Tag: The Hunger Games (1-10 of 32)

Apr 9 2012 11:49 AM ET

'The Hunger Games' ignites the ALA's list of most challenged books

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The Hunger Games movie may not have had trouble earning a PG-13 rating, but many parents and educators are wondering whether the best-selling book trilogy belongs on library shelves. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom released its annual list of most frequently challenged books of 2011 yesterday, and the increased popularity of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian saga — in large part fueled by buzz surrounding the blockbuster film — drove the books higher on the list. In 2010, only the first novel cracked the top ten at number five. In 2011, all three books occupy the number three position, and the complaints have grown more varied: “anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence.” READ FULL STORY »

Apr 4 2012 02:21 PM ET

E L James: 'The Hunger Games' 'upset me'

Bondage, spanking, blindfolding, and other adventurous forms of sexual expression? They’re no problem for E L James, author of the runaway erotic best-seller Fifty Shades of Grey. But James — a voracious reader with a collection of some 800 erotic romance novels at her home in London — admits she’s a little squeamish when it comes to The Hunger Games. “I read the first one,” she says, in an exclusive interview with EW. “It upset me, this society that murders children for sport. Murdering your children is a step too far!” She prefers the two subsequent books “when they stand up and fight back. I don’t think [The Hunger Games] is a great love story at all. It’s all about revolution.”

Still, James gives Suzanne Collins’s electrifying trilogy the highest of Jamesian praise: “It’s a ripping yarn,” she says. The Vintage Books edition of the author’s own ripping yarn, Fifty Shades of Grey, is on sale today; Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed will be published on April 17.

Read more:
Traces of Bella Swan in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
This Week’s Cover: Order the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ cover now
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’: Will the book’s fans show up?

Mar 28 2012 05:33 PM ET

Updated figures for 'The Hunger Games' books: More than 36.5M in print in the U.S. alone

HUNGER-GAMES-COVERS

In explaining the phenomenon fueling The Hunger Games film’s massive $155 million opening, many box office prognosticators referred to the 24 million copies of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy printed in the U.S. alone. But now it seems we’ve all been aiming our arrows far too low. Scholastic released updated figures today, and it looks like there are more than 36.5 million copies of Katniss Everdeen’s saga available domestically. Publishers are notoriously cagey about releasing sales data, but when the numbers are this robust, there’s reason to brag. Here’s the breakdown by book: READ FULL STORY »

Mar 23 2012 05:44 PM ET

'The World of the Hunger Games' movie tie-in book: A first look!

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The Gamemakers at Scholastic have been generous to fans hungry for more books about the movies. On Feb. 7, we got The Hunger Games: Movie Tie-in Edition, The Hunger Games: Official Illustrated Movie Companion, and The Hunger Games Tribute Guide.

Now, just in time for the movie, The World of the Hunger Games, the fourth and final tie-in book — at least until the Catching Fire movie comes out — has arrived today on a silver parachute. While the squeal-worthy Official Illustrated Movie Companion offered an incredible behind-the-scenes look at the real-life production of the film, World is an in-depth look at the fictional world of Panem — think of it as your Panem tour guide. (No, there’s still no official map!) READ FULL STORY »

Mar 22 2012 11:27 AM ET

'Hunger Games': A great map of Panem -- PHOTO

panem-map

As a Bilbo Baggins fan can tell you, a detailed map can greatly enhance the enjoyment of reading a novel that takes place in another world. The Hunger Games takes place in Panem, a North America that has been ravaged by war and geological catastrophes. Suzanne Collins has never given readers an official map of Panem, although fans have generated plenty of their own ideas of what Katniss’ world should look like. I’ve perused a lot of the maps out there — and seriously, we could make a Panem World Atlas out of all the amazing fan-generated work — and this one, created by Livejournalers aimmyarrowshigh and badguys is perhaps the best one I’ve seen. It’s both creative and meticulously justified based on Collins’ text. Before you see Panem in living color tomorrow, does this rendering match your vision of District placement? Check out a larger version of the map below: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 31 2012 08:00 AM ET

See the trailer for 'The Hunger Pains,' the Harvard Lampoon's 'Hunger Games' parody -- EXCLUSIVE

HUNGER-PAINS

Is there endless comedic potential in a dystopian novel about children who are forced to kill each other on national television? Of course there is, and the smartasses at the Harvard Lampoon have written what they promise to be a “scene-for-scene parody” of Suzanne Collins’ mega-best-selling YA novel The Hunger Games. The Hunger Pains (Feb. 7) follows the inept heroine Kantkiss (Katpiss?) Neverclean, a young girl living in the telemarketing district of Peaceland, who is forced to compete in the violent annual Hunger Games.

