"The Hunger Games" costume design
March 25, 2012 1:43 PM   Subscribe

You may have heard that they made a movie of the The Hunger Games. While others discuss its dystopian vision of a barbaric future America, we will concern ourselves with something more important: the clothes. posted by Trurl (83 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know what possessed Tommy Hilfigger to design a caftan in that "11 Fashion Designers..." link, but I have to say that a caftan on fire sounds like a pretty good caftan to me.
posted by maryr at 1:50 PM on March 25, 2012 [7 favorites]


Swedish designers Peter Holmgren and Lars Olsson at Suitopia made the 139 costumes and were never told about the movie.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:52 PM on March 25, 2012


They only ordered the costumes in March 2011? They made that movie *fast*.
posted by maryr at 1:55 PM on March 25, 2012


Get ready for a lot of baby girls named Katniss and a few shoe hats on the shelves.
posted by foxhat10 at 1:57 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Apparently Louis Vutton in Vancovuer has a Hunger Games themed window display. It's so nice that dystopia =an excellent chance to sell luxury goods. (I also saw a Hunger Games themed wedding photos, which just seems a little strange as a wedding theme to me)
posted by lesbiassparrow at 1:58 PM on March 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


/ once upon a time there was a poor young girl in the coal mines of District 12
at age 16 she volunteered herself as Tribute and her murdering career took off...
./
posted by The Whelk at 1:58 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Huh. I always thought that shoe hats were from Brazil, but it turns out that they have roots from the late 1930s. Fascinating. The Schiaparelli design was actually done in collaboration with Salvador Dali. Who knew?
posted by hippybear at 2:05 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


a few shoe hats on the shelves

As far as dystopian headwear goes, Terry Gilliam did it first.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:06 PM on March 25, 2012 [5 favorites]


And she was fabulous.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:07 PM on March 25, 2012


Anyway leave it TH to design the blandest, pottering around your beach house, pseudo WASP-Yist thing imaginable.

I like TADASHI SHOJI's Greeco-Roman thing, I wonder if the fire dress had any basis in Medea with the crown of flame and poisoned dress.

The Blonds design makes her look like Jean Grey as the Phoenix
posted by The Whelk at 2:07 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Swedish designers Peter Holmgren and Lars Olsson at Suitopia made the 139 costumes and were never told about the movie.

That makes it sound like they were tricked or something. On the contrary, as evinced by their website:

"Lionsgate Films, an extremely well-known Hollywood film production company, contacted Suitopia in March 2011 to see if we could supply some suits for their latest production. At the time, they used a code name for the film so we had no idea which film the suits were for. That production turned out to be the first Hunger Games film..."

They only ordered the costumes in March 2011? They made that movie *fast*.

Pretty fast -- shooting was four and a half months, which is about right for a hundred million dollar movie, and it finished shooting in September. Probably picture-locked by January, which is a fast post, but considering it's Gary Ross directing, I bet it was an easy film to edit, not a ton of problems to fix and probably plenty of coverage to utilize. Fast, but not astoundingly so.
posted by incessant at 2:09 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Yeah, incessant, that came out wrong.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:19 PM on March 25, 2012


In the future, everyone is Lady Gaga.
posted by oulipian at 2:32 PM on March 25, 2012 [6 favorites]


considering it's Gary Ross directing, I bet it was an easy film to edit

I have to admit, I'm curious about that statement. Were his previous handful of directing/producing credits somehow known for being "easy to edit"?
posted by ShutterBun at 2:35 PM on March 25, 2012


In the future, everyone is Lady Gaga.

That's exactly what I said to my boyfriend after we saw the movie! That and that I need butterfly false eyelashes.
posted by amarynth at 2:49 PM on March 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


I liked the way Cota integrated the cape and hat.
posted by oddman at 2:54 PM on March 25, 2012


Yeah, I get the impression that TH didn't really read the assignment. He just put in something that went with his new collection. Not exactly what they had in mind, but Always Be Closing, I guess.
posted by k8lin at 3:06 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Wow, Hilfiger really phoned it in, didn't he?

"Hey guys, this thing in my current collection is totally just what you should have had".
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 3:17 PM on March 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


Were his previous handful of directing/producing credits somehow known for being "easy to edit"?

He's a complete pro -- he knows what he's doing. He's been around forever, he's worked on a ton of films, he's a producer and a writer as well as a director, and I'm sure he knew exactly what he needed to shoot in order to get the movie he wanted. That can equal an easy post.
posted by incessant at 3:18 PM on March 25, 2012


I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even notice the shoe hats until my third viewing of Brazil. They just seemed to work so well.

