Do you like movies…like I like movies?
Seriously, I will pull up boxofficemojo.com two times a month to plan my upcoming theatre travels and see what films have been added to release schedule. My Virgo characteristics only match my levels of fandom.
Pump up the volume and take a second to list your three most anticipated movies of 2012. Mine are: Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games.
Crazy right? The first two are gimmes but The Hunger Games? Over assured blockbusters and future classics such as The Avengers, The Hobbit & Brave?
When I first caught wind of the young adult novel ‘The Hunger Games’ written by Suzanne Collins back in 2008, a friend had suggested that I check it out since I dig sci fi-dystopian-mythic-fantasy type stories. From word of mouth to ear to book blog to tweet to IM text…once I had finished the book, with wide-eyed wonder, I told EVERYONE I knew about it.
Just this past week, a thought provoking piece written by Linda Holmes was posted on the net:
http://m.npr.org/news/Arts+%26+Life/145638615
She posed a question if The Hunger Games was building too much ‘Buzz’ for it’s own good. It got me thinking.
With all due respect, Instead of using the word ‘Buzz’ in the headline I think the more appropriate choice would have be to use the ‘Hype’. While on the surface both of these powerful words might sound similar, they are not one in the same.
In this case, the paid for ‘Hype’ machine is driven by money making executives with dollar bill signs where their eyes used to be. Riding on the coattails of vampires and wizardry, trying to scoop up the next big thing in young adult literature.
Who can blame them? They are in business to turn a profit. Maybe the reason that Lionsgate could be pushing a little harder is that they’re a little nervous that the fan base really isn’t there. This series is honestly not as big as Twilight and Harry Potter were when their movies hit screens. Is the March release date a ploy to beat the box office in the first quarter then to wait and go up against the Summer Goliaths in May, June or July? For all of us, that means two more months of ads at ad nauseum.
As a fan, I feel like I NEED another trailer to get me really excited for the film, and I never say that. All these stills and promo websites don’t do much for me. They haven’t shown anything from the actual games, after all. I can tell you that many people are only just discovering HG and many more have yet to learn anything about them. I think anyone who isn’t a fan has just been teased.
Books such as The Hunger Games trilogy deserve better hype.
BETTER BUZZ!
When you read a novel that doesn’t come along too often. The kind of experience that resonates within your soul, the ones that you remember long after you place it back on your bookshelf….pass it along.
I absolutely love seeing film adaptations of movies. They don’t need to be amazing works of cinema, as long as the key elements are brought to life in a thoughtful, spectacular way AND the filmmakers stay faithful to the essence of the storyline. We’ve all heard the poopooed sentiments that ‘Well, the movie is never as good as the book’. Not only do I disagree with that but some works translate better in other mediums, and can be improved upon.
All of the ‘Hype’ and the ‘Buzz’ aside…I’m just hoping that it turns out to be good as could be.
-Dagobot