EW has obtained the satirical trailer for the movie spoof based on the parody of the book (one more level of irony and the world really will end), and it features celebrity cameos, impressive production values, and an incredible Effie Trinket doppelganger (Katie Amanda Keane as Effu Poorpeople). Watch below! READ FULL STORY »

Dec 12 2011 05:52 PM ET

'Hunger Games Cookbook': Recipes for sauteed raccoon, and how to taste Gale's kiss

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Image Credit: Murray Close

Is making a cookbook inspired by a story about a serious lack of food a bit of a stretch? Probably, but The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook is a fun if not quite practical treat for a ravenous fan of the novels. While many of the recipes allow you to replicate the rich, sumptuous dishes from Capitol banquet scenes (“Super Sweet Potato Rolls”), others require ingredients you’d have to kill in the woods with your own bow and arrow. Any dish that evokes Peeta’s near-magical baking skills sounds promising (“Peeta’s Cinnamon Bakery Bread”), but most of the concoctions inspired by food from the Districts (“District 4′s Seaweed Bread”) or gamey survivalist meals you’d have to make do with in the Arena (“Wild Squirrel & Sausage Gumbo” and “Wild Raccoon Sautéed in Bacon Drippings”) are only for the brave. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 1 2011 12:00 PM ET

'Hunger Games': Three new movie tie-in covers revealed -- FIRST LOOK

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For the tributes among us who are desperate for more Hunger Games, the folks at Scholastic have been like generous sponsors, dropping book after book on us like silk-parachuted gifts. The Hunger Games Collector’s Edition of Suzanne Collins’ mega-hit is already available for the holidays, and three other titles will be released simultaneously on Feb. 7: The Hunger Games: Official Illustrated Movie Companion, The Hunger Games: Movie Tie-in Edition, and the one I’m anticipating most, The Hunger Games Tribute Guide. Scroll down to see the covers for each of these three new titles for the first time:

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2011 07:09 PM ET

Lauren Conrad's book club finally starts reading 'The Hunger Games'

Exciting news for the world of literature: Former Hills star Lauren Conrad has just started reading the YA dystopian thriller The Hunger Games. That’s right: Lauren Conrad has a book club! She’s only read Part 1 of the book, but her favorite character is Katniss. This is perhaps unsurprising, since Katniss spends most of Part 1 being worked on by a crew of professionals whose mission is to transform her from an everygirl with leg hair into a waxed TV-ready golden goddess and a fashion icon. Basically, Lauren Conrad’s life story. I’m intrigued to see what Conrad thinks about Part 2, when the teenagers are set loose in a beautiful-yet-fake landscape and try to murder each other on-camera, which basically describes the plot of the best seasons of The Hills. In this metaphor, Brody Jenner is Peeta, Heidi Montag is Rue, Audrina Patridge is a tree without any discernible personality, and Justin Bobby is hopefully one of the Tributes who gets killed immediately.

Follow Darren on Twitter: @EWDarrenFranich

Aug 31 2011 04:52 PM ET

'Hunger Games' author Suzanne Collins wrote for 'Clarissa' -- what do Clarissa and Katniss have in common?

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Image Credit: Murray Close; Nickelodeon

One’s a starving, militant rebel living in a post-apocalyptic world. The other is a fashion-forward teen thriving on a bright Orlando soundstage. What do they have in common? One clearly versatile writer: Suzanne Collins.

Ever since reading The Hunger Games, I’ve been intrigued by the fact that the same woman who wrote such a gritty, violent series also wrote for the fizzy, neon-colored sitcom Clarissa Explains It All (and also for The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, which I think is sort of underrated). Collins didn’t create Clarissa, but I’m sure she lived and breathed Clarissa while she worked for the show, just as she lived and breathed Katniss while writing the novels. We’ll learn about Collins’ journey from Clarissa to Katniss in the upcoming comic book about the author’s life, but for now, it’s fascinating to see ways in which the 90′s Nickelodeon heroine could have inspired the very different teen who made Collins famous. Okay, all of this is a huge stretch, and it’s easier to think of ways they almost-might-be similar but are completely different, but here goes: READ FULL STORY »

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