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The Hunger Games Fans Speak!
The new book trailer for Catching Fire launched earlier this week. It is– dare I steal a word learned from Lydia on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries?– ADORBS!
In addition to Kimmy from Mockingjay.net and Aldrin from Down With The Capitol, who were part of the original fan trailer video, this one features Courtney, aka Twiffidy’s partner-in-crime over at Welcome to District 12! Along with many other totally worthy fans who submitted great videos!
Observe.
What we love about this is that it’s NOT some professional thesis on why we should love the books. With a few exceptions (here’s lookin’ at you, Katniss cosplayer and hi-def camera green screen gal!), it’s quick and blurry and shaky. It’s geekily over-excited, despite the guy who says “It’s the perfect blend of everything you want in a novel” as if he’s reciting a meatloaf recipe.
Why do we enjoy the chaos of it so much? When we tell people about the books, IT’S LIKE THAT. We’re throwing our arms around and squeaking. A special “all over the place” version of the plot is described in ten seconds flat and we’re pretty positive that the person we’re speaking to didn’t understand a thing. And then we let out a little cough and say something like “Really, though. You should check it out. It’s great.”
By spotlighting fans for giving their simple, honest opinions on the series, you allow the book to sell itself much better than an expensive campaign quoting authors and critics. There’s a critic out there who LOVED the worst book ever written, we’re sure. The books are already pretty high on the credibility scale, so just let the existing audience tell it like it is!
The video is only oart of PHASE ONE of a great summer-long promotion from Scholastic! Get the details on all the fun UNDER THE CUT!
Read the rest of this entry
Guest Postapalooza Contest!
Every once in a while, we take this glorious thing called “vacation”. Sometimes one right after the other, sometimes overlapping! On the site, chaos ensues!
We accept guest posts any time of year and LOVE posting them. Half the time, we sit there reading them and saying “Why didn’t I ever think to write about this?! It’s great!” There are also some occasions in which we straight up need guest posts to keep the site from being a barren wasteland of nothingness. This is one of those times!
WIN IT!
So to encourage you lovely readers to share your insightful, hilarious, original perspectives on ANYTHING Hunger Games related– movies, books, characters, actors, merchandise, advertising, the crew… the sky is the limit!– we’re running a little contest!
Send a guest post to thevictorsvillage@gmail.com no later than June 17th (though the sooner, the better!) and you’ll be entered for a chance to win One [1] of two [2] mini theatrical posters from The Hunger Games!**
Rules and Guidelines:
- All posts must be submitted by 11:59pm PST on June 17, 2013.
- Multiple guest posts are allowed.
- The post must be at least 3-4 paragraphs, not just a few sentences, and it must make sense. It’s not that we don’t trust you… You just wouldn’t believe some “guest posts” we’ve received in the past!
- After the final guest post submitted within the allotted time frame has been posted, readers will vote on their favorite guest post via online poll.
- ** If you submitted a guest post in May to help cover The Girl With The Pearl’s vacation, you are automatically entered into this competition!
Though not mandatory, we encourage you to BRING THE FUNNY as much as possible!
May the odds be ever in your favor! …More importantly, we will love you LIKE WHOA!
The Hunger Games “Celebrities”
What does it take to be a Hunger Games celebrity? Well, we get it depends on where you’re from… and your definition of “celebrity”!
For instance, when you see an article out of Georgia about a “Local Hunger Games celeb”, who do you assume it is? A tribute? E. Roger Mitchell, aka Chaff, lives in Georgia, and our female morphling, Megan Hayes, is a native. Dayo Okeniyi has lived there and is currently filming in the state. Or a major behind the scenes player, perhaps? It’s got to be something like that!
Nope. This guy.
BFFLs with Captain Crunch and Captain Planet
He goes by *cough* Captain Chris. He is a firebreather. According to the local newspaper, he is a Hunger Games celebrity because he is the only firebreather featured in the Catching Fire trailer. We mean, it lasts almost a full second and you can’t see any defining features of the person behind it, but IT’S HIM!
