Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion
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The Hunger Games by Suzzane Collins
I love these books! I cannot wait for Mockingjay! By the way as much as I love Peeta and his devotion/love for Kat I'm team Gale too! I felt so bad for him when Katniss came back at the end of the first book w/ Peeta even tho Peeta did so much to help save Kat!
*In my Macho Man voice* Ooooooooohhhhh Yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!
I know I am probably alone on this but I did not like Hunger Games. :(
Toni - I think you are alone, but we shall see, perhaps someone will pop up to agree with you :)
Toni - I think you are alone, but we shall see, perhaps someone will pop up to agree with you :)
Not alone Toni. I wouldn't say I disliked it, but it was disappointing, based on all the hype.
haha! I really wanted to like it. I just have kids and reading about kids killing each other (fiction or not) was a bit freaky to me. LOL.
message 411:
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Brittany (finally graduated and can once again read for fun)
(new)
Alan, NEVER listen to all the hype. That has ruined SO many books for me. You expect something amazing and it turns out you expected more. Better to go into it with little or no expectation. I was lucky I guess, I got ahold of it before it was super popular but from a recommendation. I'm not saying you aren't entitled to your own opinion (I know I don't agree with everyone about The Maze Runner), but IF (and that's a big if) IF Suzanne Collins can end the series correctly and well, then I personally would say those books are up there with the Harry Potter series with regard to their awesomeness.
Bluemoon I agree. Hunger Games has not rec'd near the hype of Twilight (barf) or HP. No one I know has even heard of it (besides here on GR). I imagine when the movie comes out (whenever that may be), it will get more cross over attention like HP did.
Bluemoon I agree. Hunger Games has not rec'd near the hype of Twilight (barf) or HP. No one I know has even heard of it (besides here on GR). I imagine when the movie comes out (whenever that may be), it will get more cross over attention like HP did.
It is tough as a teacher of a reading workshop right now. So many excellent books (HG, Uglies, etc.) are being made into movies, all the kids just decide not to read them first! Then they loose the opportunity to picture it in their mind, as they want to see it. Ugh! Sorry I am ranting, but I wish that movie-makers came up with original ideas on their own...
Seriously! Is there anyone creative in the movie biz anymore?
Peter Jackson did a wonderful job on LOTR.
He did. I love the movies almost as much as I love the books, and in some ways more so, but I haven't seen anything else that even compares to the book it was based on. I've been severely disappointed in quite a few. Eragon, Percy Jackson, and Narnia just to name a few.
True Becca. Only LOTR has been true to the books.
And even then, it veered away from the books a bit, but not so much that it damaged the storyline, unlike some of the movies I mentioned above. At least with the changes they made in the LOTR movies they were able to stay true to the essence of the story.
I am pretty sure she is writing the screenplay so let's cross our fingers and hope it's good.
I don't know if I even want to see it, because if it isn't close to the version in my head, I'll probably cry.
Percy Jackson and Eragon were huge busts for me! Some kids won't pick up the books because they have seen the movie, and I keep saying--no, the book is so much better! Luckily, some of their peers are on my side, also!Peter Jackson is definitely an outlier here. I read LOTR for the first time right before the first movie came out, and I was amazed at how well he did! JK Rowling did okay with HP, at least she was involved, so we knew it was somehow based on her vision.
I am really worried about Uglies, Scott Westerfeld has said he has sold the rights and going to be pretty hands off about it. I don't know what I'll do if HG sucks!
"Hype" was probably a bad choice of word on my part. I'll amend by saying that I hadn't heard anything negative about it at all, and thus I was disappointed. Partially in myself wondering "what's wrong with me that everyone else likes this and I don't?" ; )Someone posted (in another GR group I think) a video from a middle school of students talking about the book. The boys generally liked it, but they weren't enthusiastic about it and most complained about it "starting too slow" which I thought was interesting.
