Monday, February 6th, 2012
Haleigh LaBorde is 14 years old, is a huge fan of The Hunger Games and loves to write. She’s shared with us her piece written from the point of view of Katniss and Peeta’s daughter when they tell her about the Games.
Hunger Games
What is it about The Hunger Games you love so much?
What I love about Hunger Games is that the characters are so alive and so brilliant, nothing that we’ve ever seen before. They truly bring the world they live in to life. And it’s not a happily ever after. After killing children and fighting for a cause that she’s not sure she wants to be a part of and that’s almost as inhumane as the one she’s fighting against, how could Katniss not lose her sanity? Another thing is that the book brought such heavy emotions out of me. These books made me laugh, scream, cheer people on, and cry until my eyes were bloodshot. I felt something with every word. Great books make you feel like you’re standing right by the character. Suzanne Collins wrote to such a degree of perfection that you feel like you actually are Katniss, struggling to make monumental choices and just trying to survive and save the lives of those you love. Hunger Games teaches you about life and about love, and reading them changed my viewpoint on the world. Even if we’re strong, we’re nothing without those we love. Even someone as strong as Katniss needs people she cares about to truly live.
Who is your favorite character in The Hunger Games?
My favorite character has to be Peeta. He’s such a real person, and he realizes what the Games do to you before even Katniss does, declaring he doesn’t want to be changed. He understands what it means to be human, and he knows that winning the Games aren’t worth it if he changes to something he hates. He knows exactly what he stands for, and he knows that to deny the evil in the world, you have to hold on to the things you stand for. He’s got such strength and love in a place that seems bleak and hopeless. He knows what the consequences are of living without love are from his parents. What really shows his strength was his hijacking, how he came back from that to be the person he wanted to be. And he gives Katniss of all people the promise of hope.
What are your expectations for The Hunger Games movie?
My expectations for the movie are so high it’s crazy! I want to see the world of Panem brought to life and see this message of what it means to be human. After they first announced the casting I was shocked because I felt like I knew the characters in my head and the people were so different than what I imagined. But Suzanne Collins and Gary Ross picked them all for a reason, and if they didn’t portray the characters the way they were meant to be portrayed they wouldn’t be in the movie. The trialer was everything I wanted it to be and I can’t wait to see the finished product! The only thing I really need out of the movie now is to stay true to the message. If they focus too much on the love triangle, which was just a subplot, they’ll lose the message that captivated all the readers in the first place, just exactly what being a human being on this earth means.
What’s your favorite quote?
So many quotes to choose from! I have a journal with my favorite quotes on this series alone. I think I’m going to have to settle for two: It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart -Finnick Odair, and: But there are much worse games to play -Katniss Everdeen (Mellark). Finnick’s quote is so true for all the characters, and for humans in general. Katniss never truly heals from the Games, even though it only took her sanity to snap in the few seconds of Prim’s death. Peeta will always have his flashbacks. Annie will forever be living in her arena. The power of what the Games do to the victors, how they dehumanize the subjects, is evident in that simple sentence. To understand what we as people have the capability to do is frightening. We need to know that we can never take it that far to comepletely ruin another human being. And yet, as if to counteract that, my other favorite quote shows that you can always recover. Katniss shows that there are worse things to be a part of, and that she has learned to live her life to recover from her horrible life before. She’s saying that while it’s impossible to forget the past, she can feel good again, which is so important for people going through tough times to hear.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Just that I love the Hunger Games so much. I read the series in less than a week, cried for two hours after the end of Mockingjay (my sister Kailyn thought I got stabbed I was crying so hard!). I own the pin, all the characters posters, the calendar, and have learned so much from these books. As an author, Suzanne Collins is one of the two I most aspire to write like. She is my inspiration for my original novel and I want to thank her personally for beautiful books she’s created.
If you want to be featured as our fan of the week, check out our Fan of the Week page to find out how to sumbit your details. We love hearing from fellow Hunger Games fans and would love to know what makes you such a huge fan.
Monday, February 6th, 2012
I love seeing the varying interpretations of the map of Panem, the world Suzanne Collins created for The Hunger Games trilogy. It’s one of those enduring mysteries – exactly what the future North America looks like and just how much is left after the wars and droughts and rising waters.
Lauren Davis at i09 has taken a look at the new book by V. Arrow, The Panem Companion: An Unofficial Guide to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games (published by Smart Pop Books). It won’t be out until the end of the year, but promises to be a detailed analysis of the future nation of Panem. V. has spent a fair bit of time trying to work out just where the 13 Districts might be.
