Beginnings and adaptations

It's strange to think that about a year ago I was mourning the beginning of the end of one beloved book-to-movie adaptation (the imminent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I), and today I am looking forward to the beginning of the beginning of another one, as the Hunger Games trailer was officially released today.

A year ago I was in a tizzy about HP7.1 and avidly watching any and all retrospective video clips of the series as a whole.  My favorite is this one, with Tom Felton waxing nostalgic over past props:

  I think I reread the book, or at least revisited my favorite scenes and prayed that they'd be faithfully reinterpreted and edited to be properly cinematic and dramatic.  And the movie did not disappoint.

This trailer has me excited, as it hits all the right notes and right scenes.  There is a palpable ease between Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss and Liam Hemsworth's Gale, as there should be because in the book they are very close friends.  It was a solid trailer but only one moment made me almost choke on my yogurt, and that was the very last clip with all the kids rushing towards something (the Cornucopia).  There's still about five months before the movie hits theaters, and I remain optimistic about it.

Adaptation



Gah OMG it's just like in the book yay asjdflj;dflwj!!!!111

(image source)

I have been fervently following the progress of the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games ever since I finished the series earlier this year.  I was cautiously optimistic about it and with every little trickle of information-- casting information, the teaser trailer, character posters-- I feel more relieved and less anxious that it'll all build up to a disappointing finish.  My main concern is how the intense interior monologue of protagonist Katniss Everdeen will translate; the books are all written in first person and use present tense, which creates a lot of suspense and makes every action and thought heightened and more immediate, and much of the story happens in flashbacks to Katniss' past.  The most logical way to approach this is to use voice-over, and the teaser trailer features just that.  I just hope that there will be judicious use of voice-over and narration.

I'm forced to think back to the walk-off scene from Zoolander, and what David Bowie says: "First model walks; second model duplicates, then elaborates."  This is how I feel about adaptations.  While I love to watch movie scenes that are completely peeled from the original source material, certain changes need to be made to accomodate the different storytelling medium and enhance the experience.

Today is the last day of Banned Books Week

Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010, as listed on the ALA website

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2010/index.cfm

Boldface indicates books I've read 
Underlined marks books I had heard of before seeing this list

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
   Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit
4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, and sexually explicit
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
7. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
   Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint
9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
   Reasons:  homosexuality and sexually explicit
10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
    Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence  

Based on the descriptions of these books I'm not too surprised that they were challenged.  Brave New World sort of flaggergasts me because I thought it was a modern/nouveau classic or something like that.  But I suppose if Huck Finn got reconsidered in light of its "racist language" I guess it makes sense that Huxley's text was challenged.  Nickel and Dimed surprises me because the content didn't seem so incindiary; this is a work of non-fiction and the author expresses political and religious viewpoints but it never came across to me as ban-worthy.  This makes me wonder: who exactly are these people who come together and make concerted efforts to prevent others from reading these supposedly damnable texts? Ironically enough, even Fahrenheit 451, a book about banning/burning books, was on the banned list.  Haven't people heard of the phrase "there's no such thing as bad publicity", and that challenging a book just ensure that it'll get more attention and readers before it is potentially off library bookshelves?

Reactions to first Hunger Games trailer/footage

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music

Solid trailer.  Doesn't show too much, just enough to tantalize us fans and keep us optimistic about the film adaptation.  I know that this will come off as a backhanded compliment, but it was the end that really got me excited:
1) got to see Katniss use her signature weapon
2) loved how the arrow she shot got integrated into the gold mockingjay symbol
3) love that it caught on fire
4) got to hear the simple but important 4-note melody (Danny Elfman is scoring this film!)

March is a long way away and they're still shooting the film, but it's nice that the people that be cut together this teaser of what to expect to see.  Man, with every little bit of info that gets put out on this film, whether an interview or photo or promo image, I get more pumped/less worried that this'll fall under the category of "just okay but you gotta read the book".

Ramblings on age (part I, maybe)

I went to go see "Bridesmaids" recently and I got asked to present identification.  That's something that hasn't happened to me in a while; I don't see TONS of R-rated movies but that was only the second time I was asked to prove that I was of age.  Well, actually, I tried to buy a ticket for "Love, Actually" when it came out but bought a ticket for "Haunted Mansion" and sneaked into the theater next door just in time to hear Bill Nighy drop a string of f-bombs.

Butter is better

I am sick.  I try not to write about personal, day-to-day stuff, but I haven't been feeling up to snuff for the last days.  What bothers me the most isn't the soreness in my neck, shoulders, armpits and ankles; not the boggy feeling in my head that feels like my mind has been infiltrated by Jell-O; not the sponaneous flash-floods that run from my nose.  No, the most bothersome thing about being is sick is having no appetite at all.  Regular meal times come and go and I have no desire to eat anything.  I know it's crass to complain about not wanting to eat; many people don't have the diversity of options available to me, nor the money to have enough to eat at any meal.  I know all this. If you're reading this I apologize for complaining when there are larger issues plaguing the world, and ask that you humor this little post of mine.

