Leven Rambin made an appearance at the Mintacular Takeover event at Union Square in NYC. This event celebrated the launch of snowboarder/skateboarder Shaun White’s new Stride gum flavor, Mintacular. This event also opened a new 7-Eleven on East 14th Street. Here are a couple of photos of Leven at the event:

You can see more photos HERE.

Source: Just Jared Jr.

Various cast members of The Hunger Games were making appearances for the release of the dvd & blu-ray this weekend. Here are some of the interviews posted by the Hunger Games Network:

See more pictures and videos HERE.

Source: Hunger Games Network

It seems the CW is really trying to capitalize on the success of the dystopian genre because of The Hunger Games. It seems Battle Royale might become a tv show. AceShowBiz had the scoop:

A spokesperson for The CW confirms to Los Angeles Times that there have been some discussions about the project, but refuses to divulge further details. Attorney Joyce Jun, who represents “Battle Royale” in Hollywood, simply says “there is no deal in place.”

The 2000 “Battle Royale” itself follows high-school students who are forced by the government to kill each other in a deadly game. It was banned in several countries, but received critical acclaim at the same time. The movie spawned a sequel “Battle Royale II: Requiem”, which was released in 2003.

Is it just me or does this seem like a bad idea? If you’ve seen the movie, it’s not exactly something appropriate for television. But who knows, The Vampire Diaries show isn’t much like the books but it’s still pretty entertaining.

This article also mentions that the CW is developing The Selection, which “focuses on a poor young woman named Teegarden who is chosen by lottery to fight for survival in a dystopian future.” I don’t know if you’ve read the book, but that simple plot is really nothing like the book (which I thoroughly recommend!).

Source: AceShowBiz

Source: JLawrenceBrasil via  Jennifer Lawrence Daily

In a recent interview with NovelNovice.com Lauren Conrad discussed Suzanne Collins and her critique of reality tv in The Hunger Games series.

Here is what Lauren had to say about the series:

“Your L.A. Candy and Fame Game books are now part of this booming world of YA lit. Are there any books out there right now that you’re hooked on?

The last book that I read was The Hunger Games, so, everyone’s read that recently. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. I really liked that, I’m actually in the middle of the second one.

That segues perfectly into my next question, which is about The Hunger Games. Obviously, it’s huge right now. Author Suzanne Collins has said she was partly inspired to write the books because of the blurring lines between reality and television. Many have even called her books a critique, in part, of reality TV. Having been a part of reality TV yourself, what are your thoughts on that approach?

Well, I think it’s a very extreme example. I just see where some people could think that, because you’re sort of entertained by other people’s pain, and I think that happens sometime in reality television. But I think the biggest difference is, when you’re on reality television, you’ve signed up for the experience. But in The Hunger Games, they’re just selecting people. ”

To read the full interview click here.

Wow! Next Movie just posted their choices for the best Hunger Games fansites, and we feel so honored to have been included in the list and among terrific company!! Thanks Next Movie  for the Hunger Games love !!

According to Next Movie, these sites are the best for satisfying your Hunger Games appetite :

As is the case with most popular franchises these days, we lovers of ”The Hunger Games” rely heavily on the interwebs to feed our need for the latest dish. We aren’t patient like Katniss, who can sit in a tree and wait ’til the Capitol doles out the deets from up on high; we want our info coming as fast as a speeding arrow.

Fortunately, the net is positively ablaze with tributes all fired up about the movie and its stars.

Each week here in District 14, of course, we do our best to bring you something new to sink your teeth into, but we can’t hold a candle to the fansite community when it comes to serving up all the nitty-gritty goods on “The Hunger Games.”

We’ve already talked about what the studio’s been doing with their web game, but we think these fansites were cooked up just right and seasoned with the perfect blend of enthusiasm and professionalism.

HG Girl on Fire

In their own words: ”We spend a lot of time online looking for news and posting about it. It’s a 24/7 job, but we love the series so much that it doesn’t even feel like work.” — Sheila

Why we love it: It’s a clean, straight-forward, and comprehensive accounting of the latest “Hunger Games” news and alerts. No muss, no fuss.

