Young heroes rebel against a fascist government that controls its citizenry through institutionalized terror and reality television, igniting a revolution that spreads across an isolated land via broadcast images and word of mouth. The Arab Spring? Nope. Try The Hunger Games , set in a dystopian sci-fi future that parallels current global unrest, which stars Jennifer Lawrence , Elizabeth Banks , and Donald Sutherland say they hope could spur a generation of YA-consuming youths into political action. “We live in a world where in the past, present, and possibly future governments and certain countries are controlling their people by keeping them separate, weak and hungry so that they’re not strong enough to fight back,” said Lawrence, who stars in the adaptation as teenage coal miner’s daughter/District 12 tribute Katniss Everdeen . “I think that there are a lot of messages [in The Hunger Games ] about history repeating itself and how something is wrong when you stay quiet, how we are the new generation.” Elizabeth Banks , who plays Capitol-assigned chaperone Effie Trinket , echoed the sentiment. “There are oppressive regimes all over the world that are being toppled by young people using YouTube to start revolutions,” she said. “There is no greater connection. This book is happening right now.” It can certainly be argued that Collins’ book series and the Gary Ross-directed feature adaptation has the potential to influence a generation of youngsters who’ll come for the sci-fi escapism and leave the theater appreciating its personal messages of personal accountability and standing up for what’s right in the face of impossible odds. More subtle are the franchise’s critiques of capitalism, celebrity, and media exploitation; if The Hunger Games succeeds in teaching kids to think critically about reality television alone that will be some sort of cultural coup. (Of course, there’s the tricky contradiction of getting such message from a heavily-marketed $70+ million studio production whose elaborate campaign has tapped social, online, and mainstream media in the pursuit of a huge box office, not to mention the issue of selling “ Capitol Couture ” as a merchandising tie-in.) Thankfully, here’s Donald Sutherland to put the Hunger Games potential for real world translation into relatable terms: “This has the possibility to change everything – to motivate, to catalyze, to activate, whatever revolutionary instincts there are in what is, essentially, from my point of view, a dormant generation.” “I just hope that they see from this allegory that the future is unacceptable. But more than that, it’s unimaginable. If you look at the weather, if you look at fossil fuels, if you look at a political party that just says no only because they want to get elected – they have no concern for four years for the people… those people are our business managers! “We own this country; they’re supposed to administer it for us. It’s not for them. They’re not supposed to be profiting from it! You don’t profit from it in Canada. You don’t profit from it in France. You don’t spend hundreds of millions of dollars to get elected! Nobody in their right mind would spend that much money in Canada, it’s just a bad investment! But it’s a good investment here, and that’s a problem.” “And you’ve got a Supreme Court that says a corporation is a citizen? Sorry, no. They don’t file the same tax forms I file… if they do, I’d like to know what it is. Because General Electric can make $4 billion in profit and they don’t pay any tax? I’m sorry. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, ‘Taxes are what you pay for a civilized society.’ If you carry that all the way backwards, we’re not civilized.” Of course, while older viewers may be prompted into critical political thinking by The Hunger Games , 12-year-olds clutching Mockingjay pins may not quite grasp the world as Sutherland sees it… yet. Then again, maybe all that needs to be planted is the seed of awareness. “It could make them stand up and become aware through this allegory of the political structure that they live in and what needs to be changed,” insisted Sutherland. “They could all become Katniss Everdeen.” Read more on The Hunger Games , which arrives in theaters March 23. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Official release plans haven’t been revealed for Paul Thomas Anderson’s mysterious untitled religious drama , known as The Master , which stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix and was reportedly filmed on 65mm. But while distributor The Weinstein Co. hasn’t let slip potential release dates yet, producer/financier Megan Ellison dropped a hint on Twitter about a possible fall opening. Responding to the PT Anderson fansite Cigarettes & Red Vines , Ellison (whose Annapurna Films financed the project) gave hope for a late 2012 debut. @ cigsandredvines I know you guys are waiting on a release date for ‘the Master’, and it’s still a bit early, but I’d keep my eyes on October — Megan Ellison (@meganeellison) March 6, 2012 If the October date lands it could potentially mean we’ll see The Master debut at Cannes in May, where Punch-Drunk Love premiered before opening in October of 2002, or play Telluride/Toronto/NYFF right before release at the start of awards season. While one Tweet (and Anderson’s film fest history) is awfully little to go on, it’d make sense if things shook out this way, but stay tuned for more as this phantom October date approaches. [ @meganeellison via Slashfilm ]
