Nerve — Official Trailer

This looks like fun.  “A high school senior finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of ‘watchers’.”

Sure, it’s been done before.  There’s The Hunger Games, obviously, but movies about life-or-death competitions as the basis for “reality” TV programming even pre-date the arrival of actual TV shows like Survivor.  Take Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 The Running Man, which was set in the then distant future.

“In the year 2017, the world economy has collapsed.  The great freedoms of the United States are no longer, as the once great nation has sealed off its borders and become a militarized police state, censoring all film, art, literature, and communications.”
—from the film’s synopsis

Hmmm.  I wonder who won the 2016 election in that movie?

It looks like Nerve updates the story by moving it from TV to New Media.  The film stars Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, and it will be released on 27 July 2016.

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A Sign That Nerve Might Strain Credibility

In our first look at Dave Franco, he’s reading Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.  I’d have no problem if it were James Franco, but Dave Franco never struck me as a Bloomsbury type.

That’s the only element in the trailer that I found even slightly unbelievable.

The Hunger Games: The Props and Costumes Auction

Still haven’t decided what to wear to Prom?

How about the understated elegance of the pink wedding ensemble that Effie Trinket’s wore in The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay  —  Part 2?

And for the boys, is there any better choice than Peeta Mellark’s chariot ensemble from the original 2012 Hunger Games movie?

Well here’s your chance.

On 20 May 2016, Profiles in History, the prime auction house for Hollywood memorabilia, will conduct The World of The Hunger Games Auction, offering more than 450 lots of costumes and props from the four Hunger Games films.

You could buy Katniss’s longbow.  You could buy a Peacekeepers’ Military Vehicle (mechanicals untested).  You could even buy a Cinna’s stylish black jacket or Caesar Flickerman’s purple and teal suit.

(You might want to think twice about buying the suit.)

But before you buy anything, you’ll want to look at the full auction catalogue.  If you want to own a hardcopy, Profiles in History is offering a paperback version for $50.  You could also view an online flipbook, or download a PDF file, at no cost.

For those new to this kind of auction, the estimated selling price in the catalogue is almost always way below the final bid.  On the other hand, Hollywood memorabilia tends to appreciate at a phenomenal rate.

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Here’s a partial list of what’s being offered:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 — The End Is Near

One day to go.

On 20 November 2015, The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Part 2, aka THG:MP2, will launch simultaneously in the US and in 86 other countries.  It’s expected to be phenomenally successful.

Because of that International Dateline thingie, some of the earliest showings will take place in China, where the Hunger Games movies have a huge fan base.

Here’s the Chinese poster for the final episode of the franchise:

THG: MP2 Trailer — “For Prim”

We’re very near the end now, and what a trip it’s been.

In a bit more than two months, THG: MP2, the final film in The Hunger Games tetralogy, will debut.  It opens on 18 November 2015 in five European countries, adds another 50 countries on 19 November, and then another 20 countries, including the US, the UK, and Canada, on 20 November.

The box office to date for the first three films is $2.307 billion, on a budget of $333 million.    Lionsgate reportedly is “actively looking at some development and thinking about prequel and sequel possibilities” for The Hunger Games film franchise.

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The Hunger Names

The film will open under different titles, depending on where it’s playing. Here’s a sample:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 — First Teaser

Hot on the heels of The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Part 2  —  First Poster comes The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Part 2  —  First Teaser, and from now on, I’m just going to call it THG:MP2.  This is the one we’ve been waiting for.

(Non)Spoiler:  The big emotional conclusion of  THG:MP2 comes when Katniss tells Peeta:  “I did it for me.  I liked it.  I was good at it.  And…I was…really…I was alive.”  Then she goes off and kills the neo-Nazis.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 — First Poster

The Hunger Games:   Mockingjay Part 2

The release of the final film in the Hunger Games series, the clumsily named The Hunger Games:   Mockingjay Part 2, is about six months away, and we’re starting to see artwork for the movie.  Good poster!

I was an early fan.  According to my Amazon order history, I bought the original Hunger Games book a couple of weeks after it was published.  I enjoyed Catching Fire, but, like many people, was disappointed by Mockingjay, which read more like a rushed first draft than a finished novel.  I’d hoped the films would fix some of the problems with Mockingjay,

The US release date for THG:  MP2 is 20 November 2015.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 — Final Trailer

And with that, it’s Game On.  Tickets for The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Part 1
went on sale today.

In US theaters on 21 November 2014.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 — New Teaser

There’s a new teaser for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, called “Return to District 12”:

Tickets go on sale on 29 October 2014, and the movie opens on 21 November 2014.

The Mockingjay Lives — New Trailer

Now things get serious.

Only two more months!  It opens on 21 November 2014.

The Ubiquity of Lorde (Continued)

These tweets appeared on Lorde’s twitter feed this morning:

She’ll have the first single from the soundtrack of The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay – Part 1.   She has not yet announced who else will be on album.

She’s 17 years old.

Here’s her first big hit, “Royals”:

See previous post: The Ubiquity of Lorde.