The Hunger Games films: Next big teen sensation?

The critically-acclaimed young-adult trilogy The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, has for the past few years been a best-selling hit among teens and adults alike.  As of this moment, Lionsgate is gearing up for a film adaptation of the series in the hopes that it will become the next Harry Potter or Twilight sensation.  Now that the principle cast has been announced, I'll be taking this opportunity to provide a crash-course on the first book in the series, an analysis of who has been cast in the lead roles, and some predictions about the series' future.

It just so happens that earlier this year I worked my way through the series myself- they're fantastic, whatever age you are.  So: The Hunger Games is a science fiction tale set in North America in a war-ravaged future.  The United States have been decimated; out of its ashes several small districts rose into existence.  Over time they were subjugated by the oppressive Capitol and were formed into the collective nation of Panem.  As a means of keeping these districts demoralized and in-line, the Capitol holds an annual lottery among the teenagers of each district, eventually selecting one male and one female per district.  The "winners" of this lottery are forced to compete in the Hunger Games: a survival competition where the contestants are placed into an arena (filled with harsh environments and deadly traps) and must fight each other to the death until there is only one victor remaining.

Meet Katniss Everdeen: a 16-year-old from Panem's poorest district, District Twelve.  When her younger sister Prim is selected to compete in the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place.  Along with District Twelve's other competitor, a baker's son named Peeta, Katniss must travel to the Capitol and prepare herself for a fight against contestants from the richer districts that have trained for the Hunger Games their entire lives.  Though Peeta aids Katniss in her training, once she's thrown in the arena, Katniss must survive by relying only on herself; there can only one contestant out of twenty four can walk out alive, after all.

Now, given the popularity of these books, it's easy to imagine the giant dollar signs that are sparkling in the eyes of the Lionsgate executives right now.  There's everything they need in this series to make a Twilight-esque success story out of this series, most obviously through the fact that there is a series-long  love-triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Katniss's best friend from back home, Gale).

Let me stop all of you right here and clear something up: no matter what these execs seem to think, these books are nothing like Twilight.  Katniss is a strong, powerful protagonist that actually a definable personality, unlike a certain Mrs. Edward Cullen.  Though there is the love-triangle subplot, the focus of the series is on Katniss's continued struggles and defiance against the totalitarian Panem government.  Make no mistake, these books are brutal in their depiction of wartime violence and the atrocities that humanity is capable of.  And it is 100% completely devoid of sparkly vampires.

Now that that's off my chest, let's move on.  Even though these books are infinitely more mature, intelligent and powerful than Twilight, that doesn't stop the fact that Twilight wins big at the box office.  I have no doubts at all that in a few years time, The Hunger Games is going to be topping box office charts.  However, it is all too easy to see a Hunger Games movie trilogy that has been completely re-tooled to capitalize on teenage angsty love.   I really hope that I'm wrong in predicting this; I truly hope that these books get the adaptation they deserve.  It's hard to be sure though, with the announcement of who will be playing the male leads, Peeta and Gale.

A while back it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence will be playing the role of Katniss.  She looks nothing like Katniss is described in the book and is too old, but hey: she's been nominated for an Oscar.  A role like Katniss needs someone who has the chops to handle the emotion behind the character, and not just be a vapid stand-in.  The men, on the other hand... well, them I'm not so sure about. According to official sources, the pair were cast for their chemistry with Lawrence; this is necessary, to be sure, but it worries me that this immediate emphasis on attraction legitimizes some of my concerns.  Josh Hutcherson (The Kids are All Right) will be playing Peeta, while Liam Hemsworth (of Knowing... "fame") will be playing Gale.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions... on one hand, it's good that they cast relative-unknowns: these roles will, in all honesty, likely be their defining roles for years to come.  However, with such little cumulative acting experience this big-budget production could be starting down a rocky road.  Without quality actors to give these characters some heart and depth, this story could easily devolve into a brain-dead action-romance.  I, for one, am hoping that they don't mess this up.