I chose to center part of the cataclysm in the Gulf of Mexico as a tectonic shift and moved the Yucatan Peninsula, rather than sinking it. Mostly this is because I ♥ Finnick/Annie and wanted them to have a little island for the D4 Victor’s Village. Plus, it doesn’t really alter the topography of any other District, so hey! 
So what do you think? I like how the first few districts circle the Capitol as described in the book. I also like where 13 is postioned. We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Source: i09
Sunday, February 5th, 2012
Amandla Stenberg, who plays Rue in The Hunger Games movie has been featured in Time Out Chicago Kids . They point out, that with a rave review from The New York Times for role in Colombiana, and now The Hunger Games about to come out, she’s an actress to keep an eye on. In fact, Rolling Stone agree. They’ve also named her as of the new faces of 2012 to watch.
In the meantime Amandla tells Time Out what it was like auditioning for the role of Rue (including her mom putting grass stains all over her clothes and twigs in her hair for added authenticity) and meeting The Hunger Games author, Suzanne Collins.
On the stunt work for Rue:
“I did some stuff. I didn’t have to do any of the hard-core stuff, but I got strapped in my custom harness. I flew around the room and jumped from tree to tree. I loved being in the harness because I felt like Peter Pan. We have some cool scenes where I’m up in the trees with Jennifer.”
On the scene where Katniss sings Rue a lullaby:
“On that day [of filming], I actually had the honor of meeting Suzanne Collins, the author. That was incredible. We talked about the scene and how Rue is trying to be brave for Katniss.… It’s really so important to everyone who worked on the movie that it stays true to the books, so that the fans are really happy with it.”
You can read the rest of the article here
Monday, January 30th, 2012
If you can’t get enough of the world of Panem and you’re one of us and obsessed with The Hunger Games, then Caroline Carpenter has put together an amazing new book that you can’t go past. Guide to The Hunger Games is a new companion book that gives readers a deeper insight into the inspiration for the trilogy, as well as the social and political themes at its core.
What sets this new release apart from the others is that it contains:
• Illuminating profiles of the trilogy’s main players
• In-depth coverage of the 74th and 75th Hunger Games
• Beautiful, original illustrations and detailed maps
• Mind-bending quizzes, crosswords and tests to determine your own strategy for winning the Hunger Games
• A collection of thought-provoking fact boxes, uncovering the literary and historical sources that inspired Collins’ work
You can pre-order your copy of the Guide to The Hunger Games here.
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
MTV has and exclusive look at the Suzanne Collins comic book biography in the Fame series.
Check out MTV’s article for five more preview pages! Will you buy this when it is released?
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Back in August last year, Sara Gundell of The Hunger Games Examiner revealed she had written an autobiographical comic of The Hunger Games author, Suzanne Collins for the Bluewater Productions FAME series. The original release date of November 2011 got a bit delayed, but the good news is, it will be out in February.
“With the movie coming out, this is the perfect time for fans to discover what inspired Suzanne Collins to write ‘The Hunger Games,’” said Sara Gundell, the writer of “FAME: Suzanne Collins.” Gundell runs the young adult literature website Novel Novice, and writes exclusively about “The Hunger Games” series for Examiner.com. She has also contributed her “Hunger Games” knowledge to MTV, Movies.com, and other media outlets.
“FAME: Suzanne Collins” features original cover artwork by Joe Phillips, whose credits include work for DC Comics, and is illustrated by Mimei Sakamoto, an acclaimed Manga artist whose other Bluewater credits include “Infamous: Lindsay Lohan.”
Fans of “The Hunger Games” are encouraged to pre-order their copy of “FAME: Suzanne Collins” now to be sure and get it the minute it’s available. “FAME: Suzanne Collins” is the perfect reading material to check out before “The Hunger Games” movie hits theaters.
You can order your copy of FAME: Suzanne Collins here
Source: DWTC
Saturday, January 7th, 2012
The staff here at My Hunger Games is looking for YOUR Hunger Games fan art! Any photos, art work, videos, inspired by the trilogy will be posted once a week. So just like in our Fan of the Week we will spotlight your talent! The picture above is my (Summer) creative outlet. I take photos of reenactments of The Hunger Games. I am Katniss and my friend Michael is Marvel.
To submit your work email admin@myhungergames.com with Fan Art Spotlight as the subject.
May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor!
