Hunger Games DVD Countdown Contest!
First order of business… ZOMG WE CAN PRE-ORDER THE HUNGER GAMES DVD / BLU-RAY NOW!
Click here to reserve your copy:
In celebration of the impending DVD release, Lionsgate is holding a weekly contest! Create your own DVD Countdown images featuring the hashtag #HungerGamesDVD and the phrase “X weeks and counting”, starting with 11 weeks this week!
Each week will have a different theme for the Countdown image, announced every week on The Official Hunger Games Facebook page. The theme for this week is the Mockingjay!
Send your entries to HungerGamesDVDCountdown@gmail.com and you can win this awesome prize pack:
The Ultimate Hunger Games Prize Pack
Dear Bloggers, Real Life is NOT The Hunger Games
We’ve already discussed the media using The Hunger Games to promote things that have nothing to do with the series, but we’ve noticed another disturbing trend that has everything and nothing to do with the series.
Apparently, plenty of writers think that modern day America is exactly like The Hunger Games. And we’re not talking about related issues like starvation, water deprivation, or extreme poverty. Oh no! They can ignore these devastating issues while simultaneously comparing everyday events to the government-regulated slaughter of children!
P.S. Apparently President Snow speaking about “hope” is now a statement against Barack Obama. *facepalm*
Even sites that we love, like Thought Catalog, make this mistake. Yeah, they seriously made an analogy between The Hunger Games and graduating from college that isn’t mostly sarcasm. I graduated college a while back, and while being unemployed for months and under-employed ever since has been rough, it is not a life-or-death situation. I eat every night, sleep in a comfy bed, and, oh yeah, nobody is trying to murder me! ..At least that I know of.
Political bloggers are particularly guilty of this. According to them any political discourse to pretty much a battle to the death enacted by a dictatorship. Everybody in the Senate or Congress is just another tribute fighting for survival against the other side’s attacks, except for the part where they’re definitely not. They’re wealthy adults who cannot make decisions for the life of them, but they are in no real danger. In a unintentional comical twist, both Republicans and Democrats try to use The Hunger Games to prove that their way of running the country is better, completely ignoring that the story portrays ALL political figures as corrupt assholes, not just their opponents.
Junior Seau
Then there’s this article in which a blogger claims that football player Junior Seau killed himself because the NFL is exactly like The Hunger Games. The author says this after a paragraph explaining that he’d only just seen The Hunger Games movie and wasn’t even all that impressed with it. The comparison is more than a little bit offensive. Junior Seau’s suicide was tragic, perhaps years of physical torture from football and his subsequent removal from the spotlight affected his state of mind, but either way, it has NOTHING to do with The Hunger Games. To say that sports spectators take pleasure in watching their favorite players injure themselves or others, let alone to the point where one of them is compelled to kill himself, is beyond fucked up. These athletes were not forced to compete, knowing the outcome would likely be their death. Sports are not the equivalent of a public death match. In fact, most of us absolutely revere athletes and want them to live forever.
So let’s chill right the hell out with The Hunger Games references, my dear bloggers! Unless, of course, our nation falls into the hands of a dictator who starts holding annual death matches starring children. Then you can ring the alarm.
Til then.. Shut up. PLZKTHX,
The Girl With The Pearl
Pure Fiction
I don’t want to talk about Robert Pattinson anymore, I really fucking don’t, but some asshat over at some site I’ve never heard of has started the rumor up again that he’s a “strong contender for Finnick Odair.” If there was ever a headdesk moment, this would be one of them, it’s just aggravating that it keeps happening over, and over, and over, and over again, and also that I continuously have to address it. I’m just going to say it, it would be stupid of Robert Pattinson to do another major franchise after having just wrapped on one. Look, I’m one of those few people who give him the benefit of the doubt where it comes to his somewhat questionable choices where it comes to past projects, but so far outside of The Twilight Saga he’s made good, bold, and interesting choices. He’s not an unintelligent guy, but doing another franchise in succession with another would ruin his reputation, and he’d be hard pressed getting offers to do one-of, and not YA based projects. The fact is, Pattinson is cultivating a career that is not going to be geared towards the demographic that the media keeps perpetuating The Hunger Games is geared towards, this is evidenced by him taking on decidedly adult roles in Remember Me, Bel Ami, Water For Elephants, Cosmopolis, and now Mission: Blacklist. The man is cutting the cord, and I say fucking let him. Oh, also it’s already been stated that Twilight cast members are banned from being part of The Hunger Games.
I don’t know why people keep grasping at the idea of him taking part in Catching Fire, but
the information is there, the words have been said, the scheduling will not work, and frankly those who keep saying he’s a “fan-favorite”, are lying through their teeth. He’s not a “fan favorite”, he’s more likely to be listed under “least favorite”. Frankly, it’s boring to imagine Pattison as Odair, it’s pat even, it’s also cheap, and it would just end up further affirming for non-fans, or layman’s that The Hunger Games is another version of Twilight, which it’s clearly not. Also, if Lionsgate knows anything, which they obviously do– mixing the casts of these two franchises would be a detriment to their own reputations where it comes to artistic and creative integrity. Seriously, if anyone’s going to start a rumor that anyone specific is going to be cast as Finnick, couldn’t people pick someone a bit more original, like pretty much anyone else. We should just start our own rumor, heard it here first– Carol Burnett is going to play Alma Coin!
