Suzanne Collins

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” doesn’t open until Nov. 22, but the official trailer for the new film debuted Sunday night during the MTV Movie Awards, where fan-favorite film “The Avengers” was among the evening’s big winners. “Catching Fire” sees newly minted Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence reprise her starring role as Katniss Everdeen, who finds herself and her fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) returning to the arena for a special champions’ edition of the cruel games, in which teens are pitted against one another in a battle to the death. The not quite two-and-a-half-minute clip begins with Katniss and Peeta being introduced as the victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games, Elizabeth Banks’ garishly adorned Effie Trinket by their side. Donald Sutherland’s sinister President Snow is then glimpsed in conversation with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Plutarch Heavensbee ruminating […]

Is this a sign of good things to come for “The Hunger Games” franchise? “The Hunger Games” took home a Grammy on Sunday night for “Safe & Sound,” a song on the film’s popular soundtrack. The honors went to Taylor Swift, T. Bone Burnett, John Paul White & Joy Williams in the category of song written for visual media. Now you might be thinking, “Hey, I watched the Grammys. I don’t remember that.” That’s because the honor was given out before the show began on CBS. Many fans found out via Swift’s tweet: WE JUST WON A GRAMMY FOR SAFE AND SOUND!!!!!!!!!!— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 10, 2013 The win comes as “The Hunger Games” and its star are on a roll. Jennifer Lawrence (who stars as Katniss Everdeen, of course) has been cleaning up this awards season, racking up dozens […]

For fans of fantastic entertainment, it was a bountiful year at the box office. The highest-grossing movies of 2012 starred a collection of superheroes, two strong young woman with mean archery skills (Katniss Everdeen and Merida from “Brave”), a suit-sporting super spy and a mild-mannered hobbit who embarks on an unexpected adventure — not to mention a coven of sparkly vampires and a talking stoner teddy bear. With so many movies to choose from, it’s easy to see how audiences might have overlooked a few gems. So as the year draws to a close, we’ve assembled our top picks for films to belatedly check out — as well as a few that no doubt warrant repeat viewings. “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” Yeah, yeah, so it didn’t take the box office by storm, and critics griped that the movie wasn’t funny. […]

San Diego’s Comic-Con International is always full of hype and bombast for movies and TV projects designed to appeal to lovers of genre entertainment. But even in the extensive annals of Hall H lore, the 2010 Marvel panel in which the cast of “The Avengers” assembled on a public stage for the first time still holds a special place in the history of the 6,500-seat auditorium. As the wild crowd cheered stars Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo, writer-director Joss Whedon departed from the usual script — one in which filmmakers vow that their upcoming movie will be nothing short of awesome — with typical self-deprecating wit. “I am going to blow it,” he said amid the cheers. “I’m not up to it.” No surprise, really. He […]

The next time Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne and Greasy Sae are seen onscreen in “The Hunger Games,” they will have a new landlord — and it could be you. The Henry River Mill Village in Hildebran, N.C. (outside of Charlotte), which served as District 12 in the post-apocalyptic nation Panem in the big-screen adaptation of the book, is up for sale. The 72-acre abandoned mill town, home of fictional spots like the Hob and the area known as the Seam, is valued at more than $1.2 million. It will be sold via sealed bids through the auction house Profiles in History, with a bidding deadline of July 31. The piece of “Hunger Games” history is also the subject of an upcoming episode of “Hollywood Treasure,” the SyFy series that follows Profiles in History owner Joe Maddalena as he […]

For a guy knee-deep in post-production on one of 2012’s most highly anticipated films, Gary Ross exudes an unnatural calm. It’s mid-December and despite the 1,200 visual effects shots that need to be completed in the next month, not only is the hyper-articulate director of “The Hunger Games” willing to show a journalist around his sprawling edit bay in Hollywood, but he’d also probably show off the whole unfinished movie if only the studio would allow. Clues to Ross’ jovial-yet-serene disposition lay all around. His iPhone boasts a screen-saver picture from the set of the Lionsgate film — leading lady Jennifer Lawrence is wiping her nose on Ross’ sleeve while the two are standing in the middle of a North Carolina forest. Walk down the hall to editor Stephen Mirrione’s office and he quips how Lawrence “makes everyone’s life a […]

“The Hunger Games” fans can get a glimpse of Katniss, Rue, Peeta, Gale and other characters from the upcoming film in a series of character-based movie posters, released Friday. The movie, based on the bestselling novels by author Suzanne Collins, opens in theaters on March 14. “The Hunger Games” series follows a cruel competition among children forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of television viewers and for the political gain of the masters of Panem, a post-apocalyptic nation in Earth’s future. Lionsgate aired a clip of the movie at the MTV Video Music Awards and released several images from the film to mixed reaction from fans anxious to see their beloved characters portrayed accurately on the big screen. Oscar-nominated “Winter’s Bone” actress Jennifer Lawrence plays the story’s heroine Katniss Everdeen, a girl who volunteers to enter the […]

Fans of the bestselling book series will get their first glimpse of “The Hunger Games” film on Sunday during MTV’s Video Music Awards. MTV announced it will air a clip from the movie, which stars Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence, of “X-Men: First Class” and “Winter’s Bone” fame, and is scheduled for release March 23, 2012. MTV usually reserves this kind of sneak peek for its annual Movie Awards — that was where, in June, for instance, stars were on hand and preview clips were shown for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″ and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.” “The Hunger Games” series follows the grim competition between children and young adults who are forced to fight to the death for entertainment of television viewers and their cruel government masters in a post-apocalyptic nation called Panem. “The Hunger Games” […]

“The Hunger Games” doesn’t make the leap to the big screen until March, but a new “motion poster” for the film is helping stoke fan excitement for the project, which will star Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.  Click on the poster for a larger, embeddable version. – Jevon Phillips RECENT AND RELATED ‘Hunger Games’ photo: Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Collins: Lawrence is ‘beautiful, unforgiving and brave’ ‘Hunger Games’: How Gary Ross got director’s job Chloe Moretz: ‘I’d die to play Katniss’ Suzanne Collins ‘thrilled’ to have ‘Seabiscuit’ director Ron Howard’s quest for King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ Stephen King: Rowling has talent, Meyer can’t write Gaiman says ‘Graveyard Book’ film dead — for now

The producers of “The Hunger Games” created a bit of a stir among the book’s fans when “Winter’s Bone” actress Jennifer Lawrence was cast as Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old protagonist in the intense young-adult novel by Suzanne Collins.  The cover of an upcoming “Entertainment Weekly” gives us the first look of the blond-turned-brunet actress in the role. [FOR THE RECORD:  Katniss' age was misstated in an earlier version of this post.] In the EW issue, Lawrence also recounts a talk that she had with director Gary Ross about the Oscar season, relating it to experiences that her District 12 hunter character went through in the book: “He was asking me what the experience was like,” she recalls, “and I just kind of opened up and said, ‘I feel like a rag doll. I have hair and makeup people coming to […]