Hunger Games #1

[UmphreakDomer]

Well guys, the movie that my girlfriend and I both worked on last summer has become the #1 movie in the country!

$155M opening weekend. Best opening for a non sequel ever, and good enough for the third best opening ever (behind Harry Potter Deathly Hallows part 2: $168M and The Dark Knight: $158M).

Hope any of you that go see it, enjoy it and stay for the credits. My name is Patrick and hers is Tarin! lol!

I'm just happy we crushed Twilights openings. It's the little things guys....

 

[tommyIRISH23]

Loved the movie! It was awesome. Congrats

 

[BobD]

Congratulations! What did you do in the movie?

I've heard good things about Hunger Games. Is it a movie for younger folks or will an old dude like me enjoy it?

 

[SaltyND24]

Definitely enjoyed the movie...Will have to read the books now!

 

[CarrollVermin]

Congrats on the movie. It was great...brought the book to life.

 

[UmphreakDomer]

Congratulations! What did you do in the movie?

I've heard good things about Hunger Games. Is it a movie for younger folks or will an old dude like me enjoy it?

its a book that is found in the "teen" section, but i think the movie can be enjoyed by all ages. my parents loved it and my girlfriends parents loved it. maybe they're biased! lol!

its pretty close to a four quadrant movie. i think you'll enjoy it.

 

[scubastevefl]

I read this board all the time, never post but I read those books a couple years ago and loved them, i went to see the movie opening night and loved it, congrats. Tho even if you watched the movie, read the books the movie did leave a lot of good stuff out.

 

[OrlaNDomer]

So happy that the movie followed the book closely. Enjoyed the movie as much as reading the book and can't wait for the next one to come out!

 

[woolybug25]

Umphreak, you dog you! I loved those books. I embarrassingly read all three in a week. The wifey and I are going to see the movie on Thursday.

What did your work entail?

 

[Ndaccountant]

I saw it this weekend with my wife.

She read the books, I have not. I really liked the movie, although there were some aspects that I had to ask her about after the movie.

 

[Rhode Irish]

Hey man, congrats on the success at the box office. I'm sure that feels good. And I'm serious when I say that, but also: this movie will be the latest phenomenon to continue the deterioration of popular culture in America. All this fantasy nonsense - the Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. - is embarrassing. I get that there is no accounting for the taste of 15 year old girls, but there aren't enough 15 year old girls to set a box office record. The rest of us should be better than that.

 

[NDinL.A.]

As I was telling Umphreak a year ago, I've read the book to my 8th grade classes the past 2 years. They love that book. I mean LOVE that damn book. Getting 8th graders to beg you to read to them is pretty much unheard of, but they couldn't wait to come to my class so that they could find out what would happen next. Unfortunately (or fortunately), many of them inevitably can't wait and they buy the book and read ahead of me.

I read all three (never enjoyed the Harry Potter books nor Twilight), and I couldn't put them down. They're really well-written and enjoyable, light reads. Normally I would read heavier novels, but these ones were really good IMO.

My current 8th grade students have been talking about the movie for the past several months, and I know several of them went to see it this weekend. Looking forward to hearing about it tomorrow in class...

 

[IrishinSyria]

So far I've read the first book and I'm into the second and watched the first movie. Overall, I found both the book and the movie to be great, though I wish the whole "shaky cam" thing would die a quick death...I had to step outside about an hour through the film. Also, I find that there's a mismatch in the quality of the story and the quality of the writing, at least in the first book the principle "show, don't tell" is completely ignored.

All that being said, I'm very glad I went against my instincts and picked up the books. It's really an excellent series with strong characters and a compelling story. I just recommended the film to my parents... it's a story that can be appreciated by any generation.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Hey man, congrats on the success at the box office. I'm sure that feels good. And I'm serious when I say that, but also: this movie will be the latest phenomenon to continue the deterioration of popular culture in America. All this fantasy nonsense - the Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. - is embarrassing. I get that there is no accounting for the taste of 15 year old girls, but there aren't enough 15 year old girls to set a box office record. The rest of us should be better than that.

I take it you haven't read the books or seen the movie? I'm not going to lie, I felt the same way as you did when I heard about the series. I've walked out of the only Twilight movie I've ever seen, so believe me when I say I had a healthy dose of skepticism when I picked up the book. Twilight these books are not. Think Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451 or Heart of Darkness and you'll be much closer to the mark. The books (at least the first one) use a dystopian future/fantasy setting as a background to tell a story about retaining (or losing) humanity in desperate situations. The writing is not A+, but the subject matter really is excellent...

