6.26.2013

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is Fandango Fans' Most Anticipated Movie of 2013

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer to debut at Comic-Con


FANDANGO'S DAVE KARGER TO MODERATE LIONSGATE'S COMIC-CON PANEL FEATURING "THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE" AND "I, FRANKENSTEIN"

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Voted by
Fandango Fans as Most Anticipated 2013 Movie 

LOS ANGELES  June 26, 2013 – Lionsgate announced today that Fandango Chief Correspondent Dave Karger will moderate a panel on Saturday, July 20th at San Diego Comic-Con, featuring talent and exclusive footage from two of the studio’s upcoming films THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (opening November 22, 2013, the film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth) and I, FRANKENSTEIN (opening January 24, 2014, the film stars Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski and Bill Nighy).  Talent from both films will be in attendance for the panel during which the studio will debut an exclusive new trailer for THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE and never-before-seen footage from I, FRANKENSTEIN.

Starting today, moviegoers will have the chance to submit questions for panel participants through the films' Facebook pages (www.facebook.com/thehungergamesmovie and www.facebook.com/ifrankensteinmovie) and Fandango’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/fandango) using the hashtags #CatchingFireComicCon and #IFrankensteinComicCon. Answers to select questions will be posted on those Facebook pages.

Fandango fans have been closely following the entire HUNGER GAMES saga from its first day of production.   A January 2013 moviegoer survey of thousands of moviegoers on Fandango found that the film’s follow-up, THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE, was voted the most anticipated movie of the year.

Stay connected for SDCC updates related to these two Lionsgate films using and searching for the hashtags #CatchingFireComicCon and #IFrankensteinComicCon.
 About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has 28 television shows on 20 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication successes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, For Better Or Worse, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Now You See Me, Tyler Perry's Temptation, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, The Cabin in the Woods and Arbitrage. Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

About Fandango
Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination and an NBCUniversal company, sells tickets to more than 21,000 screens nationwide. Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary, celebrity interviews and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance. For many theaters, fans can print their tickets at home or receive them as a paperless Mobile Ticket on their smartphones. Fandango's top-ranking movie ticketing apps, with 34 million downloads, are available on the iPhone and iPad, Android, and many other platforms. Fandango is enjoyed by more than 41 million online and mobile visitors per month. Film fans find Fandango on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fandango and on Twitter @Fandango.

Contacts:
Dana Henry Benson 
Harry Medved


310-954-0278 x300 
310-954-0461          

                                                                    
From Fandango Press Release, June 26, 2013

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6.19.2013

The Katniss Chronicles: Part II - Just one week away!

The Katniss Chronicles, Part II Debuts June 25th!

Los Angeles, CA – June 18, 2013 - The premiere episode of the fan-made audio drama The Katniss Chronicles: Part II is one week away from its June 25th release, and the project’s creators have now released their new trailer - teasing what is next in store for the Girl on Fire! This is the sound of rebellion!

Based on Catching Fire, the second book of author Suzanne Collins’ bestselling Hunger Games trilogy, The Katniss Chronicles: Part II will continue the story of Katniss Everdeen, a 17-year-old girl living in a post-apocalyptic America, who has just been crowned one of two victors in the annually televised battle to the death known as the Hunger Games. 

“I hope that the trailer for Part II will give listeners a taste of the talented cast and thrilling adventures that await them in the next installment of The Katniss Chronicles,” says Sam Rhodes, who is writing, directing, and editing the audio drama.  Premiering on June 25, 2013, Part II promises even more nonstop action and excitement, as it will feature 22 episodes, with each new episode to be released on a weekly basis. 

The audio drama’s all-new episodes, Production Journals, and Bonus Material can be found on iTunes by searching for The Katniss Chronicles: Part II.  All content will continue to be available for free to listeners through the official website (www.thekatnisschronicles.com) and through iTunes.


Interested fans may visit The Katniss Chronicles’ recently refurbished website for up-to-date information.  Additional information can be found on Facebook and Twitter (@KatnissChron). 


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6.09.2013

Do You Teach the Classics?

Do You Teach the Classics? {Read more on www.hungergameslessons.com}

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My friend Ruth from Teacher Park asked a group of fellow teachers whether we noticed a decline in classic literature being taught in school and what our thoughts were on the topic. This brought up some strong feelings, so I thought I would share and ask that you weigh in by commenting below.