Regarding the movie thing: I love movies, but the one thing they can't do effectively is let you know what the characters are thinking. In stories where introspection is an important aspect, movies tend to fall flat. HG being a first person-told story with a lot of introspection... I think you see where I'm going here.
message 425:
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Brittany (finally graduated and can once again read for fun)
(new)
I have to say I think it will be much easier for them to turn HG into a movie than CF for the reason mentioned above by Alan. There is a lot more action in HG, and to be honest, I can't wait to see the games, the arena, etc... stuff like that. Oh and how they portray the people from the capital. (If it's all done well) CF will be much more difficult because I think it involves more of an internal stuggle. But you guys are all right, books are almost always better than movies (I can think of a very few exceptions) and there is so much potential to screw it up!! I have high hopes though. It's a popular series so the pressure is definitely on.
Jess - I attended an author signing in November and Scott Westerfeld said that the Uglies were signed to become a TV series by Fox, but that Fox stepped away because they didn't see that a series about "ugly" people would sell (can you tell that they hadn't even read the books). He then mentioned that the rights were sold to someone else. I don't see it coming out as a movie any time soon. He explained the process of selling rights and how long it takes from selling rights to actual movie and it could be anywhere from 3 years and up before you see anything.Too bad, it would be neat to see that hoverboard action.
I'm psyched for the HG movie, especially because Suzanne is writing the screenplay. I think (hope!) it'll translate very well to the screen. That is, it should be good if they cast the right Katniss.Now Uglies...I don't really know how the Ugly to Pretty to Special transformation would work on the screen. I really enjoyed the books and had pretty good pictures of it all in my head, but I just can't imagine how it would be done.
Hunger Games would be an awesome movie. I wonder what actors they would get for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale.Re Uglies - they weren't ugly to begin with. They had normal faces...then they were transformed to look alike. The "special" transformation would be something to see.
Oh, I know they would appear normal as Uglies! I'm not like Fox, lol! I just didn't know if they would use make-up or CG or something to make the Pretty change. Pretties have such severe features that I think it would be difficult to represent on a normal human face. Seems like it could be done badly. Maybe studio will surprise me in the future, though.
CGI all the way....They did it for Avatar....Don't even need actors anymore....
well, they do for the voices. I'm not into silent movies. Wall-E was about as silent as I go.
lol! why would she do that? She knows her fans and what they love about her book. I doubt she'd change anything we all love.
The only thing that I'd worry about is the fact that Michael Crichton wrote the screenplay for Jurassic Park, and that movie is incredibly different from the book. I think his version of the screenplay must have been modified by someone else, because I can't imagine he would write a version that was so different from his book! That means that maybe someone might change Suzanne Collins' version.But hopefully not!
Hopefully she keeps the rights for the "last say" before and after the movie goes into production. If it's different enough that her readers hate it, she'll loose fans.
I never compare a movie to the book because movies are never as good as books. It's just not possible. I learned this long ago with the first Harry Potter movie. There are too many details, thoughts, etc., that you can't portray in a movie. So if you go into it thinking it's going to be just as good as the book, you're always going to be disappointed.
Bluemoon I was SO dissapointed in The Lightning Thief. Awful.
I'm just saying that if you watch a movie with thoughts of "it better be like the book" or "it better be as good as the book", you're always going to be disappointed.
Have faith that Collins will do well with adapting Hunger Games to the big screen. I think it's a perfect fit for Hollywood. Personally, I just wonder how they're going to show 12-18 year old kids getting slaughtered in an area. I wouldn't be surprised if they alter the ages of the kids who go into battle. If so, that really twists up the novel. But you have to imagine there will be some resistance to showing a 12 year murdered on "live TV."
I envision the colors and outfits of the Captial being on par with The Fifth Element's costumes. Watch that movie and you'll know what I'm talking about. Bright and vibrant.
As for the Districts, it's hard to say. Do you picture regular neighborhoods and houses like we live in now or did they change a lot after North America "fell."
It's one thing to not be able to portray all the thoughts and details of a book in the movie, I get that. It can't be done without making a 6 hour movie, if at all. It's a whole other thing to change outcomes of major events in the book where it becomes a different story. I thought they did a fairly decent job with the Harry Potter movies. At least I wasn't all pissed off when they were over. Unlike Twilight and Percy Jackson. Blech!
Hoosiersmitty wrote: "Have faith that Collins will do well with adapting Hunger Games to the big screen. I think it's a perfect fit for Hollywood. Personally, I just wonder how they're going to show 12-18 year old k..."
