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  • Philip Messina isn’t cutting corners in the Hunger Games movies. The production designer was in charge of the look and feel of the movies, working directly with directors of both Hunger Games and then Catching Fire. He talked a little about the location and filming in North Carolina for the forest Hunger Games arena. He’d built fake trees and fake limbs to increase the density of the forest, and took over two months to build the Cornucopia. The second novel moves around the districts and into the tropical jungle arena, now being filmed in Hawaii. So what will the man-made...109/23/2012

    Mockingjay Film Cast: District Thirteen’s Where, When and Who

    Philip Messina isn’t cutting corners in the Hunger Games movies. The production designer was in charge of the look and feel of the movies, working directly with directors of both Hunger Games and then Catching Fire. He talked a little about the location and filming in North Carolina for the forest Hunger Games arena. He’d built fake trees and fake limbs to increase the density of the forest, and took over two months to build the Cornucopia. The second novel moves around the districts and into the tropical jungle arena, now being filmed in Hawaii. So what will the man-made…

  • The word is out. The Mockingjay film will be released in two parts. From now on the films based off of Suzanne Collin’s popular series will be released like clockwork each year. Catching Fire is expected to be released on November 22, 2013, while the others come out near the same day in the coming years. The cast is lined up as well. Familiar faces will be Jennifer Lawrence portraying Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and their surly mentor Haymitch played wonderfully by Woody Harrelson. The biggest newcomers and Katniss’s fellow tributes are Jena Malone from District Eight...009/23/2012

    Mockingjay to Be Split into Two Films

    The word is out. The Mockingjay film will be released in two parts. From now on the films based off of Suzanne Collin’s popular series will be released like clockwork each year. Catching Fire is expected to be released on November 22, 2013, while the others come out near the same day in the coming years. The cast is lined up as well. Familiar faces will be Jennifer Lawrence portraying Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and their surly mentor Haymitch played wonderfully by Woody Harrelson. The biggest newcomers and Katniss’s fellow tributes are Jena Malone from District Eight…

  • A steady stream of rumors and released facts has been circulating, with occasional releases from Lionsgate Studios. They recently released a huge wealth of information the newly directed films based off of Suzanne Collin’s rumors. Now many of those rumors are over. The dates are set. The filming of Catching Fire has just begun, which will set District Thirteen in Atlanta, Georgia and move to the tropical city of Kauai, Hawaii during the jungle arena scenes. Like its predecessor, the crew anticipates that the filming will take four to five months, and will be released in November 2013. Lionsgate Studios...009/21/2012

    Mockingjay Film Release Date Announced

    A steady stream of rumors and released facts has been circulating, with occasional releases from Lionsgate Studios. They recently released a huge wealth of information the newly directed films based off of Suzanne Collin’s rumors. Now many of those rumors are over. The dates are set. The filming of Catching Fire has just begun, which will set District Thirteen in Atlanta, Georgia and move to the tropical city of Kauai, Hawaii during the jungle arena scenes. Like its predecessor, the crew anticipates that the filming will take four to five months, and will be released in November 2013. Lionsgate Studios…

Editors' Picks
  • After seeing the first film in the Hunger Games series, I was very excited to see the much-awaited sequel. While there are some light and enjoyable moments, the sequel is a much darker film than it’s predecessor. Even the lighter moments in the beginnings of the film were decidedly more bleak and depressing, such a stark contrast to the earlier film, which was already fairly dark to begin with. The film opens where the previous one had left off, with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Melark (Josh Hutcherson) preparing for their Victory Tour of the various districts of Panem....

    The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Film Review

    Posted on 08/20/2014 | No Comments
    After seeing the first film in the Hunger Games series, I was very excited to see the much-awaited sequel. While there are some light and enjoyable moments, the sequel is a much darker film than it’s predecessor. Even the lighter moments in the beginnings of the film were decidedly more bleak and depressing, such a stark contrast to the earlier film, which was already fairly dark to begin with. The film opens where the previous one had left off, with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Melark (Josh Hutcherson) preparing for their Victory Tour of the various districts of Panem....

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  • Character Names and their Meanings – Capitol President Coriolanus Snow: ‘Coriolanus’ is a play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of the Roman general Caius Martius Coriolanus. In Shakespeare’s play, Caius Martius is openly contemptuous of common people, believing that those who do not serve in the military have no right to bread rations. In Latin, the word for bread is ‘Panem’. After his courageous service in battle, he is elected as consul to the Roman senate. However, when a section of the common populace revolts, he denounces democracy, declaring that plebeians who criticize him are like “crows pecking...