We’re not saying that what el capitan doesn’t have some respectably dangerous flair to it, despite his ridiculous stage name. Firebreathing is awe-inspiring, especially considering that I’m still trying to overcome a fear of lit candles in my mid-twenties. But let’s not jump straight to “celebrity”! The shot made it into the trailer, but as fans who pay close attention to trailers often realize, not everything in the trailer makes it into the movie. If it does, it’ll likely be that same shot– two seconds from a distance.
Pretty much the only extra we noticed. Still not a celebrity!
It’s not that he isn’t great and we don’t appreciate his rare talent! He’s just nawt exactly someone that Hunger Games fans stand in the rain for three days for a chance to meet. They might might grab his autograph at a fair, if they’re already planning on attending for other reasons, the autograph is free, and they’re waiting for friends to finish up on that ride that always gets them sick.
We understand your pride in realizing that one of your own is in The Hunger Games, Douglasville Patch– I practically flipped when I realized my buddy made it into the first movie as an extra (that you can only really see when you pause the movie juuuuust right)– but slow your roll with the “celebrity” jargon!
Everyone involved in The Hunger Games is a talent. Some of them are daredevils, prodigies, artists, or gurus. They all deserve recognition, though most of their work goes unnoticed, sadly. But let’s not confuse talent with celebrity, especially in a world where most celebrities would much rather be recognized for their talent!
Now This Is Stuck In My Head! Damn You, Douglasville Patch!
The Girl With The Pearl
The Power of Prim
We’ve all had some time to shimmer down and think about it, yet the opinions on the Catching Fire trailer are STILL largely positive! Let’s face it– We probably would have squealed and cheered for a trailer filled with LEGO characters when it was first released, so long as it was a trailer. But the fandom gets whiny and cynical after a while, most times. This trailer seems to have passed with flying colors, because whining is at a minimum!
Prim and her plait get tough!
Things have changed between the Catching Fire book and the movie trailer, for sure, but there’s one change that has got us totally psyched. It goes a little something like this:
“You saved my life. You give me a chance.”
“Yes. To live.”
“No. To do something.”
And our reaction was essentially “WAIT… WAIT… IS PRIM A PROACTIVE CHARACTER NOW?! WHAAAAATTTTT? TEN POINTS, Y’ALL!” *various loserface dance moves*
Way back when, we admitted that one of the very few problems we had with the series was the characterization of Prim… or lack thereof. Katniss loves her little sister more than anything and constantly talks about how lovable and special and determined to make a difference she is, but we never really see her being any of that firsthand until she dies, which does take away some of the power from that moment. She’s more of a sidelined victim of circumstance, who keeps her distance and tries to make the best of the whole freaking country going to hell.
Annnnnd then we cuddle!
It looks like Francis Lawrence and/or Michael Arndt might have seen it too. (It’s not just meeeeee!) In a few short lines of the 2 minute trailer, Prim gets something you never really see her display in the books: Guts and determination. She won’t be a meek child who is simply thrown into these troubled waters. She’s choosing to dive in, against the advice of her own sister, at that! While they’re still in District 12!
To be clear, Prim probably would’ve become a Healer/ Doctor either way and that is a very proactive, conscious move that her character takes. But it’s nice to see her choosing the path instead of simply falling into it. It fleshes out her character. As an audience, we get to see that she really cares and is pretty fantastic… and not just because her older sister tells us so. And when she cares, we care!
Atta girl, Prim!
Sharing Is Caring!
The Girl With The Pearl
O Peeta, Where Art Thou?
In my absence, Peeta has become the topic of the week! Not that we blame our brilliant guest writers, of course! There’s just so damn much to say about the future Mr. Katniss Everdeen!
Today, Hunger Games Bookclub is taking the reins to take about the Peeta we know from the books and the first movie vs. the Peeta we’re going to get in Catching Fire and beyond!
