Joe Brody
Well-known member
Despite early reports that he’d be back to direct Catching Fire, Gary Ross is out – purportedly to go work on some independent project. Shades of Katie Holmes (opting out of Dark Knight to be in some play) any one? Ross was the wrong man for the job, and I single him out as being responsible for much of the film’s flaws. True, I don’t know squat about the story behind the production but watch the film and try to tell me that it looks like a film that cost $100 million. And keep in mind, it was shot with mostly lower price talent and all domestically in North Carolina.
I don’t blame Ross – I blame whoever (producer or studio suit) picked a director best known for Pleasantville and Seabiscuit. And while there may have been elements that were out of Ross’s control (I’ve read a couple of references about a rushed production), there’s still plenty that falls at the director’s feet:
• Casting. Jennifer Lawrence – safe no brainer (Winter’s Bone will forever be an unofficial Hunger Games prequel). Lenny Kravitz – no brainer (just watch Entourage) demographic expanding selection. Josh Hutcheson/Liam Hemsworth – each solid but each unimaginative. Woody Harrelson – safe no brainer (given his recent cool factor from Zombieland and Friends with Benefits). Stanley Tucci – safe no brainer (the guy has been killing it since Julie and Julia). O.K., so what’s the issue? Apart from the number of safe no brainer decisions, what kills me is that this film – set in the future – has the ‘diversity’ casting of a mid ‘80’s action film like Robocop. Show me the Asians/Indians/Hispanics in this film (I counted maybe one Latin and one Asian among the tributes). Ross supposedly reached out personally to Sutherland to have him play the major villain, President Snow. This is another safe choice (Sutherland’s villain credentials are well established) and one I bet a lot of critics even liked – but why not someone like Ken Watanabe (who I bet would’ve been cheaper)? And Wes Bentley with the expanded Seneca Wallace role? Come on.
• Adaptation/Running Time. The story’s simple, direct action made it more screen-ready than any thing that I’ve read in my memory but I’m dogged by the feeling that too much was left out. Today’s audiences are willing to sit through longer films. At 142 minutes, Hunger Games could have had a scene or two more – especially if more discipline had been exercised in editing and deleting time eating footage. For example, when Katniss finally makes it to her room in the Capitol she tinkers with a remote that controls a wall screen that shows random images. This scene was a waste on several levels. First it echoes Total Recall (1990) – thereby making the film seem both cheap and dated. Second it was a good ten or so second time suck (do we have any doubts our heroine would rather be back in the forest?)
• Costumes. Speaking of cheap, some critics and fashion circles have slammed the amateur hour costumes. In part, this is unfair – remember the citizens in the Capitol are supposed to be idiots so its reasonable that they should dress the part (anyone ever see the fashion show scene in Talking Heads’ True Stories (Dream Operator)? Sadly, at the end of the day, most of the costumes do seem like a High School class was shown BladeRunner and Coal Miner’s Daughter and told to have at it. And one small costume detail: Katniss is shown with loose bootstraps and jacket while in the arena. Anyone that’s ever done any bushwhacking knows the importance of not having any loose straps or ties in the woods – even if you’re not running for your life.
• Action/cinematography: Many critics have slammed the hand-held over dependence and the total lack of depth, so I won’t dwell on it – but all the close-up stuff was really obnoxious – and this too made the film feel cheap. One other detail that irked me. In the beginning, Katniss is shown running into the woods. I love Jennifer Lawrence but she does not run like someone who has been in the woods her whole life. I know enough to say that a hunter is not necessarily an athlete but that shot of her running into the woods is awful (compare that with a shot that was cut too soon -- the scene where Katniss walks to a hovercraft in fatigues and a black t-shirt. She looked good and there should've been another beat there).
• Art Direction. Again, a lot of criticism that I won’t bother re-hashing. The best parts of District 12 was the border fence and a short shot of Katniss running across a dam. When I was young in the early ‘70’s, the nearest town was an old coal town that hadn’t been active in some time. It was the valley of ashes (see Great Gatsby), Pennsylvania style. For the film, I know they tried to kill the grass in the old company town used as the setting for 12 and whatnot to make it look less lush, but it didn’t quite work. I’ve seen some of the artist renderings for District 12 and more could’ve been done. What disappointed me most about the capitol was the make-over bays and the room where Katniss first meets Cinna. These were all wrong. The bays looked like a Deep Space Nine set (I would’ve gone David Lynch here with curtains and shadows with no walls – and powerful pin lights). My only comment on the arena was the handholds on the trees. To me, they pretty much said ‘climbing wall.’
• Music. T Bone Burnet. I love the guy – but where’s the originality in this selection?
Enough b****ing. Parts of the film were very effective. The countdown as Katniss parts from Cinna at the start of the games was as good as anything I’ve seen on screen in recent memory. Conceptually, I liked the expanded Seneca Wallace role -- even his ending (but his control room scenes were limp, limp, limp). Ross didn’t mishandle Lawrence (but I have to assume all the direction that was necessary was to tell her to do what she did in Winter’s Bone). I liked the green room where Cinna sits with Katniss prior to her interview (the warm wood was a great choice -- but what was that room doing in the Capitol?) And I liked the opening text about the law creating the Hunger Games.
