As soon as it was announced that THE HUNGER GAMES would be made into a movie, there were rumblings about how Hollywood would be able to transfer the world of Panem to the big screen and secure a PG-13 rating, while maintaining the credibility of the book. Casey Scieszka, co-author of the book TO TIMBUKTU --- and uber fan of THE HUNGER GAMES --- weighs in on this, sharing her insights into just how this might be possible.
Not too long ago I was discussing THE HUNGER GAMES over a bottle of wine with one of my best friends. (Yes, we are old enough to drink wine and yet not too old to be reading Young Adult books.)
Since we’re both avid fans of the trilogy, we can’t wait for the movie, but somewhere in the middle of that bottle we realized that the film is going to face a really big challenge: how is it not going to make the violence titillating? Because if it does in fact do that, aren’t we the film audience no better than the audience from the book that gets off on watching the Games in the Capitol?
Most movie violence is titillating --- it’s what all those millions of people who go to action movies every year are paying to see. And you’d better believe THE HUNGER GAMES is an action movie. I just hope that the brutality in the film is used as a storytelling vehicle, not a cheap Hollywood thrill.
Also on the note of violence --- how on earth is the movie going to portray the ghastly gore that occurs in the games and still be PG-13? I’m thinking gross sound effects and blood splattering from out of frame onto a horrified Jennifer Lawrence.
Another strange conundrum is that the book has a pretty clear anti-materialism message, as seen in the negative portrayal of the image and material obsessed Capitol citizens, and yet there is a ton of Hunger Games merchandise including a line of themed nail polish that I am TOTALLY going to buy. And the sheer number of mockingjay pins that will appear in the halls of middle schools around the country this spring is bound to be impressive.
Ok, full disclosure, I’m considering getting one of those too. Anyone found a good one yet?
All in all, I think THE HUNGER GAMES movie faces the challenge that every book-turned-film faces, and that is to keep the whole thing moving quickly enough while still staying true to the nuances of the characters and story. I am especially interested to see how the film deals with Katniss’ narration. Part of me hopes they don’t do a voice over from her because that is corny ninety-nine percent of the time. But the other part of me thinks it might be essential to understanding her motivations. Katniss often acts in one way while secretly planning something else. Her narration also seems pretty key to understanding how she processes her love triangle with Gale and Peeta (go team Gale!), an essential element of the trilogy. As grating as her voice could be by the third book, I’m just not sure the series will be the same without it.