    Character Names and their Meanings (Part 2)

    Posted on 01/07/2013 | 4 Comments
    Character Names and their Meanings – Capitol President Coriolanus Snow: ‘Coriolanus’ is a play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of the Roman general Caius Martius Coriolanus. In Shakespeare’s play, Caius Martius is openly contemptuous of common people, believing that those who do not serve in the military have no right to bread rations. In Latin, the word for bread is ‘Panem’. After his courageous service in battle, he is elected as consul to the Roman senate. However, when a section of the common populace revolts, he denounces democracy, declaring that plebeians who criticize him are like “crows pecking...

    Continue Reading...

  • Character Names and their Meanings – Supporting Female Characters Effie Trinket: Effie Stephanidis is a popular Australian comedy character that exploits Greek stereotypes. A trinket is any flimsy item that looks pretty, but has little value or substance to it. Effie Trinket is such a person, who is unintentionally annoying, superficial and lacking in substance. She is interested in her own career growth while being warped in a mentality of ‘better’ or ‘worse’ districts. She values superficial etiquette over real character. She dresses outlandishly, dying her hair pink, and has her pet expressions which she utters in a characteristic, affected...

    Mockingjay Character Names and their Meanings

    Posted on 12/19/2012 | No Comments
    Character Names and their Meanings – Supporting Female Characters Effie Trinket: Effie Stephanidis is a popular Australian comedy character that exploits Greek stereotypes. A trinket is any flimsy item that looks pretty, but has little value or substance to it. Effie Trinket is such a person, who is unintentionally annoying, superficial and lacking in substance. She is interested in her own career growth while being warped in a mentality of ‘better’ or ‘worse’ districts. She values superficial etiquette over real character. She dresses outlandishly, dying her hair pink, and has her pet expressions which she utters in a characteristic, affected...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Hunger Games trilogy dwells upon genetic modification. With genetically engineered animals such as the jabberjay, mockingjay, tracker jacker and wolf mutts, monkey mutts and even genetically engineered roses, the trilogy explores the ethics and consequences of toying with Nature. The Hunger Games looks at the use of technology by those in power, to create fear and control the masses. Tracker jackers are genetically modified wasps, developed by the Capitol and placed around the districts. They have gold colored bodies and live in huge swarms high among the trees. Their venom is potent enough to kill most people in a...

    Hunger Games Story Theme: Genetic Modification

    Posted on 12/04/2012 | 4 Comments
    The Hunger Games trilogy dwells upon genetic modification. With genetically engineered animals such as the jabberjay, mockingjay, tracker jacker and wolf mutts, monkey mutts and even genetically engineered roses, the trilogy explores the ethics and consequences of toying with Nature. The Hunger Games looks at the use of technology by those in power, to create fear and control the masses. Tracker jackers are genetically modified wasps, developed by the Capitol and placed around the districts. They have gold colored bodies and live in huge swarms high among the trees. Their venom is potent enough to kill most people in a...

    Continue Reading...

  • Lionsgate has announced that the Mockingjay movie will be split into two parts. Mockingjay: Part 1 will be released on November 21st, 2014, and Mockingjay: Part 2 will be released on November 20th, 2015. In doing so, the Hunger Games trilogy has chosen to adopt the strategy of splitting the last movie into more than one part, as the Harry Potter and Twilight movies have successfully done. That said, the next big question in the Hunger Games franchise is what cliffhanger Part 1 of the movie will end with. In storytelling, a rule of thumb is that a story should...

    How will the The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 Movie end?

    Posted on 11/28/2012 | 9 Comments
    Lionsgate has announced that the Mockingjay movie will be split into two parts. Mockingjay: Part 1 will be released on November 21st, 2014, and Mockingjay: Part 2 will be released on November 20th, 2015. In doing so, the Hunger Games trilogy has chosen to adopt the strategy of splitting the last movie into more than one part, as the Harry Potter and Twilight movies have successfully done. That said, the next big question in the Hunger Games franchise is what cliffhanger Part 1 of the movie will end with. In storytelling, a rule of thumb is that a story should...

    Continue Reading...

  • The Hunger Games series is different from most other young adult literature. It’s not a love story that ends in the main characters living happily ever after. It is gritty, violent and dark. If anything, it is a story about the costs of conflict. Its lesson is that war affects everyone, most of all, those who are fighting in it. There is no glory for the heroes of a war, and they are as badly affected by it as anyone else. In Mockingjay, war breaks out between Capitol and the rebel districts. The Capitol has already launched air strikes and...