My fingers are crossed! I really hope they do a good job on this movie.
The Fifth Element's costumes would be perfect for the Capitol! That is exactly how I pictured them.
I just try and think of the movie and novel as companions to each other - not twins. If you expect a replica, it's not going to satisfy you. The great thing about books is that it's left up to your imagination to picture that world that the author creates with words.
Kourtni wrote: "Bluemoon I was SO dissapointed in The Lightning Thief. Awful."It ruined my memories of the book! And didn't the author help with the screenplay?
Peep wrote: "Kourtni wrote: "Bluemoon I was SO dissapointed in The Lightning Thief. Awful."It ruined my memories of the book! And didn't the author help with the screenplay?"
I don't think he helped with the screenplay, but I'm not 100%. I would hope he wouldn't let that happen. I'm trying to block from my mind the fact that they even made the movie. Over time I think I will heal from the tragic experience.
Sorry to get off topic, but...I just got permission to teach Hunger Games next year in my 8th grade English/Language Arts class! My principal is willing to order a class set of 30 copies to go with the 30 copies we already have in our library available for checkout! Yay!
I have so many awesome ideas planned for this. I can't wait to plan the unit.
Kourtni wrote: "Peep wrote: "Kourtni wrote: "Bluemoon I was SO dissapointed in The Lightning Thief. Awful."It ruined my memories of the book! And didn't the author help with the screenplay?"
I don't think h..."
I don't think time will help. It's burned into my brain. I wanted to walk out but I had the little sisters with me. I was so mad, I felt like such a nerdy fanboi at the end. All I wanted was a place to vent the injustice!
I couldn't find anything with a quick search that said RR helped with the movie. I did see that the screenwriter also wrote epic gems such as: "See Spot Run, Scooby-Doo, Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Blue Shadow Virus)".
Hoosiersmitty wrote: "Sorry to get off topic, but...I just got permission to teach Hunger Games next year in my 8th grade English/Language Arts class! My principal is willing to order a class set of 30 copies to go ..."
I think you mean "on-topic". :) It's Kourtni who is off-topic :P
Peep: Hahaha. I almost walked out as well. I kept thinking "okay this can't get any worse, it will get better." Little did I know how bad it could get. Whoever the screenwriter was, he failed epically.Hoosier: That's exciting! I wish you were my 8th grade English teacher. I might have learned to love reading a little earlier in life with something that good to read in school.
Hoosiersmitty wrote: "Have faith that Collins will do well with adapting Hunger Games to the big screen. I think it's a perfect fit for Hollywood. Personally, I just wonder how they're going to show 12-18 year old k..."
You bring up such an interesting point about the look of the Districts. We know that the Capital is rather futuristic, but I always pictured everything in District 12 looking rough and primative. Then, in Catching Fire, I had a difficult time imagining Katniss's house. Was it supposed to be styled something like a house today? I really couldn't get a good mental grasp on it, especially because I'd been imagining the rest of the district to be old-fashioned. I'm very curious to see how they'll do all of it film.
Do you think the house was supposed to be modern-looking, with modern technology? (Well, we do know they all had televisions.)
My thought was the only thing modern about the Districts were the televisions and the mayor's house. However, I do believe the winner's houses were modern too. The rest of the district, especially the Seam, I pictured as very run down, looking like a shanty town rather than a town. I'm thinking wooden buildings and such, not even ghetto style, just kind of thrown together with the materials they could find. We don't really get to hear about the "nice" parts of the district.
My mind immediately pictured "huts" and "shacks." Then I started telling myself...there's no way they look like that...they must be old towns just reconditioned or something. Then I decided I have no clue what to think. I just haven't been able to picture it exactly. District 12 has to be pretty run down, but it's something I have had difficulty picturing in my head. The arena on the other hand...um yeah, I can't wait to see that. I have so many cool visuals in my head.
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As far as HG goes, I liked the first person present as well FOR THIS STORY and I don't think present would work in anything but first person. I think other stories would be better written from a different view/tense (Twilight for example), and some stories would be better written from the first person present. It really depends on the story.