1st Hunger Games Teaser: OH MY GOD, A CHICK IN A FOREST!

The first teaser for The Hunger Games premiered last night at the MTV VMAs (watch it below), and you could practically hear MTV praying for this to become the new Twilight. It was directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) and stars nubile Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence, so at least that’s an upgrade over Pouty McLipbite. According to IMDB, it also stars Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, and Elizabeth Banks. Yay, Caucasians!

In a dystopian future America is now Panem, a nation made up of twelve impoverished districts, all ruled by a militant capitol where technology and excess are a way of life. Every year the capitol holds a televised battle royal, where one male and female teenager from the twelve districts must battle to the death for the pleasure of capitol. When a young hunter from District 12 named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) sacrifices herself to save her little sister from the games, she embarks on a brave fight for survival that could change a nation. [Screenrant]

When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded like your basic post-apocalyptic, battle-to-the-death movie that they release every four months. But this time, it’s based on a book. Ooh la la!

Not a lot of footage to go on yet. Maybe she’s fighting those flaming catapult balls from the beginning of Gladiator? Anyone’s guess. Here’s what author Suzanne Collins had to say about the casting of Lawrence:

“I watched Jennifer embody every essential quality necessary to play Katniss. I saw a girl who has the potential rage to send an arrow into the Gamemakers and the protectiveness to make Rue her ally. Who has conquered both Peeta and Gale’s hearts even though she’s done her best to wall herself off emotionally from anything that would lead to romance. Most of all, I believed that this was a girl who could hold out that handful of berries and incite the beaten down districts of Panem to rebel. I think that was the essential question for me. Could she believably inspire a rebellion? Did she project the strength, defiance and intellect you would need to follow her into certain war? For me, she did.”

Well sure, it’s not just any actress can hold berries. Anyway, I didn’t get much out of that, but at least there’s no one named “Bella Swan,” or Reneesmee or Prince Hercules Q. Hardbody or whatever the Twilight characters are.

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