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I hate to break it to you, but there are multiple Peetas running around out there. It all started when The Hunger Games was first published. This version affectionately has been termed Book!Peeta. As soon as you read THG, another alternate version came into existence… the Peeta that lives inside of your mind. Let us call that Imagination!Peeta. Once the movie of The Hunger Games was released in 2012, we had a third version alive and kicking: Movie!Peeta
Sometimes there was conflicts between these three versions of Peeta. People couldn’t understand why Movie!Peeta didn’t have the blue eyes of Book!Peeta. Folks were heartbroken that their Imagination!Peeta had a real life name of (the guy from Weeds, the guy from Vampire whatever, the guy from you fill in the blank) but that person wasn’t hired as Movie!Peeta. And Josh Hutcherson had brown eyes and movie magic blonded hair instead what Book!Peeta described. If you have been around THG fansites at all, Victor’s Village included, you will know that fans get quite passionate about who they believe Peeta should or should not be.
Just look at that babyface!
Here’s the rub: Coming November 2013, there will be another Peeta to add to the mix. I know, I know, Josh Hutcherson is playing the role of Peeta in both movies. However, there are some other significant differences between the two films. The CFMovie!Peeta, as I shall now dub him, comes from a script that is written by a completely different team than THGMovie!Peeta. Although Suzanne Collins and Gary Ross both expressed their pleasure at working together to write The Hunger Games screenplay, they also expressed how difficult it was to take a book and adapt it into the visual format and time constraints of a movie. This go-around, we have a script written by Michael Arndt, who has won an Oscar for adapting books into screenplays. The Catching Fire movie will also have a new director: Francis Lawrence. Fans have already seen the upgrade in costumes and some of the other visual aspects in the teaser trailer that was released recently. We’ve also heard from interviews with cast and F-Law that there were some parts of the first movie that he wanted to maintain and others to which he adjusted to his own personal vision for the series. He has already been hired to direct Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 as well, so we can expect continuity in his vision across the films. Francis Lawrence brings more to the table than the visual. For example, Woody Harrelson commented that Lawrence encouraged him to research Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for his character. Most fans agree that the signs are pointing toward Catching Fire having more depth in some of the themes of poverty and war.
The innocence is gone.
So what does this mean for Peeta’s character? Will the Peeta in Catching Fire have more depth to his character as well? Obviously, we won’t know until November. But I can tell you from reading countless comments on popular fansites about THGMovie!Peeta, that he did not come across to some viewers (especially those who had never read the books) with the emotional strength and verbal savvy that we attribute to Book!Peeta. In the books, Peeta is not known for his physicality as much as Gale (although Peeta can lift heavy sacks of flour and hold his own in hand to hand combat) but is a person who is known for his quick brain and smooth tongue.
When I first saw pictures of Peeta from the Catching Fire teaser trailer, I immediately noticed the determined set of his jaw, the simmering anger, and the grimness. Perhaps CFMovie!Peeta will be different. Stronger. A bit jaded.
Maybe If The Odds Are In Our Favor, We’ll Catch A Glimpse Of That Peeta In Our Imagination,
Hunger Games Bookclub
Oh, That Catching Fire Poster…
We’ve got a special guest post from a fansite friend today! Specifically, Arowana Flounder from Panem Propaganda is hear to talk about the new Catching Fire poster and the references we all REALLY thought of when we saw it! Not everyone knows their art like Them There Eyes, but dammit, we know our Disney movies!
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Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
From the looks of the new Catching Fire Movie Poster, Katniss has. Look at her, she’s probably wondering why the grinning bobcat grinned too.
District 12… Is near a canyon?
I can’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed when the Catching Fire poster was revealed. I know a lot of people had been expecting stills or a second trailer or some sort of footage, but I was pretty excited to hear it was a movie poster. Great! Maybe we’ll see a bit of the arena, or some of the new characters!
Many of my friends see my obsession with the Hunger Games series as amusing (and, I think, a little psychotic) so I was looking forward to being able to show them a kickass poster. Instead I see Pocahontas pondering plunging into the waterfall…wait…those clouds…they kind of look like wings or something…It’s a Mockingjay! Katniss is the Mockingjay! I get it!
No one else will! Not if they haven’t read the book! It isn’t kickass like I wanted it to be so that I could show off to people who don’t know the series. It’s mellow and picturesque, and I’m afraid people are going to think it’s a Homeward Bound story where Katniss traverses Panem on foot to find her mother and Prim, who’ve gone on a vacation to San Francisco.
