Panem Comes To Life: A Topographical Map Of The Lands Of The Hunger Games

I am one of the legion of Suzanne Collins fans who is eagerly anticipating the March release of the first hunger Games movie. Jennifer Lawrence is looking epic as Katniss and the movie is seeming to shape up quite nice. one of the key elements that the trailers seem to highlight would have to be the look and feel of the 13 Districts of Panem, or the country where the three books are set. while Suzanne Collins never outright declares where the stories take place, she does hint at the North American locations and certain aspects that make each District unique. V. Arrow and her contributor BadGuys are the official creators of Smart Pops The Panem Companion: The Unofficial Guide To Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games, and they came up with a topographical map to help illustrate where our story takes place in relation to the world we know. As a fan of the series, this is a really cool little project... and this is the sort of obssessing that I am glad someone else is doing because I do not really have the time anymore! Now I can just buy the book and read all these crazy tidbits myself. Click here to see the page they set up for the book and click after the jump for a full sized version of the map...

Risa Rodil Minimizes The Hunger Games

Artist Risa Rodil is spectacular at creating interesting & complex images... yet the ones that I chose to highlight are some of the simplest out of all of them. I am a huge fan of minimalist takes on pop culture properties, so why not see what Rodil has to say about Suzanne Collins's Hunger Game Trilogy? All three of these capture key moments from each book without revealing anything too important. It's like an inside joke for those who have read it, and peaks the interest of the people who haven't read it yet. Either way, they are hot. Check all three of them out after the jump...

'The Hunger Games' Gets An Official Trailer... I Soil My Pants

I have been yelling the praises of Suzanne Collin' 'Hunger Games' book series since the minute I turned the last page of the trilogy. While it is easy to assume it is a Young Adult crapfest in the vein of Twilight, people who read them will find themselves pleasantly surprised by the dense Sci-Fi/Adventure series the books actually are. After the success of all three books, plans for filming the trilogy started. Given the solid source material and possible potential for a franchise, Lionsgate decided to go all out. They put together a huge cast (Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrellson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Toby Jones, Thor's little brother, etc) for Gary Ross to direct... and now we finally have a trailer. Check it out in all it's wondrous glory after the jump.






Wow... I am shocked by how much of the book they were able to convey in such a short amount of time. I am already getting the feel for the world of Panem that I fell in love with in all three books, and Lawrence looks great as Katniss... one of the baddest female characters in the history of fiction. What do you guys think about the trailer? Tell us in the comment section below!!!

Ok, Now I'll Talk About The Hunger Games

There have been tons of cast speculations, rumored stars attached, and typical internet nonsense associated with what is sure to be a tentpole movie franchise, The Hunger Games. Based on a trilogy of novels (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins and making its way to the big screen next year, everyone has been buzzing about this one. So why haven't I covered it here on CCD very much (if at all)? 

I haven't covered it because I hate the speculation game that the internet has become lately. They announce a movie and right away start attaching people to roles, bashing confirmed casting decisions, and criticizing something long before it even shoots in front of cameras. The tipping point for me was when they cast Andrew Garfield as the new Spiderman. People got mad at the casting and said dumb shit like he was to 'skinny' for the role. Wait... what? He is to skinny? He is playing a teenager, and the role was played by the elfish Tobey McGuire. Forget that Garfield is a proven actor who has had great performances... people wanted to bash the casting just to bash it. Since then I have made a concerted effort to steer clear of casting rumors and wait for concrete facts. In the case of The Hunger Games, we got that today.

Whats wrong with this? Nothing, that's what!

Jennifer Lawrence will be portraying the star of the book, Katniss Everdeen, in the movie version. When she was cast, people immediately got pissy. They whined that she was to blonde, and to old, and this and that.... yet they failed to acknowledge one thing: Jennifer Lawrence is a hell of an actress that was NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD LAST YEAR (and she probably should have one)!!!! Honestly, how can this be a bad thing? I want a good actress for the role.... this is fine for me. Here she is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in the role. Judge for yourself.

EW of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss.... nice!

Now, here are my critiques. First of all, I HAVE read the books and I loved them. Katniss is one of the strongest female characters I have ever read in any book, ever. Collins wrote her in such a way that you go from loving her to hating her to loving her again faster then you can turn a page. I enjoyed the books immensely, and when they cast Jenny Lawrence I was really excited. She is really hot, but she can fucking act. Watch Winter's Bone. That movie will change your life. Lawrence was nothing short of spectacular in that film, and it was a similar character to Katniss. So I am all in on this one. I can't wait to see this film. If you are a real fan of these books, you would love this picture and love Jennifer as Katniss. Stop being trolls and think before you type.

Ms. Collins, you killed it!

As for the rest of you guys and gals out there, you have at least a year before the film hits. I suggest getting the three books as soon as possible. They are fun and will be great summer reading, and Suzanne Collins shows authors like Stephanie Meyer how its done. They are only around 450 pages a piece, so make sure you get to these... you will not be disappointed.