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Total Film has released its Complete Guide to The Hunger Games online. Some of the information includes:
Camera shy
Somewhat fittingly considering the content of Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins is very rarely ever seen in public. Unlike JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, she’s not welcomed fame, and often refuses to be filmed. She’s not even on Twitter…
The Spark
Though the plot for Hunger Games is remarkably similar to that of Japanese novel Battle Royale (by Koushun Takami), Collins actually came up with the idea while watching TV late one night. Flicking between channels, she kept switching between footage of the Iraq war and a reality TV show. An idea was born.
Further inspirations
Collins reveals that she was also inspired by the Greek myths, and in particular the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur. “I was also heavily influenced by the historical figure Spartacus,” she says. “Katniss follows the same arc from slave to gladiator to rebel to face of a war.”
War
“This is not a fairy tale,” Collins says of The Hunger Games. “It’s a war, and in war, there are tragic losses that must be mourned.” Which means just about anybody could bite it in Games. Expect the unexpected, then.
For more on the article please click HERE!
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
For the first time ever, The Hunger Games has reached #1 on the USA Todays best seller list.
Previously, the novel had only reached the number two spot. The boost to number one is the likely combination of holiday gift-giving, and the anticipation for the theatrical release on March 23rd.
The rest of The Hunger Games series also made it on the USA Today’s list. Catching Fire came in at #7, followed by Mockingjay at #8. The boxed set of all three books was #27.
Congrats Suzanne Collins!
Friday, December 16th, 2011
Talented people around the world have taken inspiration from The Hunger Games to create some truly impressive work. One such group of friends has come together to create a project called The Katniss Chronicles.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, then it’s an amazing audio drama based on The Hunger Games. All up it will be a 17-episode story of the Girl on Fire.
To find out a bit more about The Katniss Chronicles we checked in with one of the team members, Barbara Dillon.
Who’s behind The Katniss Chronicles?
The Katniss Chronicles is a collaborative effort by a large group of friends who happen to be huge fans of The Hunger Games books written by Suzanne Collins. The Executive Producers of the project are Bryant Dillon, Sam Rhodes, Rebecca Lear, Tony Caballero, and I. This group wears many hats, as Bryant is also a Staff Writer and the voice of Peeta Mellark, Tony is the Head Writer, Rebecca is the Producer, Sam is the Director/Staff Writer/Editor/Voice Actor, and I am the voice of Katniss Everdeen. In addition, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Paul Pakler (Vocal Coach and Creator of the Capitol Dialect), Robert J. Peterson (Logo and Web Design), and composer Sam Cushion, who provided the incredible score for the project.
Of course, we would be nothing without the amazing cast of this project. The full cast list, and their bios, can be found here.
What made you decide to do this?
Bryant, Sam, and I read the books and were absolutely hooked! We could not stop talking about how obsessed we were with the material and the characters. Bryant was eagerly trying to find a way to spread our geek love for the series to others and thought that an audio drama would be an interesting and exciting way to bring the story to life. We brought the idea to Tony and Rebecca, and they were instantly on board.
What is it about The Hunger Games series that inspired you?
Everyone involved in The Katniss Chronicles was enthralled by the character of Katniss Everdeen. She is such a strong and admirable character for readers of all ages, and we wanted to share her strength with a larger audience. The world could use more female remodels like Katniss!
You have a pretty big cast – are you all Hunger Games fans or are you from different backgrounds, have different motivations for taking part?
The cast of the audio drama came to the project as a friend, colleague, or overall fan of The Hunger Games. When the project began, most of the cast and crew had read The Hunger Games and loved it! Those who had not yet read the books have been convinced (and gently encouraged… repeatedly…) by their involvement in The Katniss Chronicles to purchase a copy!
What are some of the challenges you face in doing it?
Our writers are such big fans of Suzanne Collins’ text that they wanted to remain loyal to the material while still adapting it to the audio drama medium. The fact that the book is entirely written from Katniss’ perspective made the adaptation process challenging, as we wanted to ensure that the audio drama did not become an audio book. We wanted a wide variety of characters from different points of view. The addition of characters like Bett and Linia, the TV news commentators from the Capitol, allowed us to bring greater depth to the various themes of the project while straying from a sole focus on Katniss.
In closing Barbara wanted to be sure to thank all of the people who have listened to The Katniss Chronicles, adding that they hope their series will encourage others to read Suzanne Collins’ books and to see The Hunger Games movie.
“We are having a great time recording this project, and we hope that our love for The Hunger Games will be instilled in others.”
Visit The Katniss Chronicles here