And between Hunger Games and Brave, I'm expecting a lot of girls in archery outfits this Halloween.
posted by SPrintF at 3:30 PM on March 25, 2012


As far as dystopian headwear goes, Terry Gilliam did it first.

Also Vermin Supreme
posted by XMLicious at 3:33 PM on March 25, 2012


His look is busted, though.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:40 PM on March 25, 2012




Actually, Bunny Ultramod, the "hair and teeth" observation is particularly cogent. I would expect that these "contestants" would betray more suggestions of the limitations of their upbringing, both physically and culturally.
posted by SPrintF at 4:24 PM on March 25, 2012


It's The Hunger Games As Played By Kids Who Aren't Actually Hungry.

I liked the film, but hungry people tend to look pretty unhealthy.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:26 PM on March 25, 2012


I liked the film, but hungry people tend to look pretty unhealthy.

I wondered if Stanley Tucci - who had himself essayed the "fairy godfather" character in The Devil Wears Prada - gave Lenny Kravitz any tips.

When Cinna told Katniss "Don't you know how beautiful you look", I wanted there to be a flashing subtitle reading "MAGIC NEGRO BONUS POINTS".
posted by Trurl at 5:40 PM on March 25, 2012


It's The Hunger Games As Played By Kids Who Aren't Actually Hungry.

There have been a handful of nasty reviews in this vein, actually - nasty comments about Jennifer Lawrence being "too fat" to play Katniss, &c.
posted by elizardbits at 5:52 PM on March 25, 2012


The issue I have with The Hunger Games premise is that post-apocalyptic Appalachia has better dental care than present-day Appalachia.
posted by sourwookie at 5:54 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


They don't go to the dentist by choice?
posted by maryr at 5:54 PM on March 25, 2012


nasty comments about Jennifer Lawrence being "too fat" to play Katniss

That does sound nasty. She's certainly not fat. The film simply fails at representing what it's like to starve, which is a large theme of the book. In fact (SPOILER), there's a point when she's unconscious for two days, and doesn't seem to be especially dehydrated or hungry when she comes out of it.

It's as minor complaint, but a valid one.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 6:00 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


@maryr, not sure if you're serious or not. Present-day Appalachia has pretty crappy teeth. It's kind of due to choice and kind of due to being both rural and poor.

A huge number of people where I live (rural Appalachia) do not drink from municipal water supplies with fluoride AND ALSO do not put dental care above the multitudinous other needs clamoring to be met on a 9.00/hr wage. It shows in their teeth once they hit about thirty.

A person's drinking water is not fluoridated if it comes from a well. Fluoride does wonders for preventing tooth decay. It's true that people with well water can get fluoride treatments from their dentist (and thus not miss out on its benefits) if they go to the dentist in the first place, but they don't. If you're in an urban or suburban area with a municipal water supply, you may not have a lot of experience with what teeth look like for people who grow up without fluoride or regular dental care. It's not pretty.

The people in present-day Appalachia choose not to go to the dentist because they'd rather spend their money on other things. (Rent. Car payment. Groceries. Beer. Lottery tickets. Electricity. New clutch for the pickup. Drugs. Child support. Fines for crimes. Satellite TV. Cell phone. Clothing for school for the kids. Snow tires for the car. Rifle. Deer license. ATV.) Dental care can be put off, a lot of the time, for more pressing needs... and it frequently is. I said above "multitudinous other needs clamoring to be met on a $9.00/hr wage" and that's a reality for many people who live in my neck of the woods.

This group of people also smokes (or chews) tobacco at a higher rate than upscale socioeconomic groups. The damage done by such activities to teeth/gums is significant and likely to go unaddressed where more upscale groups would have it seen to. This also contributes to the problems with their teeth.

In Appalachia, the condition of one's teeth is a very, very good marker for socioeconomic status. (This is one of the most glaring flaws in the otherwise delightful poor-rural-people movie Winter's Bone -- all the people, including Teardrop, the meth addicted uncle, have their teeth.)
posted by which_chick at 6:28 PM on March 25, 2012


Re: Bunny Ultramod's takeaway: I sort of figured that Haymitch's issues had a little bit to do with his own Hunger Games win and a whole lot more to do with having to send two kids from his hometown to die once a years for the past thirty years. I'd wanna drink too.

