20 facts you might not know about 'The Hunger Games'

Sometimes, it takes a while for a book to get adapted. That wasn't the case for The Hunger Games. The first Hunger Games book came out in 2008, and the first Hunger Games movie came out in 2012. We primarily wanted to mention the book because of a fun fact about author Suzanne Collins. Before raking in mad cash from the YA book lovers, she wrote for the Nickelodeon shows Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. That rules.

Several directors were considered for the first Hunger Games movie. Rupert Sanders, Sam Mendes, Francis Lawrence, and Gary Ross were among them. Ross was aware of the book because his kids had read it, so he picked up a copy and read it himself. He told his agent he was interested in directing, and perhaps his enthusiasm worked as he got the gig.

Collins, as we noted, had experience writing for the screen, and she helped adapt her own novel. Ross also has a screenplay credit. Those two are joined in getting credit with Billy Ray, who had a lot of experience writing adult thrillers but not so much YA sci-fi films.

The book is told from the first-person perspective of Katniss Everdeen. The reader knows what she knows, and anything about what’s going on with the games is based on her speculation. However, Ross and Collins didn’t necessarily want voiceovers or monologues from Katniss. Thus, they increased the role of Seneca Crane to give the audience information about the game that Katniss couldn’t possibly know.

Speaking of speculation and Seneca Crane, Katniss imagines what Gamemaker’s control center looks like in the novel. However, Ross actually wanted to show the control center in the movie. Ross explained, “The look of the control center, the antiseptic feeling of it, and the use of holograms were all intended to make the arena feel constructed even when you weren't seeing the control room."

Unsurprisingly, basically every actress of a certain age tried out for the role of Katniss. It was a huge leading role in a likely film franchise. Some of the actresses whose names you likely recognize now were Chloe Grace Moretz, Saoirse Ronan, Hailee Steinfeld, and Shailene Woodley.

Lawrence, who was filming X-Men: First Class at the time of casting decisions, apparently nailed her audition. Ross said she “blew the doors off the place” (h/t The Hollywood Reporter). Collins said she was the “only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book.” Lawrence was worried about taking on such a significant role in such a massive production. It took her three days before she accepted the offer to star.

Lucas Till, Hunter Parrish, and Evan Peters were among the actors in the running for Peeta. Josh Hutcherson won the role. Ross said that Hutcherson was “pitch-perfect” in his audition.

The triangle of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale is at the center of The Hunger Games. David Henrie, Drew Roy, and Robbie Amell were considered for the third part of that triumvirate. Liam Hemsworth, fresh off of losing the role of Thor to his brother, got the part of Gale.

John C. Reilly was, at one point, in talks to play Haymitch Abernathy. Those talks fell through. The production went to Woody Harrelson, who also passed. However, Ross called up Harrelson. After some cajoling, he decided to take the part.

Ross had worked with Tucci on the animated movie The Tale of Despereaux. The two were apparently at the same Italian restaurant in New York on New Year’s Eve. Ross asked Tucci if he wanted to play the part of Caesar Flickerman. He immediately accepted.

Sutherland was already a legendary actor when he was cast to play President Snow. It would not have been surprising if he had cashed the check and let that be that. Instead, Sutherland wrote a letter to Ross elaborating on how he felt the role of Snow played in the story’s narrative. Apparently, Ross was taken enough by the letter to include some of Sutherland’s ideas in the film.

Nobody’s natural hair color sufficed for the movie. Lawrence notably died her naturally blonde hair brunette to play Katniss. Both Hutcherson and Hemsworth also dyed their hair.

Stephen Soderbergh is the most productive dude in the world. He seems to direct a couple of movies a year. Every year, he releases a list of all the movies, TV, and books he consumed, which is always massive. Apparently, he also has time to chip in on other people’s films. Soderbergh was a second-unit director on The Hunger Games. Yes, really. He shot most of the District 11 riot.

For the production design of the film, Ross and his crew turned to the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Also, Tienanmen Square and Red Square. Meanwhile, on the costuming front, designer Judianna Makovsky was inspired by the coal mining communities of the 1950s.

The Hunger Games set a new record for a midnight showing for a non-sequel, which is admittedly a lot of qualifiers. It started the movie toward a big splash at the box office. The movie made $408 million domestically and $694.4 million worldwide. From a budget of $78 million, it was a huge hit.

There were controversies related to the release of The Hunger Games. Some of it was about violence. Some of it was fans thinking Lawrence wasn’t thin enough to play Katniss (which led to a backlash, which we can only assume led to backlash to the backlash, and oh god, we’re feeling tired already). Some noted the film’s similarity to the Japanese movie Battle Royale. You will never believe this, but one of those people is Quentin Tarantino. While on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2022, Tarantino accused The Hunger Games of “ripping off” the movie Battle Royale.

The Oscars had no time for The Hunger Games. But man, teenagers dug it. We assume teens played a vital role in the movie, winning four MTV Movie Awards, including acting awards for Lawrence and Hutcherson. It also went eight-for-nine at the Teen Movie Awards (only Elizabeth Banks got nominated but didn’t win). It was not necessarily only teenagers digging The Hunger Games. It also won six People’s Choice Awards, including Favorite Movie.

The soundtrack for The Hunger Games has some notable names on it. It has an original song from Taylor Swift and a duo called The Civil Wars we assume would have changed their name if they had not broken up in 2014. That song, Safe & Sound, proved successful and won itself a Grammy Award.

The Hunger Games indeed spawned a franchise that managed to hold onto Lawrence as she headed into superstardom. Ross didn’t stick around for the first sequel, Catching Fire, replaced by Francis Lawrence, whom we noted was in the mix for this movie. Then, Deathly Hallows style, the third and final book in the trilogy Mockingjay was split into two films. Since then, a prequel book called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has been written, and a movie adaptation is in the works.