Early praise
Collins’ first novel was Gregor The Overlander , the first entry in The Underland Chronicles . It follows 11-year-old Gregor, who finds himself dragged into an underground world populated by giant insects. With war on the horizon under the streets of New York City, Gregor goes on a quest that may lead him to his missing father.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games was published by Scholastic in 2008. By February 2010, it had sold 80,000 copies. There are over 2.9 million copies in print. The plot is set in a distant dystopian future, where every year, children between the age of 12 and 18 have to fight to the death on TV for entertainment.
The Spark
Though the plot for Hunger Games is remarkably similar to that of Japanese novel Battle Royale (by Koushun Takami), Collins actually came up with the idea while watching TV late one night. Flicking between channels, she kept switching between footage of the Iraq war and a reality TV show. An idea was born.
Battle Royale
Speaking of, Collins says that she had never heard of or seen the movie version of Battle Royale – and still hasn’t – prior to writing Games .
“I had never heard of that book or that author until my book was turned in,” she says. “At that point, it was mentioned to me, and I asked my editor if I should read it. He said: ‘No, I don’t want that world in your head. Just continue with what you’re doing.’”
Military family
Part of what pushed Collins to write The Hunger Games was a desire to educate young readers in the reality of war – something she felt strongly about having grown up in a military family.
“If we wait too long, what kind of expectation can we have?” she told The New York Times . “We think we’re sheltering them, but what we’re doing is putting them at a disadvantage.”
Interpretations
The Hunger Games has been interpreted differently by different people. In The New Yorker , writer Laura Miller commented that Hunger Games was best when read as “a fever-dream allegory of the adolescent social experience”.
However, Collins is adamant that it’s more than just an allegory for adolescent experience. “I don’t write about adolescence,” she says. “I write about war. For adolescents.”
Panem
In The Hunger Games ’ dystopian future, Panem is the name that has been given to what once was the United States of America. Divided into 13 ‘Districts’, the citizens of Panem are under the control of The Capitol. Each District has a special trade that benefits The Capitol, and the people who live in the Districts generally work hard and live rough.
The Games
Each year, two youngsters from every District are selected by The Capitol to play in The Hunger Games. There, they will fight to the death for a reality TV show that is broadcast across Panem. There can only be one survivor. The Games are used to keep the Districts in their place, and as a reminder of the Capitol’s all-encompassing power.
Katniss Everdeen
The 16-year-old heroine of The Hunger Games , Katniss is a born survivor. A resident of District 12, her father died in a mine explosion, meaning it’s up to her to look after her mother and 12-year-old sister, Prim.
Luckily, Katniss is a dab hand with a bow and arrow, and frequently sneaks into the woods outside District 12 (which is illegal) to catch wild animals for food. When Prim is selected for the 74th annual Hunger Games, Katniss takes her place…
Careers
A ‘career’ is a Tribute from a wealthy District who has spent most of their life preparing to be chosen for the Games. Careers usually come from Districts 1, 2 and 4, which are the more well-off areas of Panem, and they view being selected for the Games as a great honour. They also usually win.
Mockingjay
A Mockingjay is a new breed of bird that was created when mockingbirds mated with jabberjays. A Capitol creation, jabberjays are able to listen and replay anything they hear, which meant they were useful during the Dark Days when it was feared an uprising was being planned. The Mockingjay is seen as an embarrassment to the Capitol.
District 13
Once a functioning District, District 13 is now nothing more than a smouldering wasteland thanks to The Capitol. District 13 was integral in an earlier uprising against The Capitol, and was bombed into extinction. It’s used as an example of what can happen if a District gets out of line.
Gary Ross
Best known as the Oscar-nominated director of Big , Pleasantville and Seabiscuit , Gary Ross landed the job of adapting Hunger Games for the big screen when Lionsgate snapped up the movie rights.
“I read the book,” he says. “My kids turned me on to it, and I went nuts. I guess, about a year ago. I literally read it and said, ‘I have to make the movie.’”
