The Hunger Games

[BigB08822]

Well, the film is based on the Hunger Games so if the Hunger Games is a ripoff then the film isn't really trying to rip off anything, is it? It's just a rip off because the book is. Unless there are things from the Japanese movie (I think I read it was made into a movie?) that they stole for this one as well, and not just things from the book. I would like to hear more about it, do you have any links to more discussion?

[iarispiralllyof]

I'm not that familiar with Battle Royale but I have a friend who is a fan of both and she's not particularly up in arms about the similarity.

Yeah the similarities and differences have been dissected to death in about a million angry fan rants from both sides.

It really depends on the individual and what they think after reading both books and watching the film (BR)
The author of Hunger Games claims she had never heard of the novel or the film Battle Royale before writing her book.
Personally, I find that extremely difficult to believe considering the very specific similarities and the fact that her novel was released almost 10 years later. There have been an endless collection of BR related websites, media and fanfiction/writings published online (in English) since its release. I feel she must've been exposed to it somehow but just can't recall exactly.

EDIT: sorry, I initially left one annoyed comment but it looks like that's going to turn this thread into another rehash of the same old arguments over this

[vesperholly]

Apparently I'm the only person who didn't have any problem with the 3rd book and didn't find that it was wildly different than my expectation. Obviously I didn't see everything coming (especially not what happened to Peeta) but I certainly expected from book 1 that we were headed in the direction of revolution against the capitol.

And I love Peeta. Bah to the haterz.

I also kind of adore the love triangle specifically because of how little Katniss cares about it. "Okay, whatever, fight over me over there. I really can't deal with you until this war is over."

Agreed to all of this. I loved all three, but the second was particularly brilliant in how the Games were set up. I thought the third book was really fantastic and a fitting conclusion. The way Katniss kept passing out in the middle of action and waking up three days later annoyed the crap out of me, though. And I thought Prim was an underdeveloped character.

Suzanne Collins is an evil master genius of twists and cliffhangers. Thank god my sister pre-loaded all three books on my Kindle as a birthday present, and I was on vacation "up north" so I had plenty of free time to devour them.

I CAN'T WAIT for the movie!! It looks amazing. The first full trailer gave me chills. SO GOOD.

[PrincessLeppard]

The way Katniss kept passing out in the middle of action and waking up three days later annoyed the crap out of me, though.

Exactly. It was lazy writing.

And don't get me started on all the characters who become expendable in the final book. Lame, lame, lame.

For the record, I've never heard of Battle Royale.

[michiruwater]

I saw Battle Royale years before I read The Hunger Games. When I first heard about The Hunger Games, I was peeved that Suzanne claimed to come up with the whole idea herself while watching news or something, because it was so clearly Battle Royale. But I'm over that now. I appreciate both of them for their takes on the same concept. I do wish that she would admit that the plot is a rip-off of BR though, even if she took it in a very different direction.

I loved the third book precisely because it defied my expectations. Typically, a girl like Katniss would become the hero in the 3rd book and kick everyone's ass. Instead, she suffered tremendously from PTSD and played a much less central role. I thought it was a lot more realistic. It never bothered me that some characters became expendable (though, I mean, I've read Game of Thrones, so...) though I was really surprised when [spoiler]Prim died.[/spoilers] I don't like it any less than the first two, though I do agree the ending was lazy, especially the conclusion of the love triangle. The last 4 or so pages were really unfulfilling.

And I also like Peeta :-P

TG and I can go have our own thread, haterz.

[Allen]

I saw Battle Royale years before I read The Hunger Games. When I first heard about The Hunger Games, I was peeved that Suzanne claimed to come up with the whole idea herself while watching news or something, because it was so clearly Battle Royale. But I'm over that now. I appreciate both of them for their takes on the same concept. I do wish that she would admit that the plot is a rip-off of BR though, even if she took it in a very different direction..

I didn't know much about The Hunger Games before I started reading the series. It wasn't far in that I thought that the major event of The Hunger Games was far to similar to that of Battle Royale. While, yes, the plot points are definitely different, I find it hard to believe that Collins came up with something so similar in concept to Battle Royale just by watching reruns of Survivor and footage from the Iraq war. Everything from the even number of boys and girls and the reason for having the event is similar.

That said, I obviously moved on and completed the series. I'm looking forward to the movie because I love Jennifer Lawrence. A lot of the characters I've seen in previews look enough like what I imagined that I don't think I'll be disappointed.

[Icetalavista]

How big a person is Jennifer Lawrence? I imagined Katniss as smallish and slight (all the tree-climbing episodes contributed to this).