 

[UmphreakDomer]

Umphreak, you dog you! I loved those books. I embarrassingly read all three in a week. The wifey and I are going to see the movie on Thursday.

What did your work entail?

enjoy wooly, and thanks.

i was hired as a production assistant. out main responsibility is maintaining the integrity of the shot. keeping people quiet. making sure its safe. helping out anyone who needs help.

some other responsibilities that i had on this film--thats noticeable in the finished product--is in the capitol scenes--all of the background or extras in the Cesar Flickerman show/walking around the capital/in the press box of the training room/ and at the tribute parade--i get all of those people through hair/makeup and wardrobe. then once on set--i put them in motion.

the close up crowd reactions during the parade--those people were actually reacting to me running by, not the horses. insider info--

 

[UmphreakDomer]

Hey man, congrats on the success at the box office. I'm sure that feels good. And I'm serious when I say that, but also: this movie will be the latest phenomenon to continue the deterioration of popular culture in America. All this fantasy nonsense - the Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. - is embarrassing. I get that there is no accounting for the taste of 15 year old girls, but there aren't enough 15 year old girls to set a box office record. The rest of us should be better than that.

thanks....i think(?)...

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I too saw the movie this weekend. We enjoyed it. Congrats.

I was disappointed in the lack of character depth though. The book did a great job of really building up the story line and adding dimension to the main characters. I felt the movie did a poor job of replicating this. I realize it would've made a 2.5 hour long movie into a 3.5 hour long one, but sometimes those little details are really what sets movies apart (imo). Overall, I thought it was entertaining and did a good job of bringing the book to life. Regadless, I'll be there for parts two and three! (PS. I hate that I'm hooked on this teeny-bopper series...but at least it's not Twilight!)

 

[IrishLax]

Hey man, congrats on the success at the box office. I'm sure that feels good. And I'm serious when I say that, but also: this movie will be the latest phenomenon to continue the deterioration of popular culture in America. All this fantasy nonsense - the Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. - is embarrassing. I get that there is no accounting for the taste of 15 year old girls, but there aren't enough 15 year old girls to set a box office record. The rest of us should be better than that.

You haven't read the books, have you? Putting them in the same breath as Twilight is like equating Chipotle to Taco Bell.

Like Wooly, I read all of the books in a week (actually, 4 days over a 3 day weekend + 1 evening) because they were just that good on so many levels. Good writing, great story, and a lot of deeper questions raised about a myriad of different topics. I finished the books months ago and my girlfriend and I will still have spontaneous "you know what I just realized?" conversations about parts of the books.

 

[Ndaccountant]

You haven't read the books, have you? Putting them in the same breath as Twilight is like equating Chipotle to Taco Bell.

Like Wooly, I read all of the books in a week (actually, 4 days over a 3 day weekend + 1 evening) because they were just that good on so many levels. Good writing, great story, and a lot of deeper questions raised about a myriad of different topics. I finished the books months ago and my girlfriend and I will still have spontaneous "you know what I just realized?" conversations about parts of the books.

I actually find it quite compelling that the political heads for both parties are talking up the movie/books as a way to say "here is what your future would look like if you continue supporting the other party".

I don't want to turn this into a political discussion, but I found that to be amusing.

 

[Irish4Life09]

enjoy wooly, and thanks.

i was hired as a production assistant. out main responsibility is maintaining the integrity of the shot. keeping people quiet. making sure its safe. helping out anyone who needs help.

some other responsibilities that i had on this film--thats noticeable in the finished product--is in the capitol scenes--all of the background or extras in the Cesar Flickerman show/walking around the capital/in the press box of the training room/ and at the tribute parade--i get all of those people through hair/makeup and wardrobe. then once on set--i put them in motion.

the close up crowd reactions during the parade--those people were actually reacting to me running by, not the horses. insider info--

Very cool story Umphreak.Are you in the film industry, or did you find another way to work for the movie? That's really cool.
Btw, I havn't read the books yet, but went to see the movie and I was wowed.I almost cried in the emotional scene with Rue at the end,that was touching. And for anyone that has kids that hasn't seen it yet, it's great but it is a little graphic(not as bad as you might be lead to believe though.)

