'The Hunger Games' Mania Puts N.C. in the Spotlight

If you know nothing else about The Hunger Games, you likely at least know that the highly anticipated movie, based on the hugely successful books, opens in theaters this Friday. The movie was filmed entirely in North Carolina, including cities such as Charlotte, Concord, and Asheville and small towns like Hildebran and Shelby. In the March issue of Charlotte magazine, I wrote about the local locations The Hunger Games production used and how the movie's projected box office revenue stacks up against other movies filmed in Charlotte.

This scene from The Hunger Games was likely filmed inside one of the Uptown Charlotte locations. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, left), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, center), and Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, right).
Credit: Murray Close/thehungergamesmovie.com.

Now that the premiere of the movie is upon us--some lucky Charlotteans are being treated to an advance screening this evening--the buzz and media coverage surrounding The Hunger Games are at a fever pitch. And a lot of it is putting the spotlight on North Carolina. Below are some of the news links from the past few days:

• The Associated Press: North Carolina gets ready for 'Hunger Games' fans
• NBC17: North Carolina braces for 'Hunger Games' impact
• Los Angeles Times: 'The Hunger Games' fuels Hollywood's appetite for North Carolina
• Forbes: Will North Carolina Win the Hunger Games?
• The Charlotte Observer: ‘Hunger Games’ making immediate impact in N.C.

Because of all the hype and local ties, I plan to go see The Hunger Games some time within the first two weeks. If you haven't already purchased advance tickets, you can forget about seeing it during this opening weekend. Fandango announced yesterday that the movie has sold more advance tickets than any other non-sequel ever, and that more than 2,000 showtimes have sold out. The Hunger Games is projected to bring in somewhere between $100 million and $140 million this weekend.

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'The Hunger Games' Movie Trailer Debuts

The official movie trailer for The Hunger Games debuted today on Good Morning America, and apparently has fans--who've been waiting for the best-selling science fiction novel to be adapted to a movie--going nuts. This is latest snippet of what we've received from the otherwise tightly guarded production; the last time was the exclusive sneak peek that aired in August during the MTV Video Music Awards.

I've never read the book and am not usually a fan of these kinds of stories, but I've been keeping up with the developments in The Hunger Games movie because a large portion of it was filmed throughout North Carolina, including Charlotte and Concord. And it's the reason stars Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, and others were spotted around the city all summer. I don't recognize Charlotte in the trailer, which could be because the clip only shows limited footage from scenes in the first half of the movie, according to Lionsgate. Charlotte was rumored to be the setting for the Capitol scenes, a city in the fictional country of Panem in the story.

You can watch the trailer for The Hunger Games below or on iTunes. The promo includes the hashtag #HeadForTheSquare.

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'The Hunger Games' Exclusive Sneak Peek Airing on MTV During VMAs, Look for Charlotte

You've likely seen news reports, Facebook posts, and/or Twitter updates about celebrities and movie trucks spotted around Charlotte the last few weeks (I think Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz have been seen the most). As I blogged about last month, this local Hollywood action is because The Hunger Games movie was setting up shop to film its Capitol scenes in Charlotte and Concord ("'Hunger Games' Movie Filming Headed to Charlotte"). Now, thanks to MTV, on Sunday night we'll get to see the very first footage from the movie that's not scheduled to be released until March.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games.
Photo by Murray Close/Lionsgate Entertainment via MTV.com.

According to MTV News, actress Jennifer Lawrence will introduce the exclusive preview during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, which airs Sunday at 9 p.m. After the show, The Hunger Games clip will be available on MTV.com.

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'Hunger Games' Movie Filming Headed to Charlotte

Some entertainment blogs are reporting that filming for The Hunger Games is headed to Charlotte earlier than originally scheduled. The Lionsgate movie is based on the best-selling, science fiction novel about a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem, where North America once existed. These games are held there, during which one boy and one girl from each district fight to the death. Filming for the movie has been taking place for the past month or so in small towns in North Carolina (such as Shelby), in Asheville, and in the mountains. Charlotte and Concord reportedly are going to be used for the Capitol scenes--Capitol is the city in Panem that's home to the totalitarian government--and filming here was previously announced to "take place on or around Aug. 1-3, 9-12, 15 and 22." It now might begin sooner, so if you see big tractor trailers rolling up in the next few days, this could be why.

Jennifer Lawrence appeared on the cover of the May 27 issue of Entertainment Weekly for its exclusive, first-look coverage of The Hunger Games.

According to IMDB, actors cast in the movie include: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, and more. It will be interesting to see which of the big stars come to Charlotte for the scenes.

The movie is tentatively scheduled to be released in spring 2012. For more on The Hunger Games, visit the following websites:

• www.thehungergames.co.uk
• www.hungergamesmovie.org
• www.myhungergames.com

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