Pajiba

Kind of off topic but every time I see a photo of Peeta, I'm reminded of James Caan.

I agree with Sarah. While the substance of the ending should remain intact, how we get there should be drastically improved. Having experienced the novels in audiobook form, parts of the 2nd and 3rd books were REALLY hard to get through.

A couple exceptions to whole notion that the book is always better than the movie...

"Silence of The Lambs" - The book isn't bad, but the movie is better.

"Lord of the Rings" - I like the movies a lot more. They do a better job with the characters and almost all of the changes they made are improvements over the books.

It seems to me that they don't really have to add anything, just expand on some scenes that were glossed over in the book. One that comes to mind is when they go and rescue Peeta from the capitol in Mockingjay. In the books, it just happens in the background while Katniss is just moping around 13, but it could definitely be made into a nice action scene for the movie. If they decide to not show everything from Katniss' perspective it would make the movies that much better.

The thing that is going to be hard to do in the movie (well, in any movie adaptation really) is conveying her thoughts without resorting to constant flashbacks or narration. In any case, I enjoyed the books and am excited for the movies.

But if Collins wants to [...] [give] fans more of a Hollywood ending, I won’t oppose.

Oh HELL no. I mean, WHAT???

Thankfully, more eloquent people than me have already commented, so basically: what Holly and Phedre said.

For shame, Sarah.

I hope they don't mess with any of the deaths in the second and third books. And that what happens to Peeta remains as harrowing as it is. There's no need to lighten up the books, although I worry they will anyway. And I agree with everyone who hopes they'll leave the ending as is.

Spoilers obviously.

I don't think that Catching Fire will be a problem. I really hope the trailers do not reveal Katniss going back in. I read the entire series with no foreknowledge and when Katniss learns she is going back in my heart broke for her. Easily in the top 5 most memorable scenes from the entire series.

All they really have to do is show how much has changed for Katniss and Peeta since the first Games, and keep the threat of President Snow so that we know that Katniss realizes she is going in to a Game that she has no hope of winning. I just hope they keep that WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?! ending intact and if anything leave more threads dangling as the credits roll. End it on the ship with Katniss freaking out and Crane telling her she's all right but Peeta was left behind.

Mockingjay worries me. The last half is solid visually, but the 1st half is mostly Katniss and her increasingly more concerning PTSD. They are going to have to give her someone to talk to, maybe a therapist or PR coach (good use for Effie?) so that they can give voice to her increasingly pissed off and suspicious thoughts.

I think the endings will be kept the same. There is some hope at the end of Mockingjay, they are just going to have to hit that without burying the "war is hell for everyone" message of the series. Which I know simplifies it but it needs to be clear to work on screen. And I really don't think it needs to be 2 movies. One will do just fine. Trying to make that book 4 hours is going to mean the first half has some extraneous action (likely we see the rescuse of Peeta) and stretched out scenes to pad the time, ending it with Katniss manning the guns when they go to visit the district.

I think that if The Hunger Games turns out to be as strong as that trailer suggests (and that's the best trailer I've seen this year) we won't have anything to worry about for the other 2. I just really hope they don't puss out on going as dark and fucked up as the series goes.

Catching Fire was actually my favorite of the three, so I'm not really looking for a lot of changes to it. But I can see where little things could be tweaked here and there, especially with Mockingjay. As for the ending...I feel like there are better ways to get there, but the ending itself needs to be what it is. It was one of those situations where I was both thoroughly disappointed and pleased with it. The way they end is necessary, but the whole way it comes about is rather abrupt.

I have no idea how they are going to stretch this into four films. It's not Harry Potter, where you had 700 pages of necessary text. Or even The Sparkly Vampire Crap where at least, I'm told, there were two angles to tell the story from (though everyone I know that read those books says that there was no need for the last to be split into two). But Mockingjay is just not that long, and not involved enough to make up for the length.

Just finished reading "Hunger Games" yesterday. Liked it well enough. Haven't read the other two, so I will throw in that caveat as well.

I think there's a difference between the creator using a new format to go back and re-tweak the work to better suit what they want to say (Fight Club) and someone just going back in to remake it from head to toe (Lucas). So it's about intent as much as it is about making sure you're giving your fans what they want.

Mockingjay reminded me of a particular South Park. Kenny goes to heaven and uses a PSP to control the armies of heaven against the forces of hell. Instead of showing us the great battle, they show Kenny, and two angels who give running commentary on how this is the greatest battle of all time.

Mockingjay was like that It's almost like Collins couldn't figure out how to describe the battle, so instead Katniss is in her room, we read about her being in her room, and the great battle happens off-page.

What's sticking in my craw, right now, is Peeta. He's described as being a stockier build. He's supposed to be the son of a baker, and thus used to eating decently, and has to lift lots of things. So, he should look *stronger* (I personally think he should have a more solid build. Like the football player who's fit, but not super toned. Like you have the muscles and then there's a nice layer of baby fat to smooth it all over . .. Um, I'll be in my bunk).

Of course, being Hollywood, even that's too "Big" and so we have a guy who looks like lifting a sandwhich would be too much.

He looks too thin and delicate and pretty. As a bigger guy, I'm kinda tired of being only shown as the BDF (you know that Cato and Thrush are probably going to be some jacked up looking guys. And rightly so), but NEVER pretty enough to be the love interest.

In my mind, Peeta looks like this, only younger, blonde, and *maybe* with some more padding.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_03/sheridanDM1710_468x685.jpg

I think they are going to have to change the ending, at least a little bit, in order to make the transition from book to screen. In the book the perspective is told entirely through Katniss, and the emotions she`s feeling. Movies don`t have the capacity to enter into a characters head like a book can and it will have to change up the style, at least in order for it to make some kind of narrative sense. I imagine a lot of what we`ll see is people attempting to explain things to Katniss when she has completely shutdown, until she can finally start to interact with people again.

(I would go into more detail, but I don`t want to spoil the books for people who haven`t read them yet.)

"Mockingjay" is far and away the best book in the series because of the time it spends in Katniss' head experiencing PTSD. As you come to see where she is mentally in the book, she finds Peeta and then it becomes evident there won't be a happy ending. I can understand if the story is slightly altered to appease audiences, but there's no way these characters can't not end up appearing broken.

"Catching Fire" though will definitely play better as a film, the entire first half of the book is set up for what comes in the rest of the series. I personally found it straining and ultimately boring, until the second half with the action. But in a film, it can take its time to lay out the plot and keep things moving along effectively, I hope.

More Effie, please.

They will have to involve Prim more than the books did.

Man I am with you on this one. The 2nd book was very readable but not nearly as compelling as the first. The 3rd one lost me a few times - I found it confusing and it seemed to jump from events rather quickly. The ending was really disappointing - it felt very rushed and too sewn up. I think that the movies could most definitely improve on the story and flesh certain things out more. They did it with Game of Thrones - I think the TV version of Game of Thrones is MUCH better than the books. I can't get through the first one.