Even if you win, you lose. For the rest of your life.
posted by Doleful Creature at 6:30 PM on March 25, 2012 [6 favorites]


I don't really know how to respond to the [giant mass of] people that keep whining about the state of Katniss, weight-wise. No, she doesn't look like she's starving. But what would you have her do- starve? When you complain about her lack of malnourishment, all I hear is "This actress didn't starve herself for this movie I watched, and now my entertainment experience is totally ruined!"
It's weirdly [and disturbingly] fitting, when you consider the movie you're complaining about.
posted by FirstMateKate at 6:43 PM on March 25, 2012 [10 favorites]


Haven't seen the movie, but seriously, not everyone can be Christian Bale in The Machinist (nor should we want them to be).
posted by zorrine at 6:49 PM on March 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


People came to see this for the fashion?

And here I thought everyone was just reminicing over Battle Royale
posted by Slackermagee at 6:50 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


It's entirely possible to make somebody look malnourished through makeup.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 6:50 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


You don't think The Capitol would add fluoride to whatever mood-altering chemicals they are putting in the districts' water?
posted by Rock Steady at 6:51 PM on March 25, 2012


The movie was good, totally deserving of its 83% Rotten Tomatoes rating. It is not a 95% movie. It would probably need to be rated R to really become that 95% movie that it could have been.

I think the folks whining about starved looking actors (and unwittingly reinforcing horrible body image issues) are reacting to that feeling that film overall should have been more brutal.

But then it probably wouldn't have made 200 million bucks opening weekend.
posted by Doleful Creature at 6:52 PM on March 25, 2012


Can I ask that legitimate complaints that poverty is not being represented as poverty not be recast as whining? There is substance to that complaint. After all, it's a huge part of the text of the book, and undermines a lot of the movie, which seeks to contrast their experience of starvation with the sudden orgy of rich foods they are given in the capitol.

It's the reason the book has its name after all. As I recall, the winner wins extra rations of food for their district.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:06 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


It's The Hunger Games As Played By Kids Who Aren't Actually Hungry.

Katniss is not supposed to be on the verge of death. She hunts, she keeps her family in decent if not amazing levels of nutrition. Peta's doing OK too, since his parents are bakers.

The hunger part of the games is in the games, not necessarily in the districts. Although the districts are not awash with food, and there are starving people, not everyone is starving. Most people are getting by.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 7:16 PM on March 25, 2012 [6 favorites]


It's weird that people would focus on Lawrence being too well fed looking, given that one of the points of the first book is that she realizes that she is relatively well fed and healthy because of her hunting. It's Rue and some of the other tributes who are in much worse shape.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 7:17 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


To be clear, I am sympathetic to the fact that discussing an actresses weight contributes to a general climate of body image issues. But Kristin Stewart was represented as dying of malnourishment in Twilight without being made to seem appealing for it.

And my complaint is not about Katnss, specifically. I just feel the Dorothea Lange parts of the movie were like a mining community as acted out by Derek Zoolander.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:18 PM on March 25, 2012


Eh - the movie didn't do a good job of conveying the 'starving' aspect of the book, so it's entirely plausible that the characters would be physically strong. If you're good enough to be able to use a bow to hunt (assuming a draw strength of 40 pounds or thereabouts) and cavort about in forests, you're going to have to be pretty physically fit, and I'd rather have a movie reflect that fact instead of having the actress be stick-thin. And you know that if they had made Lawrence lose weight for the role, it'd be fashionable, attractive weight loss, not scary-bad-sick-malnourished weight loss.

On the topic of fashion, it completely threw me out of the movie when I saw her leather boots during the beginning, 'cause for a bunch of coal miners living in shacks, those were some really nice quality boots. And the teeth! Christ, those are some shiny white Chiclets those kids have going there.

Also, it amused me greatly to find out that fans who like Katniss and Peeta together call themselves Team Peeniss, which made me cackle at inappropriate times.

On preview: It's the reason the book has its name after all. As I recall, the winner wins extra rations of food for their district.

Did they do that in the movie? I honestly don't remember food and/or rations being a huge topic in the movie (lol fail) other than a throwaway line or two.
posted by zennish at 7:19 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I honestly don't remember food and/or rations being a huge topic in the movie (lol fail) other than a throwaway line or two.

Did they include the part where Katniss is starving as a child and Peeta throws her a piece of bread?

(I really dislike Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. His face is wrong for the role, and he's not tall enough.)
posted by lali at 7:47 PM on March 25, 2012


Did they include the part where Katniss is starving as a child and Peeta throws her a piece of bread?

Barely.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:48 PM on March 25, 2012


Did they include the part where Katniss is starving as a child and Peeta throws her a piece of bread?