The casting for Rue and Peeta looks pretty good. I'll be intrigued with whom they have playing Foxface.

Just read the Wikipedia entry re the film of Battle Royale - its US theatrical release was Dec 2011 and the Blu-Ray release is in March! Interesting. Bet the makers of BR get a bump in sales after Hunger Games is released.

Will be further interesting to see if there's debate in the US re violence against kids, and violence in film in general (as there was in Japan after the BR movie was released), after Hunger Games is released. US films I would guess are already much more violent than those of many countries already.

[michiruwater]

How big a person is Jennifer Lawrence? I imagined Katniss as smallish and slight (all the tree-climbing episodes contributed to this).

The casting for Rue and Peeta looks pretty good. I'll be intrigued with whom they have playing Foxface.

Jennifer is ~5'7". A bit tall for the character but it really depends upon how they frame her. I always picture Katniss as more 5'3", but that may be because that's my height

Jacqueline Emerson has been cast as Foxface, and I think she looks perfect.

[RockTheTassel]

I'm not that familiar with Battle Royale but I have a friend who is a fan of both and she's not particularly up in arms about the similarity.

I'm a fan of both Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, and I'm not bothered by the similarities either. I have no idea if Collins is telling the truth when she says she'd never heard of Battle Royale, but I think it's more possible than some say. Concepts like fighting to the death and taking on a corrupt government aren't new for either book. And while Battle Royale had some fans, I don't think it was that well known in the US before The Hunger Games controversy or even after it. Personally, I'd recommend both books.

I still haven't read the third book in the Hunger Games series. I can't decide if I want to or not.

[DAngel]

I had no idea the idea for The Hunger Games was such a blatant rip off of the Japanese book. How do people get away with that?

It's a lot like The Lion King ripping off Kimba the White Lion, isn't it?

I wonder if they get away with that because copyright law doesn't cover ideas? But with enough similarities, wouldn't it be considered plagiarism or something?

[Artemis@BC]

I'm looking forward to the movie(s). I thought the books were good, but not great. A really good premise (original or not!) and engaging characters, but rather unevenly executed. There were a lot of external factors affecting the author, and I give her the benefit of the doubt ... but I'm hoping that the movie will fix a lot of the problems I had with the book.

Plus I agree that Jennifer Lawrence is completely amazing.

[BigB08822]

I am starting book 2 tonight.

[love skating]

I loved the books and I love Peeta Hope the movies are good - worried a bit about the violence... different reading it vs. seeing it.

[ChelleC]

I'm 10 chapters into it now. I've decided it is good. But it's not grabbed me like Harry Potter did. I'm finding it very easy to put down.

[rfisher]

I'm 10 chapters into it now. I've decided it is good. But it's not grabbed me like Harry Potter did. I'm finding it very easy to put down.

That means you'll side with PL and me.

[BigB08822]

I'm 10 chapters into it now. I've decided it is good. But it's not grabbed me like Harry Potter did. I'm finding it very easy to put down.

You are talking about Book 1? It definitely is no Harry Potter but I had a hard time putting the book down. It was such easy reading that I finished it in no time.

[ChelleC]

You are talking about Book 1? It definitely is no Harry Potter but I had a hard time putting the book down. It was such easy reading that I finished it in no time.

Yes, the first book. It is very easy reading, and if I were to sit down and actually completely read it, I know it would take me no time at all.

[Rogue]

Lana Del Ray sings Hunger Games, a take-off of Video Games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OjnbRv3krA

[Ajax]

I read the books and enjoyed them for the most part, especially the satire on politics and on our culture's obsession with seeing people suffer and act horribly on reality TV. However I had one BIG qualm with Collins' writing style:

Spoiler

In I think all 3 books, she jumps right over the climactic occurrences and has Katniss relate to us after the fact. It completely ruins the emotional impact of the story! I'm thinking particularly of the second book where Katniss awakens in the rebels' hovercraft and narrates to us that the game master was in cahoots with Haymitch to get people out of the arena. Think how much more stunning it would be if we could actually see the scene of Katniss hearing this for the first time and getting her reaction. I'm pretty sure she does a similar thing in book 3, though I read it too long ago to remember exactly.

The movie trailer looks awesome. I can't wait to see it. I got chills at that overhead shot of the train and the music swelling up. Casting Lenny Kravitz as Cinna is GENIUS.

[PrincessLeppard]

Ajax, that is one of the main problems with book three. Katniss passes out! Here's what happened while she was passed out! Oooh! Katniss has to be sedated! Here's what happened while she was sedated!