In the words of Pattison him self, “We step into the era of The Hunger Games, the world wants fresh meat!” You don’t have to squint to see that the man has no interest in taking part in this project. So, Please, for the love of all that is not sparkly and drinks deer blood to survive, let this rumor take its last breath.
Them There Eyes
PSA: Hunger Games DVD goes on Sale 8/18!
Ready to watch The Hunger Games over and over and over again? Prepare yourself, because we’ve got a DVD release date!
DVD!!!!!
Entertainment Weekly has officially announced that the DVD/Blu-ray will be available on August 18! There will be a movie only version as well as a two-disc special edition. Here’s the breakdown of the different features in the special edition:
The two-disc set will include over three hours of unreleased material, with features that provide insight into how the film was made, interviews with the cast and crew, and details about some of the story lines that differed from the book — like President Snow’s character (Donald Sutherland) and the role of the game maker (Wes Bentley). An eight-part documentary entitled The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games delves into the behind-the-scenes aspect of creating the film. The extras also include the full-length “Propaganda Film” shown during the Reaping.
There will be midnight release parties going on for the DVD! We’ll keep you as updated as we can and if we attend any, we’ll be sure to announce it!
Pre-orders will begin FRIDAY, at which time we will be sure to remind you! Until then, enjoy the DVD trailer and the official press release under the cut!
The Gold Standard
Have you heard the news?
The companion soundtrack to The Hunger Games film, Songs from District 12 and Beyond, is now certified Gold!
Now, we never did a formal review for this album (we’re not really a formal kind of place, you know — we like bow ties though), but we are incredibly proud of this achievement.
This isn’t exactly the golden days of soundtrack buying. It’s much more difficult for an album to get certified Gold than it was 15+ years ago, before this magical thing that connects you and us together called the Internet made it easier to not pay for music. And that’s just for regular albums, not soundtracks. Also not for a soundtrack that isn’t for a movie that’s a musical or musician biopic.
Songs from District 12 and Beyond has in a way reinvigorated the idea of a soundtrack. The album boasts a diverse group of musicians, whose genres range from pop to indie to country to hip hop and everything in between. And instead of choosing music to appeal to the film’s target audience, the music was written specifically with the events and feel of the movie in mind.
Rarely do we get a soundtrack that is truly a companion to the film, with one song (Daughter’s Lament by The Carolina Chocolate Drops) directly referencing Katniss’s father’s death and how it affected her and all around being practically a prologue to the movie. And another song (Lover Is Childlike by The Low Anthem) even goes so far as to foreshadow the next installment with obvious references to the sea and Finnick and Annie’s relationship.
So kudos! It’s great to see a project like this be so successful. For all we know, the soundtrack could not have been as well received as it was, with it heavily featuring music styles that aren’t exactly popular with that darn target demo. Sure, Taylor Swift may have been a safe bet, but the songs by The Secret Sisters and The Carolina Chocolate Drops aren’t exactly poppy.
Congrats to T-Bone Burnett, Greg Wells, Lionsgate and the artists featured on the album!
Twiffidy
Finding Finnick Odair – Justin Timberlake
This week’s Finding Finnick is sure to generate lots of discussion as we take a look at the suggestion of Justin Timberlake for Finnick Odair. Best known for his music career, Justin in the last few years has branched out into the acting world and can be seen in movies such as The Social Network, In Time, and Friends with Benefits. So without further ado, let’s kick off this week’s Finding Finnick discussion by finding out what your favorite fansites think!
Victor’s Village
Kait: Out of all the possible Finnicks we’ve discussed, Justin Timberlake has a unique problem: He’s Justin Freaking Timberlake. His face, his career, and his acting style are so recognizable that there’s absolutely no way he could seamlessly transform in Finnick Odair, the complex District 4 victor. Even if his acting were perfect (which we don’t think would be the case for Finnick, though his acting has been solid elsewhere), he would be Justin Timberlake playing Finnick Odair and no one would truly believe in it. Though Timberlake is only 31, he looks a lot older than that and doesn’t pull off the Finnick look in our opinion. Also, pulling his sugar-coated pop star power on board would probably ruin the film’s reputation for hiring stars for their acting skills rather than their name.
Justin Timberlake
HG Fireside Chat
Savanna: I have to start out by saying that I freakin’ love JT (and trust me, I only use “freakin’” if I really mean it). He’s both boyishly adorable and “manishly” sexy at the same time, and — as everyone knows — he’s a ridiculously talented singer. But did you know that he’s also a ridiculously talented actor? He was brilliant as Sean Parker in The Social Network, and his performance in Alpha Dog — the first time I saw him act in anything — blew me away. All that being said, I don’t really like the idea of him as Finnick. He’s handsome, yes, but not the right kind of handsome. And with one big name musician already in a major role, casting Timberlake may come off as just too gimmicky.
