Jack Goldstein - 101 Amazing Facts about the Hunger Games

Title Page

101 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE HUNGER GAMES

Jack Goldstein & Frankie Taylor

Publisher Information

Published in 2014 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The rights of Jack Goldstein and Frankie Taylor to be identified as the Authors of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright 2014 Jack Goldstein and Frankie Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

All facts contained within this book have been researched from reputable sources. If any information is found to be false, please contact the publishers, who will be happy to make corrections for future editions.

Introduction

Do you know which classical legend was a key inspiration for Suzanne Collins when she wrote The Hunger Games? Or why Katniss is so named? What amusing incidents happened to the cast and crew during filming? And what are the key differences between the books and the films? This fantastic book features over one hundred fascinating facts, split into sections such as costumes, actors, books, films, unbelievable facts and more.

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The Books

1. There are of course three books in the Hunger Games trilogy - The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay .
2. The trilogy has been translated into twenty-six different languages (at the time of writing this book), including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and even Estonian.
3. Almost thirty million books have been printed worldwide!
4. The first novel was published on the 14 th of September 2008.
5. Although the three books are wildly popular with fans and have been praised by literary critics, many people were disappointed that the third instalment did not tie up a number of loose ends.
6. The Hunger Games wasnt author Suzanne Collinss first foray into the creative world... she was one of the writers from 90s TV show Clarissa Explains it All.
7. Throughout the series, there are examples of Collins being influenced by classical history. One is in her choice of names - Cato, Cinna, Portia, Octavia and Flavia are all from ancient Rome.
8. Here is a quote about The Hunger Games from Twilight author Stephanie Meyer: I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldnt have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it. The Hunger Games is amazing.
9. Each book is written in a particular way - three sections, each containing nine chapters. The reason for this according to author Suzanne Collins is that she has screen and play-writing experience, and in those disciplines it is traditional (and considered good practice) to stick to this three act method.
10. Collins was listed in Time Magazines list of 2010s most influential people.

Jennifer Lawrence

1. Jennifer Shrader Lawrence graduated from high school two years early with a 3.9 grade point average. She had decided that she wanted to pursue a future as an actress and convinced her parents to take her to New York in order to find a talent agent.
2. In between acting jobs she served as an assistant nurse at the childrens summer day camp in which her mother ran.
3. Before her role as Katniss Everdeen, Jennifer had starred in a number of films including Winters Bone (which was cited as her breakout performance), Ozark Mountains and X-Men . She had also initially auditioned for the role of Bella Swan in the much-loved Twilight series but has since stated that she is glad she did not receive the role due to the mass media attention that now surrounds Kristen... how the tables have turned now shes played Katniss though!
4. Although Jennifer was a fan of the books, it didnt stop her taking three days to accept the role of Katniss. She was worried that after the first film she would be bored, but has since said that she was grateful that this wasnt the case.
5. In order to get in shape for her action packed role she took up stunt training, archery, rock and tree climbing, combat, running, pilates and yoga... Phew! Were exhausted already.
6. Despite how serious Jennifer comes across as her on-screen character, she is well-known on set for her no filter attitude and being a prankster; be it (playfully) punching her cast members, pouncing on their weaknesses if theyre having a bad day or even pulling funny faces right before action.
7. Strangely, Jennifer has portrayed the daughter of Paula Malcomson during two separate acting roles. Once in The Hunger Games and the other in an episode of Cold Case ( a crime mystery on CBS) entitled A Dollar, a Dream.
8. Her boyfriend at the time of writing is Nicholas Hoult; perhaps more commonly known as Tony from Skins or for his role as Beast in the X-Men films First Class and Days of Future Past . The two met during a screen test back in 2011 and Nicholas has said that despite JLaws blossoming Hollywood status she hasnt changed much since then.
9. Not only do Katniss and Cinna have a close relationship throughout the films, but Jen and Lenny actually share a close bond in real life, with Lenny describing her as a beautiful person whom he loves very much - The two first met when Jen and Lennys daughter Zoe became great friends on the X-Men set. Lenny has also said that the entire cast of The Hunger Games get along great and that helps to make the whole thing such a wonderful experience.
10. Although many people think of The Hunger Games the moment you mention Jennifers name, one embarrassing incident does also come to mind... as she walked to the stage to accept a best actress Oscar, poor Jennifer tripped over her dress and fell over in front of millions of people watching across the world!

The Series

1. Author Suzanne Collins has said that the main source of inspiration for the idea of The Hunger Games comes from the classical legend of Theseus and the Minotaur.
2. She also drew inspiration from the idea of Roman gladiatorial games; there are of course three key similarities: a government corrupt with power, the concept of fighting to the death, and the games themselves being a popular source of entertainment.
3. The film rights for the series were acquired just six months after the first book was released.
4. You would have expected the film to be released in America first, right? Wrong! It came out in France two days before fans in the US could see it!
5. It was reported that the lead characters were contractually obliged to participate in the entire trilogy - even though the studio said they would wait to see how well the first film did before committing to any more.
6. Despite this, we are told that although Jennifer Lawrence was only paid $600,000 for the first movie, she asked for $10 million for Catching Fire - and got it!
7. Suzanne Collins herself adapted the books for the movie franchise, ensuring it stuck close to her vision. This is not always the case in Hollywood - Stephen King for instance had no say in Stanley Kubricks version of The Shining , and absolutely hated it!
8. In a poll of the top one hundred teen novels of all time, The Hunger Games came second only to Harry Potter.