 

[UmphreakDomer]

Very cool story Umphreak.Are you in the film industry, or did you find another way to work for the movie? That's really cool.
Btw, I havn't read the books yet, but went to see the movie and I was wowed.I almost cried in the emotional scene with Rue at the end,that was touching. And for anyone that has kids that hasn't seen it yet, it's great but it is a little graphic(not as bad as you might be lead to believe though.)

yes i am, as well as, my girlfriend. we met on the set of "Detroit 187" almost 2 years ago.

been doing this work for almost 10 years now. this is the biggest budget film, with the biggest box office draw i've ever been on. but i have worked on "24", "six feet under", "Nip/Tuck", a various other tv shows and movies, with varying degrees of commercial and/or critical success (and failures).

the girl that played Rue is one of the most committed child actors ive ever had the pleasure of working with. when she laid down to start the scene, no one noticed a ground hive of hornets. she was stung three times and never broke character until "cut" was yelled. then just simply said, "i need a minute. i think i was stung." unbelievable.

 

[Irish4Life09]

yes i am, as well as, my girlfriend. we met on the set of "Detroit 187" almost 2 years ago.

been doing this work for almost 10 years now. this is the biggest budget film, with the biggest box office draw i've ever been on. but i have worked on "24", "six feet under", "Nip/Tuck", a various other tv shows and movies, with varying degrees of commercial and/or critical success (and failures).

the girl that played Rue is one of the most committed child actors ive ever had the pleasure of working with. when she laid down to start the scene, no one noticed a ground hive of hornets. she was stung three times and never broke character until "cut" was yelled. then just simply said, "i need a minute. i think i was stung." unbelievable.

wow,thats cool.

 

[greyhammer90]

Hey man, congrats on the success at the box office. I'm sure that feels good. And I'm serious when I say that, but also: this movie will be the latest phenomenon to continue the deterioration of popular culture in America. All this fantasy nonsense - the Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. - is embarrassing. I get that there is no accounting for the taste of 15 year old girls, but there aren't enough 15 year old girls to set a box office record. The rest of us should be better than that.

Since everyone has already defended the Hunger Games, I just have to say that putting Harry Potter in the same category as Twilight is wrong. I've read all 3 series, (yes even Twilight, because I don't just blindly hate things, I get to know them and then REALLY hate them) and Hunger Games is well written, if unoriginal, HP is fantastic, (though it does borrow elements from other fantasy works), and Twilight is cancer.

****Serious warning to all Fathers****
DO NOT LET YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER READ TWILIGHT. It's the most frighteningly backwards book I've read in a long time. It literally tells the story of a girl who is completely dependent on men and is shown to have no ability to control her own life without the guidance of a boyfriend or husband. Bella is a horrible role model for young girls, she's the anti-Katniss. (Also, the entire book has a really creepy sexual abstinence theme running through it. While I'm sure you dads think that this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it uses guilt and fear instead of personal responsibility to motivate the abstinence.)

 

[Rhode Irish]

Lax & Syria, you guys are right. I have not given the books a chance. When the Justin Bieber set is into something, I'm usually not. Ignoring (or trying to ignore) that stuff has worked pretty well for me so far. I did realize that the books set out to tackle some serious topics, but I can't get over the idea that if the books are enjoyed so widely then there can't be anything too sophisticated about them.

That the books were so ambitious is almost worse: they couldn't settle for being just a simple teenage fantasy, they had to try to dress up like an adult book and confront complicated ideas. Goosebumps didn't try to make a grand statement about humanity. I think the author of these books should know her role.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Lax & Syria, you guys are right. I have not given the books a chance. When the Justin Bieber set is into something, I'm usually not. Ignoring (or trying to ignore) that stuff has worked pretty well for me so far. I did realize that the books set out to tackle some serious topics, but I can't get over the idea that if the books are enjoyed so widely then there can't be anything too sophisticated about them.

That the books were so ambitious is almost worse: they couldn't settle for being just a simple teenage fantasy, they had to try to dress up like an adult book and confront complicated ideas. Goosebumps didn't try to make a grand statement about humanity. I think the author of these books should know her role.

RL takes offense to your post.