Our favorite feature: Finding Finnick Odair

TheHob.org

In their own words: ”We all originally met through our love of ‘The Twilight Saga,’ but soon we found out we were equally obsessed with ‘The Hunger Games.’ The Hob [is] your quintessential labor of love.” — Amanda

Why we love it: They stick to what we really want to know and run a clean site. You won’t find any unsubstantiated gossip here.

Our favorite feature: An all-you-could-possibly-want-to-talk-about Forum

HungerGamesDWTC.net

In their own words: ”DWTC started with numerous Twitter discussions [but] the site grew and our hits grew [and] we knew we had to switch to something that would be able to handle our traffic without crashing all the time.” – Arianna

Why we love it: DWTC offers up the need-to-knows about “The Hunger Games” movie, but they haven’t forgotten where it all started and offer up creative book-based interaction with visitors through craft tutorials, read-alongs and more.

Our favorite feature: Question of the Week

See the other awesome fansites that made the  list HERE 

Looks like we might be able to play a Hunger Games game! Video game maker, Adam Atomic, wrote on his blog:

I made it clear to [Lionsgate] right up front that while I was a big fan of The Hunger Games, a copy of Canabalt was out of the question. I pitched them on an original touch-based action game instead. It does feature a running character, but the focus of the game is more on marksmanship and strategy… but we’ll have more to say and show about that later! It’s a small idea, but a tight one too. Almost like a teaser game, in the same way there are teaser trailers. This is usually the part of the discussion where my prospective clients say “ah… I see. Well, if you change your mind…”

And so, I am happy to announce that I am collaborating with Lionsgate and a kind of indie dream-team to make The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire for iOS. Mark Johns (Tap Tap Dance) and Kevin Coulton, the minds behind Doomlaser (Hot Throttle, Space Barnacle), are fleshing out the design while they program the game from scratch. Paul Veer (Super Crate Box, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter) is the lead artist and animator. Daniel Baranowsky (Canabalt, Super Meat Boy) is composing an original soundtrack inspired by the film. Ozone Sound & Music (Max and Al’s Heavy-Duty) are handling the sound effects, and the one and only Kert Gartner (Winnitron) will be putting together our launch trailer. It is a genuine honor to get to work alongside these fantastic people, and this project would not be possible without them.

Check out the rest of Adam’s announcement HERE. The game should be released around the time of the movie release, and will be available for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad).

Source: Adam Atomic via Hypable

Lois Gresh, Author of The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion, took some time to interview HG Girl On Fire’s very own Sheila Cordero and Lindsay McComber! Here are some of our favorite questions, and be sure to read the whole article here!

Lois: What inspired you to create hggirlonfire.com, and what can fans expect to find on your site?

After reading the books we were so captured by the story and emotional depth of the characters that we found ourselves wanting the opportunity to connect with other fans by developing a site that provided the most current Hunger Games news and gave fans like us an outlet to share in our Hunger Games obsession. On our site, readers can expect to find not only the latest news reading the Hunger Games books and movie, but also information about the Hunger Games cast members other projects and participation in events.

Lois: Are the actors portraying the tributes close to your visions of the characters in the book?

A lot has been debated about the actors cast in the Hunger Games movie. While visually we don’t believe any of the actors fit the images we had in our heads, we support their casting, and after seeing some of the images from the movie, reading different interviews, and of course that AMAZING trailer, we couldn’t be happier with the casting choices made. We also appreciate that much of the casting has been with relative newcomers and are excited to see what they bring to their characters.

Lois: I’m interested in your take on some of the main characters. For example, I think of Katniss as kind, thoughtful, resourceful, intelligent, heroic, and forced to act hard and tough due to the extreme circumstances of the Hunger Games. Do you agree? If not, how do you view Katniss’ personality?

Yes, Katniss is all of these things. For us, she is the epitome of a survivor. She has endured such a difficult life at such a young age and found the strength to pull herself together to survivive. Whether that was learning to hunt and gather plants to eat, stepping up to take the place of her sister at the reaping, finding the courage to open herself up to possible love, and facing her fears to become a symbol of hope for people. At the same time Katniss doesn’t claim to be more than she is, a young girl thrown into an impossible situation and experiencing all the fear and uncertainty that goes along with that.

Source: Lois Gresh