It’s the start to a pivotal relationship in The Hunger Games saga: Newly minted tribute Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) meets her Capitol-assigned stylist, Cinna ( Lenny Kravitz ), who will help her put on a brave, fierce face for the media circus leading up to the televised deathmatch known as the Hunger Games. Watch the two meet in a promising clip from the March 23 release and chime in: Does this scene bode well for the franchise-launching adaptation? In this scene, Katniss has just arrived inside the walls of the Capitol, the flourishing city that houses the 1 percenters of Panem, where each District’s young tributes train and prepare for their battle royale. Every District is assigned a stylist to prep them for the televised promotional appearances that fuel spectatorship of the Games, and Cinna is hers and Peeta’s. Lawrence continues to impress as Katniss, played with a slightly dark, slightly wary sense of intelligence. But I particularly love what Kravitz does here with Cinna; he underplays the character’s ambiguous sexuality just so, capturing a surprising canniness and awareness. Kravitz’s Cinna comes off as more strategist than stylist, which is how Suzanne Collins wrote him in her novels, but there’s a warmth in his interactions with Lawrence. And I dig the restraint in his gold-flecked make-up — also straight from the books — especially in comparison with Effie Trinket ‘s harajuku clown getups. By all indications, not too shabby for his second acting turn to date. [ Yahoo! ]
As The Hunger Games ‘ March 23 release fast approaches, Lionsgate is churning out a steady stream of stills and goodies and tie-ins to stoke the fires of fandom and they’ve put a surprising bit of marketing muscle behind not only star Jennifer Lawrence , but co-star Elizabeth Banks and her supporting character, Effie Trinket. On second thought, maybe that’s not so surprising; Effie’s strikingly gaudy visual look, representative of image-obsessed Capitol culture in the fictional nation of Panem, offers more in the way of marketing opportunities than Katniss Everdeen’s tomboy-turned-teen warrior ensembles. To wit: Effie, as played by Banks, is the face of the official Hunger Games nail polish line , comprised of different shades representing the districts of Panem. (“The odds are never in favor of homely nails,” she preaches on the Hunger Games offshoot site CapitolCouture.pn .) Ironically, Capitol fashions are thought of as ridiculously garish within the Hunger Games world, which explains Banks’s clownish getups as Effie, District 12’s government-assigned escort. The message gets a bit muddled when Lionsgate and its corporate partners sell ” Capitol Couture ” to fans with a positive spin to be coveted and replicated, but fans have a soft spot for Effie and the sentiment suggests more of a cosplay vibe than any legitimate espousal of Capitol culture. (Right?) Anyway, don’t be surprised if you see Effie’s garish styles mimicked IRL sooner or later; Halloween 2012 should be rife with Effie-inspired fan fashions, if the franchise’s enormous popularity is any indication. Here are a few of Effie’s looks to get you started — she never wears the same makeup with more than one outfit, airbrushes on pink foundation, and wears butterfly-adorned falsies, so we obviously already have that in common. [ Facebook , CapitolCouture.pn , Glamour ]
In this week’s Hobnobbing, we catalog Judianna Makovsky’s iconic looks. By Amy Wilkinson Jennifer Lawrence in the girl on fire costume in “Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate The Web nearly caught fire Thursday (January 19) when Entertainment Weekly debuted the first image of ” Hunger Games ” characters Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) in their parade costumes, snapped mere moments before District 12’s heroine becomes (quite literally) the Girl on Fire (we see you with that lit fuse, Cinna!). Of course, fans of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel know that the textured black suits are meant to reflect the duo’s coal-mining community, brought to sartorial life by their savvy stylist (played by Lenny Kravitz). “This is one of those moments where Cinna’s character syncs up with the creativity of our costume designer Judianna Makovsky,” director Garry Ross told EW. As if sitting front row at a Capitol-sponsored fashion show, fans have slowly but surely been treated to the growing catalog of Makovsky’s “Hunger Games” looks — from Effie Trinket’s lavender, silk brocade gown recently revealed on Capitol Couture to Katniss’ and Peeta’s futuristic training uniforms . Even the most casual cinephile should recognize Makovsky’s work. The Oscar nominee (and frequent Ross collaborator) is a Hollywood veteran with nearly 30 years of experience crafting iconic period and present-day looks for some of the silver screen’s biggest projects. After toiling as a wardrobe assistant on films like “The Cotton Club” and “Dick Tracy,” Makovsky took the lead, whipping together wardrobes for Tom Hanks’ “Big” (which Ross wrote and co-produced) and “The Quick and the Dead.” She earned her first Oscar nomination for Ross’ 1999 retrosplosion “Pleasantville,” starring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon as two teens who time-travel back to the 