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[mishmash] book and movies
MEET KATNISS
So apparently Jennifer Lawrence of Winter's Bone is going to be playing Katniss in The Hunger Games movies. I loved her in WB and I think she'll do a good job. I feel kind of ambiguous on the decision which I can honestly say is a good thing. I didn't really have any hopes for casting but I definitely think I could have been majorly disappointed in their choice and with Jennifer I feel pretty good about it. I won't get excited until we have our first trailer, I can pretty much guarantee you that. I don't have any favorite choices for any of the characters but I am eager to see who plays Gale. I am so cynical about it and I'm almost sure there's no way they'll find someone I'll approve of, haha. I don't even know of any good candidates to suggest. *shrug*
I also have very little on the supposed "whitewashing" of Katniss. Her full-blood sister has blond hair and blue eyes (just like their mother), I don't think there's any crime in casting Jennifer, who can easily "costume up" to fit the role, whatever all that entails. Besides, for all of the fans complaining, where was all the fan art with actresses of color? Yeah -- I didn't see any either.
MEET RACHEL & DARCY
I had no clue that this book was being made into a movie. I just finished reading it a few weeks ago and I found it enjoyable enough. I just saw something in an advertisement I got in my e-mail today and couldn't believe how not-in-the-know I was because apparently it's coming out pretty soon. I had a few issues with the book but overall I found it enjoyable. Apparently there is a sequel, but as it's from Darcy's POV I am hesitant to read it. I'll most likely see the movie anyway. It looks cute. Also, Colin Egglesfield, as Dex, is kind of super adorable. In the trailer anyway, I've never seen him before in anything.
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I think the movie looks decent. I would probably be more interested if I had read the book like you. But it looks good!
PS. Who is in your icon? It looks like umm that woman who was in Triangle ugh what was her name? MELISSA GEORGE!
PPS. PAUL WESLEY FOR GALE! LOL
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It's NINA!
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I just posted a Peeta/Katniss wallpaper actually lol. I'm excited to start making graphics knowing that at least half of it is legit!
Really? Never in a million years woulda guessed it lol
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It's from this post (http://community.livejournal.com/destruction_box/53916.html#cutid1).
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There actually was some over on Tumblr. My only issue with that lies in that ridiculous casting call. Otherwise, eh. We'll see how the rest of the movie pans out I guess.
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I never read Katniss as a character of color and I think it comes down to the ambiguity of it all. My mother is German, caucasian and was often said to have olive toned skin in her youth. She's definitely white, just always had a bit more color in her naturally. So for me, I read olive-skinned in that way. Especially considering her mother and full-blood sister. I honestly didn't read the casting calls though, so I don't know.
With all of the characters, it would be shocking to me if all of them were white. At that point, I would concede and call it a whitewashing. But for now, I think they've done okay.
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Yeah, it's definitely a wait and see situation, but if it is an all white cast when all is said and done, then something is wrong.
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If it is an all-white cast it will be a shame. But honestly, I love this series so much I would probably see it anyway. I can't fathom that they would do that though. Just the very nature of the Games would prohibit it.
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Let me go dig it up.
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There’s already quite a bit of hand-wringing that, no matter how good an actress Lawrence is, at 20 she’s simply too old for the role.
First of all I talked to Suzanne extensively about this. Suzanne saw every single audition. And not only did Suzanne not have an issue with Jen’s age, she felt you need someone of a certain maturity and power to be Katniss. This is a girl who needs to incite a revolution. We can’t have an insubstantial person play her, and we can’t have someone who’s too young to play this. Suzanne was incredibly adamant about this. Far from being too old, she was very concerned that we would cast someone who was too young. In Suzanne’s mind, and in mine, Katniss is not a young girl. It’s important for her to be a young woman. She’s a maternal figure in her family. She’s had to take care of Prim and in many ways her mother since her father’s death. She’s had to grow up pretty quick.
In the books, Katniss is described as being olive-skinned, dark-haired, possibly biracial. Did you discuss with Suzanne the implications of casting a blonde, caucasian girl?
Suzanne and I talked about that as well. There are certain things that are very clear in the book. Rue is African-American. Thresh is African-American. Suzanne had no issues with Jen playing the role. And she thought there was a tremendous amount of flexibility. It wasn’t doctrine to her. Jen will have dark hair in the role, but that’s something movies can easily achieve. [Laughs] I promise all the avid fans of The Hunger Games that we can easily deal with Jennifer’s hair color.
[Emphasis mine.]
I don't know if that makes the casting call any better, but I'd be interested to know if they spoke with/solicited/auditioned actresses that did not fit the mold of what was in that little blurb.
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I'm actually confused to the whitewashing claims. As you said, her sister and mother are both blond-haired-blue-eyed and she resembles her dark haired father. I know Katniss is described as having olive skin, but I hear that phrase for many a Caucasian people that simply have a naturally tan skin tone. I think these claims are based on the idea that many people don't realize someone can have an olive complexion without being 'ethnic'.
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Yeah me too. I said pretty much the same thing too. I grew up being told that my (very white) German mother had olive toned skin. (She was naturally a little darker than most people.) So for me, having olive skin is not something that is exclusive to a person of color. To me, my caucasian mother has olive skin. So calling it a whitewashing is a bit perplexing to me, especially considering Prim and her mother.
Anyway, if they do a poor job with the rest of the casting it'll be a problem. For now, they've done okay.
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And yeah that's a good type for him. It works rather well. Especially playing off Darcy (Kate Hudson) who is just so... I can't think of how to put it. You'll have to read the book and then you'll understand. (And you'll also understand why I am hesitant to read the sequel which is from her POV.)
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Also, I think I'm in the vast minority here but, I really didn't like Winter's Bone at all. For me, it dragged and I had a terrible time buying into the storyline so I kept getting distracted. That said, I thought Jennifer did an AMAZING job and I was really impressed with her as an actress, so while I know ZILCH about Hunger Games, I'm sure she'll be great :)