Lionsgate Chairman Joe Drake On The Hunger Games Renaissance

Lionsgate’s motion picture group chairman Joe Drake spoke with The Wrap about their plan to get audiences interested in The Hunger Games franchise again after it’s been dormant for so long.

Drake says he’s seen a cut of the film from Francis Lawrence and it’s “truly extraordinary“ 🤩

He also discussed the “Hunger Games Renaissance” (way to go, tributes!) 🏹🔥

“What’s actually happened is that there’s a viral movement called “Hunger Games Renaissance” that has come up in the past couple of weeks and while it started with people who grew up reading and watching the Hunger Games, we’re also seeing it being embraced by a whole new audience who are discovering the films and books.”

He shared that releasing the original films on Netflix put the books back on the bestseller list and amped up sales for Ballad.

“What we are doing separate from Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to bring The Hunger Games back, is to line up all of the original movies on Netflix.When we did that, we found that the original books rose back to the top of the bestseller list and sales for the new book, Songbirds and Snakes, rose by 40% to 50%. When The Hunger Games films first came out, the strategy that Lionsgate followed was “sell the books first,” and that’s pretty much what we’re doing here to reignite the appetite for this franchise.

NEW Official Teaser Poster for The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Check out the gorgeous NEW official teaser poster for The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes!!  The Hunger Games released the new poster on all of their social media accounts today along with a complete rebrand, and a blitz of posts from all of the film's actors, Lionsgate, and film distributors around the world. "This one's for the fans. Thank you." read the caption. No, THANK YOU for this beautiful poster. 

Here's a look at the first official teaser posters for all of The Hunger Games films!  The Hunger Games teaser poster debuted July 20, 2011. Remember the flaming motion poster, anyone? Catching Fire’s teaser poster came out Jan 14, 2013. Mockingjay Part 1 was Jan 22, 2014 and Mockingjay Part 2 debuted March 18, 2015.

We have so much exciting stuff to look forward to in the months ahead of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes premiere on November 17th! 

HAPPY HUNGER GAMES 11 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

It’s the 11th Anniversary of The Hunger Games US theatrical premiere on March 23, 2012.

When it debuted, The Hunger Games was the #1 film 4 weeks in a row, had the biggest opening weekend for a non-sequel, the highest opening weekend for a female-led film, AND the third highest opening weekend *ever*. It surpassed almost everyone’s expectations to become a worldwide phenomenon.

If you were around back in the OG THG days you’ll remember how excited we all were to get our first glimpse of the character posters and the thrill of each poster release. Anyone remember the poster puzzle hunt??

Happy Hunger Games day to all who celebrate!

A Behind The Scenes Tour of 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' Set

Get excited, tributes! Rachel Zegler (Lucy Gray Baird) is your tour guide on the set of The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The behind the scenes video, featuring Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Ashley Liao, Josh Rivera, Nina Jacobson & more was filmed by @guywithamoviecamera and shared on tiktok. 

Rachel tweeted to stay tuned for more fun content from now until the release of the film on November 17, 2023!

Here are a few screencaps from the video so you can get a good look at all the details:

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New Photos From The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Set on the Streets of Berlin

Some Capitol extras on the set of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

We've got some exciting new photos from the filming of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes around the streets of Berlin Strausberg Platz, Karl Marx Allee, and Lichtenberger Strasser.

You can see some extras in vintage style costume, some amazing vintage cars, and more great propaganda art they’re using on the sets!

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‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ New Behind-the-Scenes Set Photos of ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

Clemensia Dovecote, played by Ashley Liao, and Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth

Some brand new set photos just dropped courtesy of J14 and SacTributos. They feature Clemensia Dovecote, played by Ashley Liao, and Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth, filming in front of the James Simon Gallery in Berlin, being escorted by Peacekeepers down the steps of what is probably The Academy. This could be the scene from the book where Clemmie and Coryo are asked to leave class and report to Dr. Gaul’s office with their proposal about making the games more interesting. Which means poor Clemmie will not be smiling for very long.

Clemensia Dovecote, played by Ashley Liao, and Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth

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Isobel Jesper Jones Shows Off Her “Mayfair Red” Hair for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

photos via @jesperjones instagram

Isobel Jesper Jones (Mayfair Lipp in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) posted some photos of her dyed red hair to instagram yesterday with the caption “Mayfair red 🍒”. Did you catch that Mayfair’s hair is red in the book? Here’s the scene from the reaping where they describe her as a redhead:

“It happened quickly. The dip of her hand into the ruffles at her hip, the wriggle of bright green transported from her pocket and deposited down the collar of a smirking redhead’s blouse, the rustle of her skirt as she moved on.”

Isobel Jesper Jones replaced Laurel Marsden, who was initially cast as Mayfair Lipp, reportedly due to a scheduling conflict.  

She looks gorgeous as a redhead!

Exclusive From The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Set! 10th Hunger Games Poster

click for full sizeExclusive From The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes set! This 10th Hunger Games propaganda poster was photographed when they were filming at Landschaftspark-Nord, Duisburg, Germany back in August and sent to us by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.

You can see there are 13 stars on the poster - possibly representing the 12 districts and the larger star perhaps for the winner, or for the Capitol? There are also 12 wings on the ring. The poster looks to be heavily inspired by German propaganda art of the 1930’s.

For example, above is the actual cover of the program for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, an extremely controversial Olympics.

Before we were a fan site we created original art about The Hunger Games series, especially propaganda art referencing vintage German, Soviet, and North Vietnamese propaganda, so these aspects of the production design are always extra exciting for us to see! Fun fact: the Mockingjay production team used a modified version of one of our earliest Hunger Games pieces in the Mockingjay films. 

More photos from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes set can be found here, here and here.