I saw a fan made poster that was absolutely amazing, and it’s probably the reason I’m so disappointed with the official one:
It’s just so atmospheric, and there are new characters holding weapons! That’s pretty exciting right? And two of the characters have their shirts off, something for the ladies *wink wink nudge nudge*. I mean the arena scenes are obviously the best bits of the second book, aren’t they?
Why would Lionsgate make a poster NOT using the most exciting bit of the story, but, instead, featuring the main character looking like Chief Powahatan’s daughter? It’s not like she’s a well-respected member of her society fighting against the oppression of a more technologically advanced (and rather dandy) culture… no, wait…
Ok, it’s not like she’s been trapped in an organised relationship with a guy that it seems to make so much sense for her to be with, but she has confusing feelings for another…oh no wait.
And she doesn’t have a best friend that seems to always get forgotten about in retellings of the st—wait… (Poor Madge).
I’ll admit that last one was pretty tenuous, (this is my first ever blog post and you should be nice!) but the first two strike a chord right? At least they did with me. Suddenly I DID get it. She’s the girl watching her home change. The trailer showed us the changes, all the excitement, now the poster shows us the girl that we saw go through some pretty tough stuff in the last movie, finally home like she wanted to be.
Now here she is, her arrow nocked in place, ready to struggle again, a new day dawning, a new fight ahead of her.
Actually, ok, it might be a little exciting! Who cares if she’ll never know how high the sycamore grows?!
I Bet Peeta Paints With The Colours Of The Wind,
Arowana Flounder
Catching Fire in Cannes
Greetings for the land of no Internet (and pre-scheduled posts!) It’s time for our super exciting round of guest posts to begin!
We kick things off with Aeris, aka The Girl With The Flowers, a French Tribute with a special perspective on the promotion of Catching Fire in Cannes! Take it away, Aeris!
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It’s that time of the year again. Spring? First of all, rain, wind and me hugging my hot water-bottle because the heating’s been officially turned off in my flat does not constitute spring to me. But the point is, I’m actually talking about the Cannes Festival! You know, the stuffy red carpet event which takes place near The Croisette each year in France.
Pretty, isn’t it? *sigh*
Now, I used to take an interest, because I like independent, artsy movies and the Cannes selection usually does a good job of pinpointing which ones are going to be great. Until last year that is, when Amour received the Palme d’Or. And I unsuspectingly, even anxiously went to see it. And thus lost 2 hours of my life and promised myself I would never listen to the festival’s opinion again.
I had to eat my words though, because rumors have been swirling since early April that our very own The Hunger Games: Catching Fire possibly, maybe, might be Cannes bound. Oh, not in the official competition, because Catching Fire is not the type of movie to be selected for that. I mean, even Lord Of the Rings didn’t make it so, you get what I mean. Franchise movies aren’t big in Cannes, sadly. Awful, boring, cringe-worthy, badly acted Movies like Amour are, though. Anyway, where was I? Right. Catching Fire! *channels her inner Jen and shakes like a Chihuahua in anticipation*
Imagine that in your backyard!
So we very recently got confirmation that some kind of promotion for CF was being made in Cannes, at the Majestic Barrière hotel, and let me tell you, it looks good.
Actually, no, it looks FANTASTIC. Can I have one of those for my garden please? And maybe the fiery posters too? No? Even if I say pretty please?
They are going all out on this, and then we hear that Jennifer Lawrence was in attendance at the Catching Fire party on Saturday! Why do I not live in Cannes? (Well, because I live in Paris and other than the fact that the weather is better in Cannes and yes, this year, Catching Fire is actually there, there wouldn’t be much of a point of me living in Cannes. Also the Catching Fire Premiere will take place in Paris, so I’d rather stay there).
Rumor has it they are using this to promoting Mockingjay Parts 1&2 to “international buyers”. Eh. I have to say, I’m not quite convinced about this rumor. Are there really any “buyers” left who are not convinced by the power of The Hunger Games franchise? Who still wonder if they should distribute the movie in their countries?
Europe seems pretty involved with it already. (That being said, I’m a little disappointed in my own country’s “fan attitude”. Or maybe I’m just an über-fan, as in a Tribute, and they are just normal people whose lives do not revolve around The Hunger Games. I can’t quite remember how that feels, so I’ll let it go).
