of the leftists.....too bad...

Why they made up Elizabeth Banks the way they did is a little odd. When she was on Craig Ferguson last week she referred to her face as her "money maker".

The Hunger Games began shattering records with
its $19.75M midnights from 2,565 theaters Friday. Then it expanded
into 4,137 locations in the U.S. and Canada, ending up with a per
location average of $37,467. Screen count was just under 10,000 prints,
about 75% of which are in digital theaters including 268 IMAX theaters
across North America where it scored a record-breaking all time high
weekend. IMAX’s domestic weekend box office is $10.6M, which is
approximately $40K per screen — a massive figure since IMAX only has one
screen per location. This weekend broke two key records as IMAX’s best
opening weekend for a non-sequel 2D title, and best digital only
release.

Lionsgate also finally reported its weekend international numbers
which were a very strong $59.25M and tracking ahead of the first Twilight Saga
film. The pic opened worldwide day-and-date in 67 markets this weekend
on an estimated 7,700 prints everywhere except for Spain, Italy, Japan,
and South Korea. The first international numbers coming in from
Australia scored a huge $1.8 million (USD) on 471 screens, which was
bigger than the debuts down under for Iron Man ($1.0M) and Quantum Of Solace
($1.0M). Then that Australia number went up a big +20% the next day —
which is unusual. It ended up just under $10M. The UK grossed a big
$7.5M, Russia was a breakout $6.5M, and New Zealand a strong $1.27M.
Scandinavia markets combined for $3.7M, Germany $3.9M, France $3.75M,
and early estimates include Mexico $3.59M and Brazil $2.6M. Asian
markets also posted very solid numbers: Philippines $1.71M, Singapore
$1.38M, Taiwan $1.36M, Hong Kong $709K, Malaysia $655K, Thailand $649K.
In the UAE $656K and the Gulf region with almost $1M combined.

Why is it doing so well? Because this brutal actioner about love and
courage was based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy
of post-apocalyptic young adult novels and made better than it had to be
given all the omnipresent marketing and media hype. Kudos to director Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit)
who wrote the screenplay with Collins and Billy Ray, and to the casting
of Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson whom movie
critics say are ‘pitch perfect’ for their roles as Katniss Everdeen,
Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark, respectively. Kudos as well to
producer Nina Jacobson and Lionsgate execs Joe Drake and Alli Shearmur
and Tim Palen and Julie Fontaine. Problem is, Hunger Games breaks a long string of box office failures for the studio. So now that Lionsgate has bought Twilight Saga
mini-studio Summit and installed the top execs from there to run the
movie operations, Drake is no longer co-CEO and Shearmur is being moved
to a producer. Welcome to Hollywood, folks.

Adding to the great reviews around the globe (87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), domestic audiences gave The Hunger Games an ‘A’ Cinemascore with under-age 18 teens/tweens rating it ‘A+’, an indication of their extreme satisfaction with the movie. Rival studios say The Hunger Games, unlike the Twilight
Saga, has expanded from attracting both younger and older females
initially now to younger makes as a 3-quadrant movie. And the heat from
the anticipation by teens and tweens is making those adults who tap into
the cultural zeitgeist start getting interested. So now it’s a
4-quadrant film. Amazingly, NRG tracking showed that over 90% of
moviegoers said they were aware of the film right before its release,
and roughly 2 out of 3 moviegoers in America who said they were “definitely” going to the movies this weekend were buying a ticket to see The Hunger Games.
Huge lines snaked around those U.S. and Canada movie theaters able to
schedule Friday midnight screenings. Some locations even arranged to
play The Hunger Games at 3 AM and even continuously during this
opening 3-day weekend. This is the biggest movie start ever
for Lionsgate, which now can count on a blockbuster bonanza for its
franchise. “I’ve never lived up at this level. Very few people have,”
one ecstatic Lionsgate exec gushed to me Friday night. “I did see some
champagne glasses flowing down the hall.”

What made Lionsgate’s promotional campaign for The Hunger Games
so unusual and probably effective was that the studio stuck to the rare
strategy of not showing any footage of the games themselves in any
marketing materials. So
all that staggering amount of interest in this film was incited with no
one having actually seen even a hint of over half the movie.
Marketing kicked off last summer with 2 Entertainment Weekly
covers during production to announce the cast, as well as the launch of
the motion poster of the iconic flaming mocking jay. (Since EW has long been the semi-official mag of the Twilight Saga, Lionsgate took a page from Summit — which it now owns.) ABC’s Good Morning America debuted the entire trailer on air in November. Between the release of the first Hunger Games
trailer in November 2011 and January 2012, the number of Collins’ books
sold nearly doubled. By the time of the film’s opening, Hunger Games was on over 50 magazine covers.

The studio estimates its TV on-air promotions and
sponsorships reached over 102 million people in America. They included a
3-night “studio lot sponsorship” on FX movies, Fangasm spots on MTV
featuring the Real World Challenges cast, a Comedy Central ‘Action Countdown’ weekend, and an ABC Family ‘Premiere Party’ during the Season 2 finale of Pretty Little Liars
where teen female viewers helped break social media records while
twittering about a clip featuring fan favorite Peeta. According to
SocialGuide, this generated the most social media buzz for any one-hour
TV episode on record. The digital campaign was massive and started with
the launch of the cast on The Hunger Games‘ Facebook page,
then exploded over the past year with its own blogs. Lionsgate
also worked exclusively with Microsoft to create games and apps.
Publicity-wise, the film had an 8-city mall tour with thousands of fans
at each stop around the country, as well as promotional screenings in 26
markets. The film had 5 premieres globally, starting in LA at the
Nokia, and then London, Paris, Berlin and NYC.

Just finished looking at the local schools calendars...they don't do spring break until the first week in April! I can go sooner!!!

Not even going to talk about me being right...lol Can I write it on the calendar though?