I am goin somewhere with all this, if you were wondering.  This morning I was in a rush and unmotivated to fix myself breakfast, and at out in the morning.  I ordered myself a simple egg and cheese sandwich on English muffin-- something not terribly exciting but filling and nutritious.  Ah, but what was magical and post-worthy about this sandwich was that the bread was buttered and toasted on a griddle, and the egg was cooked using butter.  I usually cook using oil because it's healthier and more convenient (I don't have to pull it out of the fridge).  But oh my goodness butter is better.  It added such a rich and creamy flavor that I actually enjoyed eating and tried to savor the experience.  My appetite hasn't entirely come back but I found it noteworthy that my breakfast made such an impression on me that I'm salivating slightly as I type this.  I'm going to have to make an effort to use butter more often.  Real butter, that is.  "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" tastes okay, I guess, but if I'm going to indulge I want to do it all the way and use the real stuff. 

to be continued...maybe...

Updates, I guess

Currently reading: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Recently read: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré; Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

TV series I currently follow: 30 Rock, Community (GIF taken from season 1), How I Met Your Mother, Glee (after finding out the general reaction to the latest episode)
Recently viewed: Dogtooth (2009), The Brothers Bloom (2008), Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 2 (tv series)

On heavy rotation: Italian opera music

Current food craving: breakfast crêpe stuffed with spinach, tomato, egg and feta (goat) cheese 

Approaching the end of a series

Right after I finished "Catching Fire" I went to request my library's website to request the third and final book of the Hunger Games trilogy. Mockingjay came in on Wednesday and has been sitting in my desk drawer ever since. On one hand I want to dive right in and submerge myself in the world of the book and find out what happens to the characters following the end of the last book. On the other hand I'm a bit hesitant to start reading it. I know that once I start I will have a hard time tearing myself away; the writing is so suspenseful and there's an urgency to everything the characters do. Also I feel kind of nostalgic, almost melancholy, that I've reached the end of this series and there are no more books to read.

I can't help but think back to the way I felt before, during, and after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. My motivation for blazing through that book were twofold: I was absorbed in the story and wanted to finish it before anyone else I knew so that they couldn't spoil anything for me. I wish I had taken my time with that book, because I can't go back in time or unread the book and experience it for the first time again. I can read it over and over again and find new things but it won't be the same as seeing it with fresh eyes and that particular mindset of wondering what will happen next.

I intend to set aside time to read Mockingjay next Saturday, and hope not to rifle through its pages from beginning to end. Right now I feel a slight tugging in my brain to open that drawer and start reading today. It's okay, you can just read one chapter right now. Maaaaybe two says my Id. No, you know yourself and don't give in to your emotions says my superego/Obi-Wan Kenobi. My tired and reasonable side is winning out right now, and as long as I distract myself with Important and Time-sensitive Work I'm sure I'll be okay.



image source 1

Random Hunger Games thoughts

This morning I finished reading "Catching Fire", the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy. As with the first book I had a very hard time putting it down and ended up reading the entire book the day I got my hands on it.

When "Mockingjay" , the last book in the trilogy, came out toward the end of last year my interest was piqued and I resolved to read the series someday. I guiltily admit that news of the film adaptation motivated me to read the books sooner, rather than later. I regret that my reading list has gotten increasingly influenced by movie releases, but I'm glad that this has gotten me to read books that I otherwise would've left toward the bottom of my ever-growing reading list.

I can't help but try to imagine which actors will be cast for the leads. I read somewhere that Chord Overstreet (left), one of the newest cast members on the tv show "Glee", might make a good Peeta Mellark. What he has going for him is that 1) he's roughly the right age, and 2) he's blond (blonde?). He's an adequate actor, I guess, and I found myself imagining him as this character as I read "Catching Fire." I feel like Logan Lerman would do well with this character, having seen him in a few films, seen what he's capable of. But he doesn't have the right hair color and I don't think that he'd look good with blond hair. It might seem like a trivial detail, the color of an actors hair, but I think it plays a big role in the story because it contrasts with other characters' features.

image source 1 image source 2 image source 3

Looking back, looking forward; Updates

After hitting the "PUBLISH POST" button at the bottom of my screen here I will have written one blog post a day for an entire month. One down, eleven to go. I can't come up with a cogent argument as to this experiment having a positive effect on my writing, but at least it's gotten me to sit in front of the computer and actually think instead of falling into the routine of cycling through the same websites until I look at the clock and egads how long have I been here I was supposed to find a recipe for falafel and all I've done is watch twelve videosofdogsridingturtlesgaah! Hmm, and apparently it hasn't curbed my proclivity to ramble. I swear I don't typically write run-on sentences! I love grammar and spelling and punctuation!

For the next month I'll make a word bank of 37 Interesting Words and try to use one word in every post, rather than give myself seven days to use seven words. Good thing February's a short month. And it's that the beginning of the next month also includes the beginning of the lunar (not Chinese!) New Year. Thursday marks the start of the Year of the Rabbit. I have hope for the new year, that it'll be better than the last.

* * * * *
Currently reading:
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (reading it a second time)

Recently viewed:
Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book I, Vol. I: Water (Nickelodeon TV series)
Underdog (2007)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) by Gil Junger
Coupling season 2 (BBC)

Just one of those days...

Another tepid attempt at a blog post. Some days I have several topics about which I feel motivated to write, but today nothing really strikes my fancy. I'm a bit tired because I slept later than usual in order to finish reading "The Hunger Games". Oh yes, it's that good and un-put-down-able. I'm half-tempted to write a review but have resolved to post one after I finish it a second time. I still clearly remember everything that transpires but I want to revisit it for character development and style analysis. Even with my ever-diminishing bank account I'm considering buying the whole trilogy because I feel it'd be worth my money. Some books I like to own (I have two copies of the Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), others I like to repeatedly check out of the library. Maybe I'll devote a future post to my idiosyncrasies regarding books.