I agree that there is probably a decline in the teaching of classic literature in schools today. I do not have hard facts to prove it, but I communicate with many teachers from all over the United States and many are teaching contemporary novels. Does this mean that they have cut all classics from their curriculum? Absolutely not. I still teach a variety of classic works, including The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, stories by Poe, poems by Whitman, and so on. Yet, I supplement them with many contemporary works, as well. Are they "classics"? No. Or, at least, not yet.


Students won't score high on reading tests if they don't read the classics! 

To those who think reading the classics increases reading scores, here's a news flash: Students who read score higher on reading tests. It does not matter what they are reading. The more they read, the more they succeed. Period.

Teaching contemporary literature along with the classics is a good thing. Why? Because students are more likely to read newer works. If our goal is to produce better readers, students must practice reading.  I cannot force students to read. Sure, I can assign reading as homework; but if they don't want to read the novel, they aren't going to read at all. Well, they may read the Spark Notes summaries if I give them assignments or quizzes; but most likely they'll ask their friends, or look up answers online to avoid--at all costs--reading the very boring piece of classic literature I assigned. So why bother when I can assign a book they truly find appealing? If the novels' themes are the same, are both rich with figurative language, and both offer opportunities for in-depth analysis of characters, symbols, and plot, then why shouldn't we teach the contemporary novel over the classic if it means more students will read it, appreciate it, and love it?


Do students have to read the classics to become better readers?But are contemporary novels rigorous enough for today's standards?

Some may believe that contemporary novels are not rigorous enough for our students. But instead of criticizing the novels, we should evaluate the way we assess students' reading skills. A good contemporary novel will have all the attributes of a classic, so as long as we are asking challenging questions that practice critical-thinking and close-reading skills, we are increasing the rigor. It should not matter the age or the Lexile® score of the novel. (Don't get me started on Lexile® scores!)


Students won't be prepared for college if they don't read the classics.

And probably the most convincing evidence I have that more contemporary works should be taught is through my own high school experience. I was in school in the 80s. The most recent work of fiction we read was To Kill a Mockingbird, which would have been 25 years old when it was assigned my junior year. And the only book I remember reading in middle school as part of the curriculum was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I don't think it's a coincidence that the two novels that influenced me the most were the only "contemporary" novels my teachers introduced.

Pin ItWe read classics like The Grapes of WrathOf Mice and MenThe Old Man and the SeaMacbethThe OdysseyThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and so on. And I hated them. With a passion. They did not inspire me to seek out additional works by the authors for pleasure reads. I continued to read the types of books I was exposed to, which consisted of mainly Danielle Steel and V.C. Andrews novels. Contemporary classics they were not. Had I been exposed to more recently-published works that were intelligent and thought-provoking, I would have chosen better books to read in my free time. Case-in-point: in college I was introduced to Neuromancer by William Gibson, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Slaughterhouse Five, which is still one of my all-time favorite books. I began reading more science-fiction (which I had never read before) and fell in love with contemporary authors like Amy Tan, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Maya Angelou.

Many teens are not ready to read the classics. Whether it's because they are not yet mature, lack world experience, or just don't have the patience or will, forcing them to read a classic can cause a lifetime of hatred toward a book or reading in general.


If it's popular, it can't possibly be good...

People have this stigma that if a book is "popular"or a best-seller, it cannot possibly be considered good enough to be classic. And I have to say that misconception ticks me off. It's basically saying that the large majority of people buying the works aren't smart enough to recognize a good book. Perhaps a hundred years ago this was the case. But not today. Perhaps the contemporary novel we read today may very well be a classic in 50 years. I think works such as Tan's The Joy Luck Club and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner are pieces that will endure. Since I've devoted the past four years teaching and blogging about The Hunger Games trilogy, it's probably obvious I think Suzanne Collins' work will stand the test of time in the young adult genre, as well.

In 1936, readers of The Colophon, a book magazine, were asked which contemporary authors would have lasting works. Even though the author of an editorial in The Smithsonian states that many of the writers on that 1936 list are not well-known today, I recognized all but one name. The readers were actually pretty good at spotting authors whose works will be read 100 years later.

If anyone is qualified to recognize a classic, it's the people who read both classic and contemporary works every day. When I read Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, I knew it would be a classic. My first impression of Divergent by Veronica Roth was mediocre, at best. It lacks the depth of a good classic read. I can't pinpoint what it is that makes a book a classic or not; call it a gut-feeling. But I think we English teachers are probably some of the most qualified groups of people to determine the classic-status in a novel, don't you? In which case, you should trust your gut and teach what you think your students will read and appreciate, not necessarily what others think should be taught.

Share your thoughts!

So what do you think? Do you teach contemporary works along with the classics? Share your thoughts and opinion below.
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