Jennifer Lawrence
Winter’s Bone actress who landed the role of Katniss after a widespread search. The Hunger Games fandom were initially furious at the casting (echoes of R-Pattz there), though it was approved by author Suzanne Collins.
On 18 May 2011, Lawrence was revealed in her Katniss costume on the cover of EW magazine. There’s no denying she looks the part.
Taking the lead
For Ross, it was all about Katniss. “The character of Katniss is incredible,” he enthuses. “Suzanne did such an amazing job, and painted such a vivid character.
“It was just exciting every day. She’s such a compelling character, and her struggle and her evolution is so beautiful. You see the character emerge and grow and have so much strength.”
Josh Hutcherson
A massive fan of the books, Hutcherson campaigned hard to land the role of Peeta. He beat out competition in the forms of Lukas Till ( X-Men: First Class ), Evan Peters ( Kick-Ass ) and Hunter Parrush ( Weeds ).
“To finally be making the movie, it’s like, somebody please pinch me,” the actor says. “I still don’t believe this is actually happening.”
Liam Hemsworth
His brother may be Thor, but Hemsworth’s landed his own sturdy franchise with Hunger Games playing Gale.
“My brother said to me before I started shooting - he texted me and said something about me putting on weight. But basically his point was that it was called Hunger Games , not Eating Games . That was a wake-up call. I was like, Are you calling me fat or something?”
Woody Harrelson
Who better to play an ass-kicking drunk than Woody Harrelson? Landing the role of Haymitch, Harrelson’s adamant that though the novel’s dark and grisly, the movie version will appeal to everybody.
“I don’t see it as all that dark,” he says. “It’s exciting, but not dark compared to a lot of what I see. It’s PG-13 dark. The death isn’t emphasised. It’s more about this incredible girl.”
Collaboration
Just as JK Rowling was integral in helping the Harry Potter filmmakers bring her vision to the screen, Collins has proven invaluable, offering advice on everything from set and costume design to script alterations.
“I want her to be on the set as much as possible,” Ross said at the time of shooting. “I’d like her next to me every day.”
Scripting
Collins’ input even extended to the final draft of the script for The Hunger Games , according to the film's director.
“We collaborated on the last draft together,” Ross says. “I wrote a draft, and then Suzanne and I got along incredibly well, and did another subsequent draft, the final draft together. She’s wonderful.”
The Arenas
This is where all the action takes place. Each year, the set of Tributes are let loose in a specially-built arena for the Hunger Games.
Every year the arena is different. In The Hunger Games , the arena is a wild forest. Collins had a little help from the movies in imagining the arenas – she even watched Rambo to help her visualise how weapons would be used.
The Cornucopia
The arena’s centrepiece, the Cornucopia is a cone-shaped golden monolith that’s 20 feet high. It’s where the Games begin every year, with the 24 tributes emerging into the arena around it.
The Cornucopia normally contains items that will be helpful to the tributes during the Games – including food and weapons. It’s normally the site of an early bloodbath at the very beginning of the Games as tributes fight for the supplies.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy. We won’t spoil what happens, but suffice to say it deals with the fall-out of the first book, and is packed full of just as many twists and turns as The Hunger Games . It also gives us our first proper look at the other Districts in Panem.
Whats next
Collins is currently working on a new children’s book based on her father’s experiences during the war.
“I specifically want to do this book, one as a sort of memory piece kind of honouring that year for my family, and two, because I know so many children are experiencing it right now - having deployed parents,” Collins says. “And it’s a way I would like to try and communicate my own experience to them.”
Moving on
“I’m not a very fancy person,” Collins says, remaining pragmatic about the furore surrounding The Hunger Games.
“I’ve been a writer a long time, and right now The Hunger Games is getting a lot of focus. It’ll pass. The focus will be on something else. It’ll shift. It always does. And that seems just fine.”
