Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

The Hunger Games is directed by Gary Ross, with a screenplay by Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray. Produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has developed a massive global following. The Hunger Games has been translated into 26 languages, with publishing rights in 38 territories.

In March 2012, during the time of The Hunger Games film's release, Scholastic reported 26 million Hunger Games Trilogy books in print. The Hunger Games Trilogy have sold exceptionally well in ebook format. Suzanne Collins is the first young adult author to sell over one million Amazon Kindle ebooks. In March 2012, Amazon announced that Collins had become the best-selling Kindle ebook author of all time.

After winning the 74th Hunger Games Katniss and Peeta return home to District 12, the poorest sector in the country of Panem. On the day that Katniss and Peeta are to start a "Victory Tour" of the country, she is visited by President Snow, who explains that he is angry with her for breaking the rules at the end of the last Hunger Games, which permitted both Peeta and Katniss to win. Snow tells Katniss that when she defied the Capitol, she inspired rebellion.

The first stop is District 11, the home of Katniss's deceased friend Rue. During the ceremony, Katniss delivers a brief speech to the people of District 11, thanking them. When she is done, an old man whistles the tune that Katniss used in the arena to tell Rue that she was safe. The song acts as a signal and everyone salutes Katniss, using the same gesture that she used to say farewell to Rue.

The three-finger salute from the movie Hunger Games is being used as a real symbol of resistance in Bangkok Thailand. Protesters against the military coup are flashing the gesture as a silent act of rebellion, and they're being threatened and arrested if they ignore warnings to stop. June 3rd, 2014 - Fox News. Today the MockingJay movie has been banned in Thailand.

The main themes of Catching Fire include survival and the conflict between interdependence and independence. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta are definitely interdependent. They are helping each other to survive.

Government control is another important theme throughout the entire trilogy. After suppressing the first rebellion, the Capitol establishes rules in order to restrict and control the citizens. The 75th annual Hunger Games have 'new' rules that cause Katniss and Peeta to be again placed in danger. Peacekeepers are sent to districts to diminish any hope that the citizens may have. Another major theme is the media and the influence and power that popular culture has over the emotions, wishes and views of society.

Catching Fire was released on November 22, 2013, as a sequel to the Trilogy directed by Francis Lawrence . Production officially began on September 2012 and concluded in December. Shooting first took place at the Swan House in metro Atlanta Georgia. Several District 11 scenes were also filmed in the rural areas south of the city. The rest of the location production took place in Oakland, New Jersey and Hawaii.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire became the highest-grossing film released at the domestic box office in 2013 as it grossed an estimated $409.4 million in its first 49 days of release, per Lionsgate data.

Catching Fire, which set records for the biggest November opening weekend of all time ($158.1 million) as well as the biggest three- and five-day Thanksgiving box office totals ever, has already become the 10th highest-grossing North American release in history.

Part Two passed the first Hunger Games movie, which grossed $408 million at the box office and is the fifth fastest film ever to reach the $400 million mark in domestic sales.

The success of Catching Fire marks the first time the first two installments of a franchise, and both films now rank among the top 15 domestic film releases in history.  Catching Fire has also grossed $428.8 million internationally for a worldwide box office total of $838.2 million in its first seven weeks of release and a total of $863.5 million as of February 2013.

On July 10, 2012, it was announced that Mockingjay the Third Book will be split into two parts, with Part 1 set to be released on November 21, 2014, and Part 2 on November 20, 2015. On November 1, 2012, it was confirmed that Francis Lawrence, director of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, will return to direct the two final movies in the series.

This was a brilliant idea since there is so much story line and more relationships to build before the ending.

The universal message of the Hunger Games Trilogy is the individial struggle for freedom through revolution from Panem a single-party totalitarian socialist - communist dictatorship that is controlled by President Snow.

The movie Divergent stole story lines, artwork, caricatures, plots, design ideas, photo poses, design layout, marketing, and main characters from not only Hunger Games but from some of the most popular young-adult fiction of the last 20 years. They spun it and flipped them, and then crammed it all down our throats. The film based on the novel by Veronica Roth never explains its premise and rips off far too many better books, stories and movies. Trying to desperately compete with the popularity of the Hunger Games, the Liberal Media and the Hollywood Elite has produced a mirror image of themselves.

There is a aptitude test game involved. The test is to see if media propaganda and $50 million spent on advertising, marketing and brainwashing for the Divergent movie is adequate enough to make the viewing audience dumb enough to spend money on rubbish. At the same time they want us to pretend that Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games does not exist.

Or, maybe Suzanne Collins stole all the ideas from Veronica Roth? See, to consider that is not even believable, and neither is Divergent.

May the Games Forever be in Your Favor.

Richard O'Kelley
AsianEntertainment.org

Editorial Comment by Richard O'Kelley / AsianEntertainment.org
© Scholastic / Suzanne Collins

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Hunger Games and Catching Fire - World Wide Box Office Sales Total = $1, 555, 813, 401. 00 USD

$1 BILLION, 555 MILLION, 813 THOUSAND, 401 HUNDRED.00

Divergent 2014 - World Wide Box Office Sales Total = $269, 188. 803. 00 USD

$269 MILLION

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Yolanda and Richard at President Snows

© Photography by Richard O'Kelley