Aeris + Jen = BFFL
Well, whatever the reason, being in Cannes is giving Catching Fire some cred, even though it isn’t in the running for the Palme d’Or. It also might give us news, as they’re most likely going to do some sort of presentation, or even show some footage. And of course, any Jennifer-at-an-event-where-she-will-be-interviewed-and-NAIL-it possibility is something to be thankful for. Also, she and I will be in the same country for a few days, and although I won’t see her, it’ll make the possibility of us becoming BFFs slightly (very slightly) more possible for a few days.
Who said telepathy didn’t exist?
Aeris (The Girl with the Flowers)
Party Like a Capitol Star
In Chapter 6 of Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins writes of a lavish Capitol party that Katniss attends at President Snow’s mansion. We seen bits of it in the teaser trailer for the movie – you all know that part where the creepy guy touches Katniss’s feathery sleeve, right?
At Cannes, there’s a lavish Capitol party going on as well, thrown to celebrate the 75th Annual Hunger Games… or, you know, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Several people walk around in Capitol get-ups, bright neon drinks are being served, and Jennifer Lawrence is in attendance at this party on the beach.
The buzz around the party however is that there have been rumors surrounding possible footage from the movie to be shown. Whether that has happened, we haven’t found out yet, and if it does get shown, it will probably stay at the party (What happens in Cannes, stays in Cannes, am I right?).
Which makes us overwhelmingly jealous that we plebs aren’t there!
These are okay to drink
Some advice to everyone there? Don’t touch the clear drinks in the tiny-stemmed wineglasses.
Every time someone says Girl On Fire, DRINK!
Twiffidy
Write For Victor’s Village!
No, you didn’t stumble upon an extra post for this week! This is just a quick messy post asking for longer, less messy posts from YOU.
The Girl With The Pearl is heading to the land of no Internet access for her sister’s wedding next week and we need your help! With new posters, the Instagram, and the fandom going as crazy as ever, do you have an opinion to share about The Hunger Games books, movies, or fandom?
We’ve got your opportunity right here! We’re seeking out some stellar guest posts because, believe it or not, we know that our opinions aren’t the only ones that matter!
If you’ve got ANYTHING to say about The Hunger Games books, movies, merchandise, fandom, etc. that you’d like to share with tons of members of the fandom, write it up and send it to thevictorsvillage@gmail.com! Wit preferred, but not required. As long as your writing isn’t a hot mess (we have faith in you!), we’ll post it up to be share with other fans!
Oh, and if possible.. send them our way soon!
Any questions? Send us an e-mail or sound off in the comments!
With posters like this, how could you NOT want to get your discussion on?
Insta-What?
Ah Instagram. The second I got a phone that could use it, I downloaded Instagram and started posting filtered pictures of food and silly pictures of my friends. Since then, Instagram has become a marketing tool for many, including YA franchises like The Mortal Instruments and yes, now, The Hunger Games. 
With the re-introduction of Capitol Couture a few months back came a Capitol Couture Instagram, and a couple of days ago, The Hunger Games itself got one as well, so far posting two pictures of the Catching Fire hardback, first the cover and then the first page of Part I, “The Spark”. Most intriguingly, though, was that both were captioned with the date May 14th, which is this Tuesday.
If a Lionsgate entity teases a date pre-movie release, fans tend to jump to the conclusion that it’s a trailer. Since the teaser trailer was just released and is only now in theaters, we’re willing to doubt that.
So what is that May 14th date about then? We’ve got stills, maybe we’ll get more? Maybe another poster? One of our favorite memories of the ramp-up to The Hunger Games movie coming out was the clever puzzle-hunt reveal of this poster, so maybe Lionsgate has something similar in store. Or even a resurrection of theCapitol.PN? Considering they’re posting pictures of the book, it might even have to have something to do with it.
Since the movie is a little over 6 months away, I’m not getting my hopes up for anything too big, but it’s exciting nonetheless. It’s great that we seem to be getting something new each month, keeping the fandom awake and so not dead.
Instagram is totally a Capitol thing
Twiffidy
