Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which Tributes must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken, former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
The Hunger Games is directed by Gary Ross, with a screenplay by Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Gary Ross will not be writing or directing the second installment to the franchise, as he states he would not have enough time to write or direct the sequel to his satisfaction. This will hardly matter to the success of the film- which like the Twilight franchise, has had great success despite changes in directors.
Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, The Hunger Games, is the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 26 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following. It has spent more than 180 consecutive weeks- more than three consecutive years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since its publication in September 2008, and has also appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.
The Hunger Games motion picture stars the massively talented Jennifer Lawrence (if you have not seen her in her breakout role in the film Winter’s Bone, go watch it now- it is a very powerful and well done film), Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz (also a renown singer and guitarist), Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig, and Isabelle Fuhrman among more. The film is produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, and executive produced By Robin Bissell, Suzanne Collins, and Louise Rosner-Meyer. Having grossed over six hundred million dollars world wide, it is still in most theaters now.
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