So why so much time pulling a huge blockbuster apart? Because of Collins’ simple direct story (thanks in no small part I assume to her screen-writer past), this project was an easy adaptation that should have been something special. Instead, all we’re left with is ‘good enough’. The film reeked of compromise, convention and too conservative decision making. There was no intellectual heavy lifting necessary to succeed in this adaptation – just a need to polish a gem. Instead, what we got was costume jewelry that was convincing enough to pull it off, fool the undiscerning eye and have a happy night.
I don’t blame Ross – I blame whoever (producer or studio suit) picked a director best known for Pleasantville and Seabiscuit. And while there may have been elements that were out of Ross’s control (I’ve read a couple of references about a rushed production), there’s still plenty that falls at the director’s feet:
• Casting. Jennifer Lawrence – safe no brainer (Winter’s Bone will forever be an unofficial Hunger Games prequel). Lenny Kravitz – no brainer (just watch Entourage) demographic expanding selection. Josh Hutcheson/Liam Hemsworth – each solid but each unimaginative. Woody Harrelson – safe no brainer (given his recent cool factor from Zombieland and Friends with Benefits). Stanley Tucci – safe no brainer (the guy has been killing it since Julie and Julia). O.K., so what’s the issue? Apart from the number of safe no brainer decisions, what kills me is that this film – set in the future – has the ‘diversity’ casting of a mid ‘80’s action film like Robocop. Show me the Asians/Indians/Hispanics in this film (I counted maybe one Latin and one Asian among the tributes). Ross supposedly reached out personally to Sutherland to have him play the major villain, President Snow. This is another safe choice (Sutherland’s villain credentials are well established) and one I bet a lot of critics even liked – but why not someone like Ken Watanabe (who I bet would’ve been cheaper)? And Wes Bentley with the expanded Seneca Wallace role? Come on.
• Adaptation/Running Time. The story’s simple, direct action made it more screen-ready than any thing that I’ve read in my memory but I’m dogged by the feeling that too much was left out. Today’s audiences are willing to sit through longer films. At 142 minutes, Hunger Games could have had a scene or two more – especially if more discipline had been exercised in editing and deleting time eating footage. For example, when Katniss finally makes it to her room in the Capitol she tinkers with a remote that controls a wall screen that shows random images. This scene was a waste on several levels. First it echoes Total Recall (1990) – thereby making the film seem both cheap and dated. Second it was a good ten or so second time suck (do we have any doubts our heroine would rather be back in the forest?)
• Costumes. Speaking of cheap, some critics and fashion circles have slammed the amateur hour costumes. In part, this is unfair – remember the citizens in the Capitol are supposed to be idiots so its reasonable that they should dress the part (anyone ever see the fashion show scene in Talking Heads’ True Stories (Dream Operator)? Sadly, at the end of the day, most of the costumes do seem like a High School class was shown BladeRunner and Coal Miner’s Daughter and told to have at it. And one small costume detail: Katniss is shown with loose bootstraps and jacket while in the arena. Anyone that’s ever done any bushwhacking knows the importance of not having any loose straps or ties in the woods – even if you’re not running for your life.
• Action/cinematography: Many critics have slammed the hand-held over dependence and the total lack of depth, so I won’t dwell on it – but all the close-up stuff was really obnoxious – and this too made the film feel cheap. One other detail that irked me. In the beginning, Katniss is shown running into the woods. I love Jennifer Lawrence but she does not run like someone who has been in the woods her whole life. I know enough to say that a hunter is not necessarily an athlete but that shot of her running into the woods is awful (compare that with a shot that was cut too soon -- the scene where Katniss walks to a hovercraft in fatigues and a black t-shirt. She looked good and there should've been another beat there).
• Art Direction. Again, a lot of criticism that I won’t bother re-hashing. The best parts of District 12 was the border fence and a short shot of Katniss running across a dam. When I was young in the early ‘70’s, the nearest town was an old coal town that hadn’t been active in some time. It was the valley of ashes (see Great Gatsby), Pennsylvania style. For the film, I know they tried to kill the grass in the old company town used as the setting for 12 and whatnot to make it look less lush, but it didn’t quite work. I’ve seen some of the artist renderings for District 12 and more could’ve been done. What disappointed me most about the capitol was the make-over bays and the room where Katniss first meets Cinna. These were all wrong. The bays looked like a Deep Space Nine set (I would’ve gone David Lynch here with curtains and shadows with no walls – and powerful pin lights). My only comment on the arena was the handholds on the trees. To me, they pretty much said ‘climbing wall.’
• Music. T Bone Burnet. I love the guy – but where’s the originality in this selection?
Enough b****ing. Parts of the film were very effective. The countdown as Katniss parts from Cinna at the start of the games was as good as anything I’ve seen on screen in recent memory. Conceptually, I liked the expanded Seneca Wallace role -- even his ending (but his control room scenes were limp, limp, limp). Ross didn’t mishandle Lawrence (but I have to assume all the direction that was necessary was to tell her to do what she did in Winter’s Bone). I liked the green room where Cinna sits with Katniss prior to her interview (the warm wood was a great choice -- but what was that room doing in the Capitol?) And I liked the opening text about the law creating the Hunger Games.
So why so much time pulling a huge blockbuster apart? Because of Collins’ simple direct story (thanks in no small part I assume to her screen-writer past), this project was an easy adaptation that should have been something special. Instead, all we’re left with is ‘good enough’. The film reeked of compromise, convention and too conservative decision making. There was no intellectual heavy lifting necessary to succeed in this adaptation – just a need to polish a gem. Instead, what we got was costume jewelry that was convincing enough to pull it off, fool the undiscerning eye and have a happy night.
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