Adam: Long before the likes of Garrett Hedlund, Armie Hammer, and Hunter Parrish circulated as fan favorites, I was pushing Justin Timberlake. The singer-turned-actor has proven to be just as deft at the latter as the former, putting forth stirring performances in Alpha Dog and The Social Network. He’s so much more than a boy-band pretty boy, and among all the candidates, he’s truly the “coolest” and most recognizable face. If they can make him look taller, he can mix Finnick’s looks with small-town charm, and attract new fans in the process.
HG Girl on Fire
Sheila: When I first saw Justin Timberlake come up on our list of Finnick’s, I thought this can’t be right? While I’ll admit I love Justin Timberlake for his his immense musical talent and charming personality, I have never really been blown away by any of the movies I have seen him him. I’m not sure that he embodies the characteristics I look for in Finnick, and is just not at all how I imagined Finnick coming to life on screen.
HG Movie Site
While I think that you are a great actor, and that your best is yet to come… I am not seeing this. I mean, first of all, I love Bye, Bye, Bye. It’s great. But, I just think that you aren’t Finnick to me. I think that Finnick needs to be younger, and you my friend, are getting up there in age. And really, I am sure that you are going to concentrate on your wedding. I think that you have big things ahead of you, but being in the Hunger Games fandom is not one. So I mean really, though I love you as an actor, I am giving you space. Keep doing you JT, cause you rock.
The Hob
Amanda: Justin Timberlake…where to start?! When we mentioned last week that this week’s Finding Finnick would discuss Justin Timberlake, nearly every reader comment was against the idea and confused why his name was even being thrown into the mix. And I couldn’t agree more. From the second I heard Justin and Finnick in the same sentence, I’ve wondered what the heck is going on. I personally can’t see an ounce of Finnick in Justin. Not his face, his hair, his body, his voice, his age….nothing. And I’ll admit to loving him when he was a member of ‘NSync, but I’ve never been that impressed with Justin’s acting ability. The idea of Justin playing Finnick in Catching Fire doesn’t work for me at all, and his pop star image only trivializes the role to something unworthy of the Finnick in the books.
Mockingjay.Net
Crystal: I was never an NSync fan, so I really never got all the hype over Justin Timberlake. Then last year I saw In Time and although the movie left a lot to be desired, he was still pretty good in it and I suddenly understood why so many other women were attracted to him. It just took me like 15 years to understand. He was surprisingly good in The Social Network. That being said, I don’t think he has quite enough of what he needs to be the perfect Finnick. He’s handsome, but not Finnick handsome; he’s a good actor, but he’s also a very well known face and therefore carries a lot of background into the role. The only thing I think he has fully going for him is the fact that I think he could pull off the Finnick ego with swagger and charm in a very entertaining way. Overall though, I think there are better Finnicks out there.
That’s all for Justin Timberlake! Do you think JT should be considered for Finnick?
Be sure to join us again next week when we discuss Zac Efron!
The Forger Fluke
Josh Hutcherson is having a bad month. First, there was some not-so-fun surgery for his nose (turns out he had a deviated septum!) Then there was the news that The Forger
The original ‘Carmel’ one-sheet…
Even the best of actors has a fluke film every now and again. His fluke comes right on the heels of The Hunger Games, though The Forger was filmed long before. Josh plays the main character, also named Joshua, who is abandoned by his mother and soon finds himself living with faltering artist Everly (Alfred Molina). Of course, Everly funds his art by selling forged paintings and it’s not long until he’s got Joshua knee deep in his fraudulent art scams.
Sounds interesting, right? That’s what we thought too! It’s not just Josh! The rest of the cast sounds fabulous too! There’s Alfred Molina and Lauren Bacall and Billy Boyd and Tricia Helfer. We’ll even let Hayden Panettiere slide! When we first heard about the movie about a year ago, it was accompanied by an intriguing, charming trailer with the promise that the film was COMING SOON.
…juxtaposed by The Forger DVD cover.
But the film didn’t come. Instead, we only got the new, sexied-up-for-the-wrong-audience trailer with a voiceover that was shown at the American Film Market as filmmakers tried to find distributors for the movie. The trailer tried to catch the eye of teens who.. lyke.. totes luv Josh!!1! The problem is that the movie’s plot and general themes are probably geared toward the 30+ crowd.
Then this month, the official notice on the film’s status came: Straight to DVD, aka “Dead in the water”. It’s not Josh’s fault, of course. He’s not responsible for the marketing campaign presented to distributors, nor did he create the concept for the film. In fact, this could still be a decent film.
The Forger
Not all movies with major distribution are good, either…
The Girl With The Pearl
