THE CHARACTER POSTERS ARE AMAZING. Haha, totally unintentional, but I love how Katniss and Peeta are facing one another.

source.

“The Hunger Games” Interview

These are from the interview with author Suzanne Collins and director Gary Ross (: I am sooooooooooooooooooo excited.

Each bit of casting news has been met with a real roar from the fans. How are you both handling that? Did you expect such outrage?

SC: Any time you read a book and get attached to the characters, to me it’s always a shock when it goes from page to screen and it’s not exactly what was in my head or what I was imagining it should be. So there’s always that period of adjustment. But I think we feel so solid about our casting choices, and so thrilled that we’ve gotten these three young people in those roles, that nothing can really eclipse it.

GR: I really agree with Suzanne that it’s wonderful that people have such a vivid image of Katniss and Peeta and Gale and they hold it so dearly. But Suzanne and I have the advantage of having seen these guys audition for these roles, and I would never judge any role or any actor until I’ve seen them perform it.

SC: And you know people may get thrown, say, by the color of an actor’s hair or maybe something physical, but I tell you: If Josh had been bright purple and had had six foot wings and gave that audition, I’d have been like “Cast him! We can work around the wings.” He was that good. That role is so key to have a boy that can use language. That’s how Peeta navigates the world, that’s his gift, and Josh was the one who could bring that to life in such a real and natural way.

GR: I remember Suzanne was actually in the room the day Josh came in and read for the first time. After the reading, we looked at each other, we didn’t even have to say anything, because we both were like “Wow, that’s it.” Literally he walked out of the room and we high-fived.

SC: We did. We didn’t even say anything. We just turned to each other and high-fived. And people should know that of course we’re taking the gravest care in casting these characters. It’s not arbitrary. It’s of the utmost importance to us that we get the actors who can best bring these characters alive on the screen. Every one of those kids earned those roles by virtue of the auditions they gave. Those three kids? They were all our first choice.

GR: We’ve seen Liam and we’ve seen Josh Hutcherson be Gale and Peeta, respectively.

SC: And then we also had the luxury of getting to see them perform with Jen. So then you have a whole other level which is the chemistry between the characters.  We can tell you it’s there but you’ll have to see it for yourself.

Some readers have expressed real frustration that white actors were cast in the roles of Katniss and Gale, who they felt were clearly described as biracial in the book. Do you understand or share any of that dismay Suzanne?
SC: They were not particularly intended to be biracial. It is a time period where hundreds of years have passed from now. There’s been a lot of ethnic mixing. But I think I describe them as having dark hair, grey eyes, and sort of olive skin. You know, we have hair and makeup. But then there are some characters in the book who are more specifically described.

GR: Thresh and Rue.

SC: They’re African-American.

So will those roles go to black actors?
GR: Thresh and Rue will be African-American. It’s a multi-racial culture and the film will reflect that. But I think Suzanne didn’t see a particular ethnicity to Gale and Katniss when she wrote it, and that’s something we’ve talked about a lot. She was very specific about the qualities that these characters have and who they are as people. Having seen Josh and Liam and Jen perform these roles, that’s really the most important thing. They’re very much the characters to us.

What sequences are you most excited about?
SC: I have to see the fire. I have to see the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. I have to see Rue’s death. There’s a couple of the cave scenes with Peeta and Katniss. Now I’m going to go through it and I’m just going to pick every scene. It’s all just a little too exciting to miss.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

Someone I’m following reblogged a post from fuckyeahungergames and I thought, “The Hunger Games? I think I’ve heard of it before.” So I looked it up on Amazon and got myself a copy sent to my Kindle (: I love, love being able to get books instantly!

It was WONDERFUL. I couldn’t put it down. Luckily, I don’t have class tomorrow so I was able to sit and read from 11 to 4AM. I think that’s how long I read. I don’t know; I lost track of the time. Agh, I want to be a writer so badly.

THE ENDING WAS TERRIBLE! It wasn’t actually terrible (it was super great) but it just made me go, “ARGH! WHAT HAPPENS! WHAT? WHAT? NOW I HAVE TO TURN ON MY COMPUTER AGAIN AND TRANSFER MONEY TO MY CARD SO I CAN BUY THE NEXT TWO BOOKS!” My savings take such a hit when I begin to buy books. I’m such a sucker for science-fiction books with hints of romance.

And now the movie is coming out! I got the last two books of the trilogy. I can’t see how Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson would make a good couple, though. Crossing my fingers!