— by CHERRY BELL DAMASCO-FARRINGTON —
With the final installment of the “Harry Potter” series already out on DVD and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” hitting theaters in November, Lionsgate is looking to make a splash with its own franchise by adapting Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” trilogy.
Even in the early stages of production, the fandom began to create their dream casts and campaigned for actors and actresses alike for certain roles in the series. My curiosity was triggered with the fans of the series campaigning for Malese Jow in the role of Katniss Everdeen.
So to understand what the fuss was about, I went and bought the first book in the trilogy. I must admit that it was a bit addicting for me and I couldn’t set it down. I had to go out and purchase the other two as soon as I had completed the first.
In a post-war Panem, formerly North America, the ruling government called The Capitol divided the country into what are now 12 districts. As a reminder to those who rebelled, the government created “The Hunger Games.” Two tributes, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, from each district are selected by lottery to fight to the death in an arena designed by the Capitol.
In the trailer, we are introduced to Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone” and “X-Men: First Class”) who escapes into the woods with her hunting partner Gale Hawthorne, portrayed by Liam Hemsworth (“The Last Song”). We see Katniss and Gale hunting in the woods before the lottery announcement of the tributes. Katniss’ younger sister, Prim (Willow Shields), is selected and Katniss volunteers to take her place. During this brief glimpse, we see the other tribute for District 12, Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson, who is a young veteran actor with roles in films the like of “Zathura,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and “Bridge to Terabithia”).
Katniss and Peeta are transported to the Capitol to be prepared to go into the arena and are coached by former victor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and made impressionable by her stylist, Cinna, portrayed by, in a very unlikely casting decision, Lenny Kravitz. In the arena, Katniss must make difficult decisions in order to return to her home of District 12. What sacrifices are she is willing to make? The trailer leaves us wondering with the tributes at the start of the games.
What are your thoughts on this trailer? Did it leave you wanting to know more? The teaser trailer had done nothing for me when it debuted at the MTV Video Music Awards, but this feature length trailer did a better job of catching my interest. It doesn’t hurt either that we have such a talented group of young, up-and-coming actors in Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Alexander Ludwig paired with Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, and Wes Bentley to round out the adult cast members.
With three months until the film is released in U.S. theaters, “The Hunger Games” has already topped many polls as the most anticipated movie of 2012, beating out “Breaking Dawn Part 2,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” The film is due in theaters on March 23, 2012. Until then, perhaps you would like to grab the book and see what the fuss is all about.
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