    Extinction and War Themes in Mockingjay

    Posted on 11/05/2012 | No Comments
    The Hunger Games series is different from most other young adult literature. It’s not a love story that ends in the main characters living happily ever after. It is gritty, violent and dark. If anything, it is a story about the costs of conflict. Its lesson is that war affects everyone, most of all, those who are fighting in it. There is no glory for the heroes of a war, and they are as badly affected by it as anyone else. In Mockingjay, war breaks out between Capitol and the rebel districts. The Capitol has already launched air strikes and...

    Continue Reading...

  • Reading Mockingjay, one cannot help but reach the conclusion that there are no victors in war, only victims. In its essence, what makes the Hunger Games series so different from other stories is that it is not a simple love story, but a social commentary on culture, entertainment and warfare. As the story progresses, Katniss’ relationships with her two male friends – Gale and Peeta – changes as the realities of war transform and change her. Peeta: Although Peeta is a kind, caring, idealistic person, Katniss initially sees him as wily and manipulative. As the story unfolds, Katniss learns to...

    The Love Triangle: Katniss, Peeta and Gale in Mockingjay

    Posted on 10/23/2012 | No Comments
    Reading Mockingjay, one cannot help but reach the conclusion that there are no victors in war, only victims. In its essence, what makes the Hunger Games series so different from other stories is that it is not a simple love story, but a social commentary on culture, entertainment and warfare. As the story progresses, Katniss’ relationships with her two male friends – Gale and Peeta – changes as the realities of war transform and change her. Peeta: Although Peeta is a kind, caring, idealistic person, Katniss initially sees him as wily and manipulative. As the story unfolds, Katniss learns to...

    Continue Reading...

  • Story Theme: Child Soldiers The use of children as soldiers is a persistent reality of combat, and a bitter reality across the globe. In the past decade, children have been used in warfare in over 21 major conflicts across the world, and even today, many hundreds and thousands of children are serving in rebel or regular military forces. The military use of children generally takes four forms. Children may be combatants. They may act in supporting roles, such as reconnaissance. They may be used as human shields. Fourth, they are often used for propaganda. Young girls are drafted to serve...

    Child Soldiers in the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Film Themes

    Posted on 10/07/2012 | 1 Comment
    Story Theme: Child Soldiers The use of children as soldiers is a persistent reality of combat, and a bitter reality across the globe. In the past decade, children have been used in warfare in over 21 major conflicts across the world, and even today, many hundreds and thousands of children are serving in rebel or regular military forces. The military use of children generally takes four forms. Children may be combatants. They may act in supporting roles, such as reconnaissance. They may be used as human shields. Fourth, they are often used for propaganda. Young girls are drafted to serve...

    Continue Reading...

  • With casting announcements having come out just before the pre-production of Catching Fire, people are already asking whose going to play President Coin. The large-as-life District Thirteen Leader in Mockingjay is not just powerful and capable. She is also manipulative, impersonal and downright nasty when it comes to it. She’s someone we agree with at certain times and, like all politicians, hate at other times. The Hunger Games movies have placed many high profile actors in the places of distant authority. Donald Sutherland (“Dirty Dozen”) made the perfect, quietly dangerous and poisonous President Snow in the first movie. Philip Seymour...

    Who will be Cast as President Coin?

    Posted on 10/02/2012 | 21 Comments
    With casting announcements having come out just before the pre-production of Catching Fire, people are already asking whose going to play President Coin. The large-as-life District Thirteen Leader in Mockingjay is not just powerful and capable. She is also manipulative, impersonal and downright nasty when it comes to it. She’s someone we agree with at certain times and, like all politicians, hate at other times. The Hunger Games movies have placed many high profile actors in the places of distant authority. Donald Sutherland (“Dirty Dozen”) made the perfect, quietly dangerous and poisonous President Snow in the first movie. Philip Seymour...

    Continue Reading...

  • Welcome to the final Reaping for the newest director of the Hunger Games. The tried and true method of Twilight and Harry Potter was to switch directors between movies, and it seems Lionsgate Studios is following in their footsteps. The reason: the production is going too fast, and current director Lawrence has announced he won’t be able to keep up with the third and fourth installment. Lionsgate Studios plans to have the same director for both Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One and Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two, treating the two part finale as a single movie. So who’s going to...

    Time to Reap the Next Director

    Posted on 09/30/2012 | 1 Comment
    Welcome to the final Reaping for the newest director of the Hunger Games. The tried and true method of Twilight and Harry Potter was to switch directors between movies, and it seems Lionsgate Studios is following in their footsteps. The reason: the production is going too fast, and current director Lawrence has announced he won’t be able to keep up with the third and fourth installment. Lionsgate Studios plans to have the same director for both Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One and Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two, treating the two part finale as a single movie. So who’s going to...

    Continue Reading...