Doc Hop

After weeks of anticipation, the 74th Hunger Games are finally upon us! The midnight showing kicks off tomorrow night, and thanks to my good friend Katie — who introduced me to the books by Suzanne Collins— I’ve already bought my ticket.

I just finished Mockingjay, and while I may be new to the series, there were a number of scenes that stuck out. Since I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to decipher exactly how the director is going to handle key scenes, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to the 10 that I am most excited to see on the big screen.

Read on and let me know what you’re most excited to see, but be warned — there will be spoilers.

10. The Capitol

Set in post-apocalyptic Panem, a shadow of what used to be North America, the Capitol is penned as an advanced metropolis around which the country’s 12 districts are centered. As punishment for a former revolt, during the annual Hunger Games each district is to hold a lottery in which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 are selected to compete in a televised battle to the death. The last man (or woman) standing receives a year supply of food for their district — a rare commodity in many of the cash-strapped areas.

Tributes, or those selected in the lottery, travel to the Capitol to prepare for the games, where they are trained, pressed and polished in the hopes of securing sponsors — who provide valuable commodities to participants while in the arena. The city is extremely advanced and offers the latest technological accomplishments, while its inhabitants are vibrant if not vain.

While much of the fighting takes place in the arena,  Katniss and Peeta — the story’s protagonists (played by Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson) — spend about half of the book at the Capitol. Since it should feature predominately in the film I’m very excited to see what the director decided to do with it.

9. The Chariots

Upon arriving at the Capitol the tributes are promptly taken to meet their stylists, who prep them for upcoming publicity stunts. The better tributes come across on camera, the better their chances of securing potential sponsors, who can donate money or supplies. Tributes receive gifts in the arena in the form of silver parachutes full of goodies; the stronger they come across before the games, they more they can better their efforts on the inside.

On the first night the tributes are formally introduced to the Capitol with a chariot ride through the middle of the training center. Cinna — Katniss and Peeta’s stylist (played by Lenny Kravitz) — creates a simple black suit with a cape that appears to catch fire as the District 12 tributes wave to adoring onlookers — holding hands every inch of the way.

The descriptions in the book were breathtaking — so I hope the film does it some justice.

8. The Training Center

As I’ve said, each tribute is trained in combat and survival skills prior to heading to the arena — making the Capitol’s training center another Hunger Games hot spot. Each tribute has their own training strategy, and while some opt to show their strengths from the get g0, others (like Katniss) save their specialty for their one-on-one meeting with the gamemakers.

The gamemakers rate each tribute on a scale from one to 12 — allowing potential sponsors to assess each participant’s chance of making it out of the arena unscathed. Katniss went last and shot an arrow toward the group of distracted gamemakers — earning an almost unheard of 11.

Although I am sure that the majority of the film will focus on the actual games, training should take up a fair amount of screen time. As excited as I am to finally meet the other tributes, I’m especially interested in Katniss’s session, which should be sure to turn heads.

7. The Interviews

.
After training the tributes are dolled up to conduct a live interview with Caesar Flickerman — the face of the Hunger Games. Cinna strikes again with Katniss’s dress — creating a flowing red number that flares up when she spins on stage. As the book describes it, Katniss appears to catch fire — which could easily appear over the top on film. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Peeta’s interview is less flashy, but far more shocking, as he confesses his love for Katniss. Katniss has no idea it is coming, but from the clip I posted above, it appears that the director decided to allow her to deal with the news on her own terms. In the book she was onstage as Peeta discussed how he’s loved her since childhood — which required her to strategize on the spot. I think I’d prefer that to how the movie portrays it, but I’ll know tomorrow.

6. The Arena Entrance

While the first half of the book focuses on getting the tributes to the games, things really pick up in the second half.

On the first day of the Hunger Games Katniss is flown to an unknown location and taken to an underground room. After saying goodbye to Cinna — the last person she would see before competing for her life — Katniss is directed into a clear, circular elevator and thrust into the heart of the arena.

My heart was pumping out of my chest as she awoke to a brightly lit field near a lake surrounded by a vast forest. A giant golden cornucopia at the center of the ring of tributes was overflowing with weapons, and I held my breath as Katniss chose between running for safety (as directed by her trusty, if not tipsy, mentor Haymitch — played by Woody Harrelson) or running for a golden bow that waited at the platform’s cusp.