Barely.


They cut to that scene at least three times from what I remember a few hours ago.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 7:50 PM on March 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Ugh, those costume designs for the dress. So many of them seem like they're just a sexy, risque pose with some outlining fire.
posted by Slackermagee at 7:51 PM on March 25, 2012


Yes, but it is edited in such a way that it looks like Peeta is just throwing bread to pigs. We don't see the exchange of bread, we don't know why Catness is there, and it's finally explained in about two lines of dialogue.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:51 PM on March 25, 2012


Yes, but it is edited in such a way that it looks like Peeta is just throwing bread to pigs. We don't see the exchange of bread, we don't know why Catness is there, and it's finally explained in about two lines of dialogue.

The first time, it doesn't directly show that he's giving it to her. Rather as the film progresses, the full nature of his action is explain finally culminating with him mentioning it in the dialog and the importance of it. I've never read the book and only saw the movie tonight, but that's the take-away I left with: Katniss was hungry and Peeta deliberately ensured that some of the bread would get to her (though he lacked the forwardness to hand it to her directly).
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:07 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Jennifer Lawrence got paid $500k for a movie which grossed $160million in one weekend. She is going to make bank for the sequels. $$$.
posted by Justinian at 8:10 PM on March 25, 2012


I haven't read the books, but why is everyone starving in this world? What happened to all the food?
posted by delmoi at 8:12 PM on March 25, 2012


Ugh, those costume designs for the dress. So many of them seem like they're just a sexy, risque pose with some outlining fire.

And the rest of them look like stoned morlocks.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:13 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Jennifer Lawrence got paid $500k for a movie which grossed $160million in one weekend. She is going to make bank for the sequels. $$$.

Unless she signed a terrible contract for all three movies. One hopes she had a decent agent.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:14 PM on March 25, 2012


And here I thought everyone was just reminicing over Battle Royale

I was reminiscing about Theseus and the Minotaur and Running Man! But that's just how I roll.
posted by amarynth at 8:29 PM on March 25, 2012


So a conversation about the hunger games has turned into a conversation about the hunger artist.
posted by The Whelk at 8:48 PM on March 25, 2012


I haven't read the books, but why is everyone starving in this world? What happened to all the food?

Basically, through an unexplained series of catastrophes/disasters/wars the nations of North America have been replaced with the government of Panem, which rules the outlying districts from afar with an iron fist. They are kept at subsistence levels as punishment for an unsuccessful rebellion some 75 or so years ago (and also to keep them too weak to rebel again), though some districts are cozier with the Capitol than others through their subservience, and are relatively well-fed, while the others suffer.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:54 PM on March 25, 2012


Hmm, I was going to say that sounds kind of impractical, but then again there's North Korea.
posted by delmoi at 9:35 PM on March 25, 2012


MetaFilter: Sounds kind of impractical, but then again, there's North Korea.

The districts are small (compared to current population levels), isolated from one another, and hyper-specialized industrially. District 12 (where our heroes are from) is the coal-mining district.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:59 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Now that I've seen the Hunger Games, I look forward to reading the book, and eventually seeing the sequels and Battle Royale and comparing the lot.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:00 PM on March 25, 2012


...it amused me greatly to find out that fans who like Katniss and Peeta together call themselves Team Peeniss, which made me cackle at inappropriate times.

Also: Katpee. Heh.

And yeah, the book makes a big deal about families starving, about young women selling their bodies to the head Peacekeeper for food, about the need for children to take out annual tesserae for grain and oil to augment their meagre supply (which is why Gale had 42 entries in the fishbowl), how hungry little Rue couldn't believe her good fortune in getting a whole roasted bird leg for supper. This was not made that all clear in the film.

But the costumes! The chariot costumes made me stop breathing. My supermarket cashier yesterday was wearing gold eyeliner just like Cinna's.
posted by mochapickle at 10:03 PM on March 25, 2012


Actually, Bunny Ultramod, the "hair and teeth" observation is particularly cogent. I would expect that these "contestants" would betray more suggestions of the limitations of their upbringing, both physically and culturally.

It goes much farther than that, pretty much any role other than "Modern day American" is given away by the hair and the teeth. Spend enough time on the reservation among the savages and you will realize how incredibly unnatural our gleaming perfect appearances are. People in their natural state have crooked teeth, missing teeth, rotting teeth, etc., etc. You get quite used to it. It's one of those minor but innumerable little culture shocks returning to North America, the big rack of perfect ivory teetrh and the lips peeled all the way back to the gum line in a massive smile.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:33 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


At a certain point, it's idiotic to argue about "Why doesn't everyone look frail and withering???" Well, because it's a movie. Because it isn't a cartoon. Because these are real, actual actors. Because this isn't a documentary. Because you have an imagination, and the point is that you understand what's going on, and the theme here is scarcity of all kinds, not just food.