 

[woolybug25]

Lax & Syria, you guys are right. I have not given the books a chance. When the Justin Bieber set is into something, I'm usually not. Ignoring (or trying to ignore) that stuff has worked pretty well for me so far. I did realize that the books set out to tackle some serious topics, but I can't get over the idea that if the books are enjoyed so widely then there can't be anything too sophisticated about them.

That the books were so ambitious is almost worse: they couldn't settle for being just a simple teenage fantasy, they had to try to dress up like an adult book and confront complicated ideas. Goosebumps didn't try to make a grand statement about humanity. I think the author of these books should know her role.

She'll consider your request as she rolls around in her millions of dollars. lol


Seriously, these types of films have been around forever. People probably felt the same way as you when other young adult books were made into movies. Movies like: The Princess Bride, The Never Ending Story, Sphere and even Orwell's Animal Farm are of the same style. So i'm not sure if saying that this a new trend hurting society is accurate at all. Hollywood has been making films off of young adult books forever.

 

[Irishnuke]

Hey man, congrats on the success at the box office. I'm sure that feels good. And I'm serious when I say that, but also: this movie will be the latest phenomenon to continue the deterioration of popular culture in America. All this fantasy nonsense - the Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. - is embarrassing. I get that there is no accounting for the taste of 15 year old girls, but there aren't enough 15 year old girls to set a box office record. The rest of us should be better than that.

Really? You tell the dude congrats and then sh1t all over the results of his work. I don't know what you do for work but I'd like to think that if you created a thread about something you accomplished, people wouldn't tell you you're contributing to the downfall of American culture.

Saw the movie last night and thought it was awesome. Mostly adults in the crowd too.

 

[ClausentoTate]

Six Feet Under is the best series ever on TV or at least it had the best finale. I'm supremely jealous you had a chance to work on it.

 

[theclassickiller]

Umphreak, does your name mean that you are an Umphrey's McGee fan?

I haven't seen or read The Hunger Games (I almost never go see movies because I usually fall asleep in the theater as a result of my horrible attention span ... which means I paid to take a nap) but your name makes me think I would like you!

Also, congrats on your work!



(Don't take offense to the napping thing, it's not you... it's me. Truth is, I fell asleep during the last two Lord of the Rings and one of the newer Batman movies and haven't been to the theater since.)

 

[ClausentoTate]

I'm very surprised that mainstream America is all aboard for the HG premise. I guarantee they wouldn't go near something like Battle Royale, which is pretty close to the same thing. I watched the movie this weekend and in the row in front of me was a group of 5 10-12 year old Asian girls (if they were even that old) and one Dad. I can't believe they were even allowed to go, but they loved it. You'd think kids slaughtering themselves wouldn't be so OK for most people.

I am just starting the books (mainly b/c the gf wants to talk about the other books in my presence). Lots of differences even by Chapter 4. A lot of things are going to need to be changed in #2/#3 to make up for what they changed in #1. It'll be interesting to see how they make up for some of the changes.

Spoilers:
My main gripes are -
1) Rue's character wasn't developed enough for me to care. In fact, other than Cato, none of the other district's characters were really developed at all. Was I supposed to assume that the black guy was from the same district as Rue in the beginning? Without paying special attention to the carts at the beginning I wouldn't have (and didn't) pick(ed) that up. I didn't know until I was told that they were from the same district.
2) Why no mention of District 13?
3) Why didn't they portray how starved they were or emphasize what the 'Hunger Games' has to do with FOOD? I didn't realize she was starving in the bread scene. I didn't realize he burned the bread on purpose. That's a pretty significant scene.
4) The dogs (after hearing what they're supposed to be) don't make much sense without having read the books. I was left wondering why they wanted to speed up the end of the games by killing them off without a battle between the kids and didn't understand the significance until talking with others.
5) I'm not a fan of jittery camera shots and there are TONS in the film, mostly to deter people from noticing the blood. Kind of like in the Bourne Ultimatum, it's pretty easy to get motion sickness if you think about it too much.
6) They didn't explain what that hand signal meant. I thought it was a HG ritual, not a sign of sacrifice and empathy.

Overall, I have to say that HG is pretty good and I love premise of that kind of distopian society. I can't wait to see what kind of political points they are going to make. Also, the books are almost too easy to read, if that makes any sense. I can see why every age group has been able to read these books.

OT but I sincerely hope some of the Garth Nix books get picked up in the future. Shade's Children would be a great one to turn into a feature film. I think Sabriel would be a good series to pick up as well. The towers... not so much.