1950s, necessitating more sweater sets and curve-hugging skirts than an Ann Taylor outlet. The result was an eye-popping collection of richly saturated confections, worthy of recognition by the Academy and the Costume Designer’s Guild. An Oscar-nominated semester at Hogwarts followed (yes, Makovsky dressed Harry, Ron and Hermione in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”) before she reteamed with Ross for the 2004 equestrian classic “Seabiscuit” (starring then-up-and-comer Elizabeth Banks, a.k.a. Effie Trinket); the costumer earned her third Oscar nom for the film’s Depression-era garb. A mishmash of films followed, including “National Treasure,” “The Last Airbender” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” (perhaps the film in which she perfected her bodysuit construction), before she once again signed on with Ross for “The Hunger Games.” With several outfits yet to be seen from the March 23 release, including an unfettered view of Katniss’ glitzy interview gown, we can only expect the best from Makovsky. Could another Oscar nomination be in her dystopian future? What do you think about the “Hunger Games” costumes so far? Sound off in the comments below and tweet me @amymwilk with your thoughts and suggestions for future columns! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos The ‘Hunger Games’ Cast Answer Your Burning Twitter Questions Related Photos ‘Hunger Games’ Character Posters
The U.S. Marines Corps has reportedly identified all four of the men in the now-infamous video in which they appear to be urinating on dead Taliban bodies. All are reportedly part of a sniper team based in North Carolina. The four belong to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, which returned to the U.S.A. last fall after a tour in Afghanistan. Of the 1,000-person battalion, seven were killed in action. So far, the names of the men have not been released . Marines Urinating on Dead Bodies CBS News reports that the Marines urinating in the video had been showing off the video as a “war trophy” at their home base in Camp Lejeune in N.C. At least two of the Marines have been interviewed by USMC officials, but are not being detained as of right now. It is unclear what disciplinary action they may face. A rep for the White House said this morning that President Barack Obama is aware of the video, but would not say if he has actually seen it yet. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among many, many others in the past 24 hours, has condemned the video, calling the action “deplorable behavior.”
Joran van der Sloot will be spending the next 28 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to murdering Stephany Flores this week and was sentenced in Peru today. The court also ordered him to pay $75,000 in reparations to the family of the 21-year-old victim, who he killed after meeting her at a Lima casino in 2010. Under Peru’s penal system, Van der Sloot could become eligible for parole after serving half of the sentence with good behavior, including work and study. Joran van der Sloot Sentencing Prosecutors asked for a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft in the killing of Flores, who died five years to the day after Natalee Holloway. Holloway, who was last seen with Van der Sloot, disappeared in Aruba and was declared legally dead yesterday. Van der Sloot was the prime suspect. Van der Sloot’s attorney for a lighter sentence because Van der Sloot suffering from PTSD relating to the anniversary of Holloway’s disappearance. On Wednesday, Van der Sloot pleaded “anticipated conclusion of the process,” admitting he strangled Flores but denying it was at all premeditated. According to van der Sloot, he killed Flores in a fit of rage after she discovered information on his laptop about his involvement in the Holloway case.
Nothing compares 2 heartache for Sinead O’Connor. Just weeks after she married Barry Herridge in a quickie Vegas wedding, then split with him just 18 days later, only to reunite a few days later , she’s ending the union. For good this time. Sinead said in a statement: “I will never again associate myself romantically with anyone as I could not bear to see these things done to someone I love,” said Sinead, who was Tweeting her own cry for psychiatric help this week, regarding media scrutiny of Barry. “These people, along with others caused enormous damage deliberately and maliciously to my innocent flower of a husband, purely because he was with me.” “And so his association with me became something very bad for his life.” “And slowly since we were married I became very ill as result of what was done to my husband and I was unable to cope. And became very depressed.” O’Connor slammed one unnamed reporter (she later ID’d him on Twitter as Irish Mirror showbiz columnist Paul Martin) whom she called a bully for trying to “lose my husband his job” as a counselor for drug-addicted teenagers. The twice-married Sinead, 44, concluded her official website missive with some self-affirming statements right out of a Bridget Jones movie. “Well guys, I’m gonna be me. ” “And if anyone doesn’t like that they can seek therapy. Because I am wonderful. Exactly as I am. As Bridge Jones would say. And I shall continue being me. If being me means certain Irish media will try to destroy my romantic life.. So be it.” Let it be so then. [Photo: WENN.com]
Breaking Sports Video