Also, vampires do not look like that because THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES.
posted by incessant at 10:36 PM on March 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


Wait. There are vampires in The Hunger Games? That's an aspect of the books which I hadn't heard about until just now.
posted by hippybear at 10:38 PM on March 25, 2012


It's a brilliant - disturbing? - marketing move to have all the tie-in products make us inhabitants of the capitol.

I fear you're giving them entirely way too much credit.
posted by MikeKD at 10:51 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Was the point of this derail to make me feel pride in my crooked teeth? Cause now I do.
posted by The Whelk at 10:59 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Also, vampires do not look like that because THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES.

This argument doesn't work for me. Realistic fiction gets to get away with a big lie, such as "vampires exist," but only because they make it credible by telling the million little lies that support it. And this is a film that exists within the parameters of realistic fiction. It piles detail upon detail to make the fiction credible.

Even unrealistic fiction has its own demands. The world of Jules Verne may not have been realistic, but it was consistent in its unreality -- it all seemed to exist in the same universe. To ignore elements that build the credibility of the universe because, hey, it's all bullshit anyway, undermines the carefully constructed fictions of the world. And if you want us to care about the characters, as this film does, and you want us to be concerned for their fate, as this film does, you need to make sure you have invested enough effort into supporting their story as possible. Because each abandoned detail whittles away at the credibility of the story.

THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES is a cop out. In the world of the movie, there are, and they must exist completely in that world, and consistently, or why tell the story? And why expect the audience to care about it?
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:26 PM on March 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


At a certain point, it's idiotic to argue about "Why doesn't everyone look frail and withering???" Well, because it's a movie. Because it isn't a cartoon. Because these are real, actual actors. Because this isn't a documentary. Because you have an imagination, and the point is that you understand what's going on, and the theme here is scarcity of all kinds, not just food.
Also, vampires do not look like that because THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES.


Heh. This is right up there with "Why do vampires breathe?" Because as Joss Whedon pointed out, you can't find any actors who don't need to. Also, even in this day and age, they're not going to have the actors totally starve themselves to death (or hire actors with bad teeth, or for that matter, actors that are not pretty because then nobody would watch) to the point where they can't be up to the physical demands of this movie.

Back to the point, I want to see this movie because I want to see how they do the outfits. (No, I haven't gone yet. Avoiding the hordes.) Especially book 2 because as one of those links pointed out, there's no way in hell that could be done for real.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:31 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


And if you want us to care about the characters, as this film does, and you want us to be concerned for their fate, as this film does, you need to make sure you have invested enough effort into supporting their story as possible.

Lionsgate has 155 million dollars that say they invested plenty effort in supporting the story.

If you can't suspend disbelief enough to understand you are watching a movie and these are actors and really and truly no one long long ago in a galaxy far far away would ever actually speak English, then I just don't know what to tell you.

Also, we don't starve people to be in movies.

OK, that's not quite true. But it should be. And thankfully they didn't starve these actors.
posted by incessant at 12:14 AM on March 26, 2012 [3 favorites]


Re:
Spend enough time on the reservation among the savages and you will realize how incredibly unnatural our gleaming perfect appearances are. People in their natural state have crooked teeth, missing teeth, rotting teeth, etc., etc.

Weston A. Price might have something to say about this.

I admit that Americans' freakishly white teeth are a bit over the top, but there's nothing amazing about our overall dental health or even straightness. Rather, many other unnamed european societies just have terrible teeth. I've been to more than a few developing countries where people had wonderful teeth. (Betel nut juice, chewing tobacco, or other ethnic stimulants aside.)

I find it completely plausible that people eating through more of a hunter gatherer lifestyle might have better teeth than many Americans today. On the other hand, the son of a baker would probably have pretty gnarly teeth compared to Katniss. (Especially as the books mention that the local grain is quite coarse.)

Only just read the first book, but generally unimpressed with Collins' division of labor across Panem. District 12 is the coal district, District "X" is the agricultural district, District "Y" is the electronics district. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but maybe it will be explained in later books.
posted by Telf at 2:32 AM on March 26, 2012


This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but maybe it will be explained in later books.

