The Hunger Games is a young adult novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was first published on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic, in hardcover.[1] It is written in the voice of sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, holds absolute power over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.
The book has been released as a paperback and also an audiobook and e-book. The Hunger Games had an initial print of 200,000 – twice doubled from the original 50,000. Since its initial release, the novel has been translated into 26 different languages and rights of production have been sold in 38 countries. The book received mostly positive reviews from major reviewers and authors. The Hunger Games is the first novel in The Hunger Games trilogy,[2] followed by Catching Fire, published on September 1, 2009,[3] and Mockingjay, published on August 24, 2010.[4]
A film adaptation, co-written and co-produced by Collins herself and directed by Gary Ross, was released worldwide on March 23, 2012. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.
‘I was so happy how it came together,’ actor tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Josh Hutcherson Photo: MTV News
In addition to obsessing over our own reactions to finally seeing “The Hunger Games,” we’ve been enjoying collecting the initial reactions from the castmembers themselves, whose pre-screening thoughts ranged from anxiety to excitement.
When MTV News caught up with Josh Hutcherson recently, we asked him what goes through his mind any time he screens a movie he worked on.
“Honestly, I just hope it doesn’t suck. That’s my mentality when I go in to watch one of my movies,” Hutcherson said with a self-deprecating smile. “I hope I don’t get bored watching it, and I didn’t watching this. I was so happy how it came together. It really, to me, was kind of the most interesting way this story could be told. The way Gary [Ross] captured the essence of the story and the characters, cinematically, is incredible.”
Hutcherson went on to say that the one thing that surprised him most was not any of the actors’ performances but the music backing them.
“I think the score, to me, was one of the most surprising things,” he revealed. “I think it’s really interesting. And some of the editing choices that were made were so cool and different and nothing I’d ever seen before. Like, in the scene when Jennifer is stung by the Tracker Jackers. That kind of cool editing thing. It really kind of blew my mind.”
But did it blow his mind enough to also evoke emotion via his tear ducts? Did Hutcherson shed any tears while watching the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-seller?
“Inside I did. I held it in,” he said, before adding that he’s not at all afraid to let the waterworks flow during movies, particularly those that star Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin. “When I saw ‘My Sister’s Keeper,’ I openly wept the entire movie, and I feel comfortable saying that.”
