Oh my goodness. Is your heart swooning over the new Lionsgate® Hunger Games movie posters? I just love seeing all the actors in character, especially Peeta and Katniss.
Last night the
Hunger Games Fireside Chat had a special broadcast to discuss these new releases. Highlights included discussing Cinna's gold eyeliner (airbrushed or naturally applied?), Haymitch's long blonde hair (a super-long comb-over, perhaps?) and formal attire, Peeta's sad look, Katniss's flawless skin (but logo placed on the side of her head that looks like Princess Leia as
Shylah pointed out via
Hunger Games DWTC), Gale's scowl and unnaturally long neck, the beauty and innocence that Rue encompasses, Cato's non-menacing look (and the fact that Cato was included with this bunch) and Effie's pink (or grayish?) hair and outlandish Capitol style. It was an interesting episode and you can catch up by listening
here and follow the tweets under the
#HGFiresideChat hashtag on Twitter or
TweetChat.
Warning: there are some minor spoilers as I discuss my thoughts on the posters.
I have to say that I do love Gale's scowl. I think it is fitting with his character: he is an angry man. The Capitol has taken his father and left him, like Katniss, responsible for his family's survival. He has a lot of angst inside, ready to unleash.
Rue is perfect. Innocent, sad. Exactly how I pictured her. Can anyone say that Lenny Kravitz is not Cinna now? He is perfect. I was expecting a black t-shirt rather than the bluish button-down (and gold chain), yet it works.
Savanna brought up the question about whether he has a pendant at the end of the chain. The way it falls it seems very plausible. And I would love to see what it would be. What do you think Cinna would have hanging on the end? A ring to hold glasses? A simple stone pendant? A token of his own, like some sort of swirly symbol that defines who he is? Perhaps bottled flames? A tape measure or pins? (I love guessing.)
Effie is great: she looks Capitolish with her crazy make-up. I just thought her hair would be brighter. And Haymitch...well, he is not at all how I pictured. I thought balding with darker hair. An observant listener pointed out that Katniss describes his black curly hair in Catching Fire when they watch Haymitch's reaping tape. But, this small matter doesn't upset me. I know Woody will be perfect as Haymitch, so the blond hair is OK with me. I was just surprised at the length of it. And his upturned collar was odd. But it made sense if he was being dressed and cleaned up by Capitol hands, as another panelist pointed out (I have a hard time keeping voices straight while listening, except for
Sam's and
Adam's, of course). This is most likely how they would, indeed, dress him. Although I pictured the fashion to be more futurish rather than classically-styled.
Cato. Why the inclusion of Cato with this group? Why not Prim? Why not Thresh? Here's my take on this: Cato is the antagonist in the novel for Katniss. All along, he is the real threat, the one standing in her way to victory. Even though we see little of him in Katniss's narrative, I believe he'll play a much bigger role in the movie. He has to. We'll see Peeta interact with him, making a deal with the Careers, and follow their path of hunting Katniss. Cato is the Career leader. This is a bigger role than Prim. Prim's spotlight will come later in Mockingjay, where Katniss spends so much more time with her beloved sister. Thresh and Foxface seem to operate alone, so their parts will be slightly smaller than Cato's. So I was not surprised with Cato's presence amongst the others. As far as his expression, I'm actually glad we don't see a menacing look. In the end, we do feel for this boy, who is, after all, only human and a product of his environment. Another Capitol pawn who has had no life of his own.Will we see more of this Cato throughout the Games instead of the very end, where he pleads with his eyes for Katniss to end his misery? It could help Katniss realize sooner who the real enemy is. I like the idea of Cato's evil being toned down.
Interesting tidbits: The listeners from
Victor's Village (
@VictorsVillage) pointed out that Cato, Peeta, and Gale are all missing their Adam's apples. They were surely trimmed and smoothed over in Photoshop, but it is kind of odd once it's pointed out.
President Snow (
@PresidentSnow) wondered why his poster wasn't released. And others expressed interest in seeing Prim, Caesar Flickerman, Thresh, Foxface, and Clove.
So, what do you think of the new posters? Any thoughts on Katniss's facing to the right and the rest facing to the left?
Will you buy any of them for your classroom? I think I might have to. I really love how so much emotion is expressed in their single poses. The innocence, the anger, the sadness, the strength. Perfect.