Don't hold your breath. My best guess is that the specialistion of the work of the districts is to prevent them from being self sufficient. If you have to depend on the Capitol to ship you grain, you can't rebel, or you'll starve.

Regarding District 12, I imagine it exists because there's a coal mine there, and the Capitol needs coal. They don't care what else District 12 could be used for.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:53 AM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Here's a map of the districts over the US and a description of each district's industry (if it's known). District 12 is coal mining because District 12 is former Appalachia -- where all the coal mines are.
posted by olinerd at 4:52 AM on March 26, 2012


Can I ask that legitimate complaints that poverty is not being represented as poverty not be recast as whining?

Sure, but I didn't really see the above complaints as legitimate, or even about poverty. They were about how the actress looked. But not Gale, not Peeta. The girl. She was too big, too fat, too pretty. I
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:32 AM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


The book explains Katniss and Gale being better-nourished because of their hunting, and Peeta because he's the bakery's son, so this doesn't need to be a thing, at least with these three characters.
posted by padraigin at 6:01 AM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Also, we don't starve people to be in movies.

Nobody is asking that actual actors be starved for a film. In fact, I have said exactly the opposite.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 7:10 AM on March 26, 2012


The first time, it doesn't directly show that he's giving it to her. Rather as the film progresses, the full nature of his action is explain finally culminating with him mentioning it in the dialog and the importance of it. I've never read the book and only saw the movie tonight, but that's the take-away I left with: Katniss was hungry and Peeta deliberately ensured that some of the bread would get to her (though he lacked the forwardness to hand it to her directly).

Correct. And the movie isn't as direct as the book: Peeta's mom is yelling at him, because he burnt the bread that he's throwing out; he burnt the bread so that he could give some to Katniss.
posted by inigo2 at 7:39 AM on March 26, 2012


Here's a map of the districts over the US and a description of each district's industry (if it's known).

That's fanon, though, not canon, right?


tbh all I care about right now is that Hunger Games beat all 4 opening weekend box office takes for Twilight. HA.
posted by elizardbits at 9:09 AM on March 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


Also, even in this day and age, they're not going to...hire actors with bad teeth…

Come on, there are plenty of British actors who would jump at this -- and it'd be a lock for a BAFTA as a thinly-veiled allegory for the U.K. or the U.S.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:29 AM on March 26, 2012


tbh all I care about right now is that Hunger Games beat all 4 opening weekend box office takes for Twilight. HA.

I found it interesting that, though the audience with which I saw the movie was mostly comprised of teen-aged girls, during the Twilight teaser, there was hardly a peep. No clapping, squee-ing, whoooooooo-ing at Taylor Lautner or any of the other noises I usually hear girls make during a Twilight trailer.

Also, whenever they showed Gale watching sadly as Katniss and Peeta canoodled during the games, the audience laughed.
posted by amarynth at 11:21 AM on March 26, 2012


Also, whenever they showed Gale watching sadly as Katniss and Peeta canoodled during the games, the audience laughed.

Heh, same here. Though my audience was teenage girls, a ton of gay men, and couples.
posted by inigo2 at 11:39 AM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


It was a great movie to watch with an audience. I heard some sniffles and sobs around the theater after Rue was killed.
posted by Gordafarin at 1:32 PM on March 26, 2012


I think it's worth pointing out that while aspects may not have matched up with how readers read the books, they were presumably fine with Suzanne Collins, who both co-wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film.

And FWIW, I don't think very many people in this thread have a very functional idea of hunger. I think people are conflating it with mid-80s "Feed the World" Ethiopian starvation. I read the Hunger Games to be much more like WWII rationing in Britain, in that whether you are getting it from ration coupons, trade, theft, illegal hunting, or whatever, most families are using every bit of all available foods to successfully meet a minimum caloric requirement. The society could not function as a workforce otherwise. That does not mean people are not hungry between meals, or that an extra meal is not an unbelievable treat. "Food insecurity--chronic malnutrition, persistent hunger, even starvation--still afflicts more than one in seven of the world's people."
posted by DarlingBri at 4:48 PM on March 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


Ehhh, I think it is extremely unlikely that Collins had much if any input on aspects of the film involving costuming, cinematography, direction, etc. It's not how hollywood works. Having a producer credit doesn't actually necessarily mean anything these days. Everybody and her dog has a producer credit.
posted by Justinian at 12:38 AM on March 27, 2012


I have now seen the movie twice and may see it again soon just cause I can't stop looking at Effie Trinket's face.
posted by The Whelk at 9:26 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


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