I think Ben might be a little too young for Cinna. I always thought of Cinna as someone in his thirties or so. Someone along the lines of Stanley Tucci.

Oops I forgot about Snow... do you think they'll even have him in the first movie?

I sure hope so. He was such a fantastic bad guy and a pretty main character in 2&3.

I always thought of Cinna as someone in his thirties or so. Someone along the lines of Stanley Tucci.

You do realize that Ben is 30 and Stanley is 51 right?
ETA: Sorry, Ben is 29 and a half.

The odds are also in my favour. I picked up the Hunger Games for the first time this week, and Lo! I find a Hunger Games special feature. I loved it, as ought to be obvious by now, and I can't wait to read the next two in the series.

Favourite Book: The Hunger Games, obviously. It's just my kind of book. Raw and gritty and...raw. If you know what I mean.

Peeta or Gale: I don't really know right now. I liked Gale, but then I liked Peeta. I get the feeling the audience is supposed to feel that way about them, to mirror with Katniss' confusion. That's pretty much where I'm at. Though I'm pretty sure she'll end up with Peeta.

Favourite Character: Katniss. I relate to her a lot (I always picture Prim looking exactly like my own baby sister), and I have to admit, thus far I admire her. She's got grit. And I also love(d) Rue. So small, and clever.

Casting: Er...No. I guess Jennifer Laurence looks okay, but the rest of the announcements have really thrown me off. Somehow I missed the part in the book that says Rue is dark-skinned. I spent the whole time imagining her like Arabella Morton, and I probably always will. Oh, well. Josh Hutcherson looks nothing like the Peeta in my mind, but I'm willing to give them all a try. May the odds be in their favour.

Like with the first book, the first section of Catching Fire sort of dragged for me. Part two was great, and the final part I read in one day. Excellent books.

I should say a little more even of the first book, I didn't say anything much in my only post in this thread. A wasted post

The Hunger Games,
it's the games themselves that made the book very interesting to read. Even from the first death I was drawn in, which is odd since like I said last time- it's really not my style of book, or so I think. My favorite characters in the first book:

Of course Katniss and Peeta. I loved Peeta more though. And following them is Rue. I remember not trusting Katniss pairing up with her. But then, it gave some honest moments and I was sad when she, Rue, died. But it was a very sweet/sad/tender moment that I truly hope the movie captures just right.

Catching Fire,
the games again is what made it such an excellent read. Once again Peeta and Katniss are favorites, but that goes without saying I think. Gale I enjoyed more now that there is more development to his character. I'm sorry, I forgot the guy's name- The one Katniss immediately paired up with, who swam back for Peeta, well him- I liked him. Like Katniss, I was curious to know what really was going on-
everyone seeming to want to pair up with her, saving Peeta.... And why couldn't she trust that other guy? The one we never saw in the whole game! I expect to know more of him in the third book.

Anyway,
both books have been great reads, not including the first part in both which was slow for me. I know most say the third book is weak but I have hopes for it, though cautious.

Oops I forgot about Snow... do you think they'll even have him in the first movie?

I sure hope so. He was such a fantastic bad guy and a pretty main character in 2&3.

Yeah... good point, considering Katniss spends a lot of time in CF (or was it mockingjay )

I always thought of Cinna as someone in his thirties or so. Someone along the lines of Stanley Tucci.

I think that Stanley Tucci could easily play the role of a designer (as seen in The Devil Wears Prada) But I think that would be kinda repetitive to have him in the same role again. Not to mention that Tucci is already Caesar Flickerman...

Random fact question for the series in general: Ok, so Panem is the futuristic result of massive amounts of natural disasters striking North America, right? So what happened to the rest of the world? Is it ever addressed in the series? Or are we left to assume that all other continents were ruined throughout the natural disasters?

outlier, that is a very good question. It has been a huge topic on many Hunger Games sites. it has not been talked about in any of the 3 books and (to my knowledge anyway) Suzanne Collins hasn't said what happened to the other countries of the world

I smell a spin-off series just kidding...

Actually, if the capitol has planes and hovercrafts I'd think that if there were other remaining signs of human life they would detect it and try to conquer that country

Snow has an important role even in the first book - i doubt they'll leave him out.

Random fact question for the series in general: Ok, so Panem is the futuristic result of massive amounts of natural disasters striking North America, right? So what happened to the rest of the world? Is it ever addressed in the series? Or are we left to assume that all other continents were ruined throughout the natural disasters?

I think Panem/North America has enough problems of its own that it hasn't concerned itself too much with other parts of the world. Best-case scenario, they're probably nations similar to Panem, or in worse straits.

It's also possible they have some communication with Panem's government, but -

Oops I forgot about Snow... do you think they'll even have him in the first movie?

I sure hope so. He was such a fantastic bad guy and a pretty main character in 2&3.

I always thought of Cinna as someone in his thirties or so. Someone along the lines of Stanley Tucci.

You do realize that Ben is 30 and Stanley is 51 right?
ETA: Sorry, Ben is 29 and a half.

Yeah, but does Ben LOOK thirty? That's the main point...he could be 45 and I'd still wouldn't think he looked like Cinna.

And that's why I said "more along the lines". He's a little old for the part, but he's got the kind of facial structure and look that I had in mind.

Yeah, but does Ben LOOK thirty? That's the main point...he could be 45 and I'd still wouldn't think he looked like Cinna.

Well, yes. To me, Ben embodies the way I visualize Cinna.... in every way. Young, handsome, energetic, but also calm and collected (unlike the rest of the design team). But that's my personal opinion.

Yeah, but does Ben LOOK thirty? That's the main point...he could be 45 and I'd still wouldn't think he looked like Cinna.

I'd be cool with Ben because yeah he looks slightly younger than thirty, because it's Cinna's first year in the hunger games. So I think Ben could bring a kinda new-but-has-fresh-ideas look that is presented in the books

Well so far I have read HG and CF but I still need to get Mockingjay at the library..but soo many people have it on hold I'll have to wait a little while

What's your favorite book? For now Hunger Games

What's your opinion on the ending of Mockingjay? Will tell when I read it

Peeta or Gale? Peeta all the way! Just as Haymitch said “You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him." Gale was more likeable in the first book when he was just trying to provide for his family and wanted to run away with Katniss to the woods.But he lost that in the other books.

Who is your favorite character in the trilogy? Hmm that is a hard one..I would have to go with Peeta and then Prim,Finnick,Katniss,and Cinna are my other favorites.

as for Casting:
I never thought of Ben Barnes for Cinna but he very much the way I imagined Cinna.Rue to me is perfect and with Jennifers hair dyed brown she does look more like Katniss..Prim I am ok with..with the girl who plays Rue she looks serious and sweet,but Prim looks way serious.I really like Josh H. as an actor but he doesn't look like Peeta to me..the guy they picked for Cato looks more like Peeta to me,but it is not about looks it is about acting so we will see.

Lenny Kravitz will be playing the role of Cinna in The Hunger Games!

nothing like I thought AT ALL! But I need to see his acting

Hmmm, I was really hoping he wouldn't because he's not what I pictured, but I suppose I'm writting him off too quickly... I guess I'll just have to see his acting

Um..Yeah, he doesn't look the way I imagined Cinna, or the way he's described in the books. But I guess we'll see. *goes off to find out who the casting director is for this film*

On a related note, Toby Jones has been cast as Claudius Templesmith, and looks great to me.

I'm still not sure how to feel about all this. The film is definitely not going to look the way I imagined it.