I’ve seen snippets of the scene in the movie’s official trailer, but I look forward to seeing how everything plays out on film tomorrow night.

5. The Tracker Jackers

Once inside the arena Katniss quickly uncovers one of the gamemaker’s hidden terrors — the tracker jacker. The Capitol designed the jackers to track rebels during the first revolution. The huge, genetically-modified wasps hunt down and torture their pray with intensely lit hallucinations and plum-sized welts. As described by Katniss, “Most people can’t tolerate more than a few stings. Most die at once. If you live, the hallucinations brought on by the venom have actually drawn people to madness.”

While treed by a group of “career tributes” — so called by their district’s long-held reputation in the games — Katniss dislodges a nest of tracker jackers, killing two of her fellow gamers. The book describes the deaths in graphic detail, and given the film’s PG-13 rating it will be interesting to see how the scene translates to the big screen.

4. The Death of Rue

No one likes to see a  kid die. Especially not one as sweet as little Rue. Throughout the book you get a real appreciation of how much Katniss cares for her, and if there weren’t three books I would have expected her to forego the games to protect the District 11 tribute.

Unfortunately, in one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the novel, Rue dies in Katniss’s arms after receiving a spear to the stomach. Katniss sings Rue a song her father used to sing her, before a coal mining accident took his life five years prior.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise

Here it’s safe, here it’s warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.

As sad as the scene is, it is also extremely powerful. Katniss’s affection for Rue is a direct challenge to the Capitol’s plans to pit the districts against each other in a fight for both food and survival. Katniss is beginning to show signs of dissension, which do not go unnoticed  — by the Capitol or Panem’s many mandatory viewers.

It’s an important scene, and I plan on packing some tissues to get through it.

3. The Cave

Midway through the book Claudius Templesmith, the voice of the Hunger Games, announces that for the first time ever, two tributes from a single district would be allowed to win — should both partners live to the game’s end. Katniss quickly finds Peeta, who has been injured in a fight with Cato and spent a day hidden in a muddy riverbed.

Katniss finds a cave, where she attempts to nurse Peeta back to health. Low on food, she quickly discovers that Haymitch will only send supplies as she plays into the “star-crossed lovers” theme that Peeta set up in the pre-game interviews. In the cave Katniss and Peeta express their love for each other and share a number of introductory kisses — causing both readers and Katniss to question Peeta’s true intentions. Is he playing the game or is he expressing his true feelings in what may be his final moments?

While the book tends to shy away from the sappy, it’s a heartfelt scene that I hope gets plenty of screen time.

2. The Feast

While Katniss does her best to heal Peeta, it quickly becomes apparent that her efforts will have been in vain without the medicine to nurse his leg wound. Templesmith announces a “feast,” during which remaining tributes can meet at the cornucopia to pick up a package of supplies.

After receiving a supply of “sleep syrup” from Haymitch, Katniss drugs Peeta, allowing her to attend the feast without objection. As soon as the supplies are delivered, Foxface — a tribute from District 5, jumps from the cornucopia — claiming her prize. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the entire book based on the stealth involved in such a maneuver, not to mention the battle that ensues after. I can’t wait to watch.

1. The Mutts

In one of the game’s final scenes, Katniss and Peeta are driven back to the cornucopia due to a lack of water in the arena’s reservoirs. They are left to battle Cato — the only other remaining tribute.

It is during this battle that the gamemakers release a pack of wolf-mutations — each genetically modified with the DNA of the game’s fallen tributes. The pack, which resemble each child picked to participate in the games, attack the group, forcing Cato, Katniss and Peeta to fight for the highest spot on the field’s golden centerpiece.

While I’ve given away a lot throughout this post, I won’t spoil the book’s climax. I encourage everyone who hasn’t read the novel to check it out before heading to theaters. It’s a quick read, and trust me when I say that you won’t be able to put it down once you pick it up. I have no idea how the mutts are going to look on screen, but I cannot wait to find out!

As hard as it was to pick a Top 10 — that completes my list. I’ll make sure to post after I see the film, but in the meantime feel free to share your thoughts. What are you most excited to see? What do you think producers will do well and what do you think they’ll screw up? Vote in the poll or leave a comment below. And, as always —

May the odds be ever in your favor!

.
“May the odds be ever in your favor!” — Effie Trinket, The Hunger Games.