May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

The official website for "The Hunger Games" is live and includes some cool music, a cool motion poster (below) and a countdown clock. Thanks to Luke for the tip.

"The Hunger Games" is ripe for viral marketing, and I think if it is done well it could be really successful. There has already been some cool fan made viral marketing (more on that later), but I'd love to see something official, and soon. If Lionsgate plans this right, they could have a massive franchise on their hands. And with Harry having already taken his final bow, the timing is ripe for a new one.

And The Tributes Are...

Casting news doesn't typically fall under the category of viral marketing. It's usually announced in a press release of some sort, or leaked on the Internet, but rarely is it ever done creatively. Back in 2007 it was announced via press release that Heath Ledger, best known at that point for being in films like "Ten Things I Hate About You," was Christopher Nolan's choice to bring the Joker to life in "The Dark Knight." This was met with instant criticism and outrage by the fan community. It wasn't until a few months later, when the first image of Heath as the Joker was released, that people's cries of outrage turned into shouts of approval. Now imagine how differently that would have gone if the picture and the casting were announced at the same time, via the same viral marketing. There would be no more backlash because the instant proof that they knew what they were doing would be right there at the same time. All that goes to say that I think casting announcements should be handled with creativity, just like everything else in a movie is.

Which brings me to "The Hunger Games." As I said in my previous post, the movie is about a central government that forces it's twelve districts to send one boy tribute and one girl tribute to compete in a to-the-death gladiator style match to bring honor to their district. Obviously, the main characters are extremely important, but after them are the just as important other tributes. Instead of announcing who the tributes were in a press release, Lion's Gate decided to do something a little different. Instead, they created a Facebook page that at first had twelve different districts with a grayed out boys head and a grayed out girls head for each district.

Slowly but surely they started to reveal each of the tributes. What I love about this is that they didn't even bother to give most of the tributes names - as they shouldn't have. In the book, we only know some of their names and even then some are just nicknames. I think this really adds to the disgustingness and just hopelessness of the whole scenario - Katniss doesn't even know the real names of the people she is being forced to kill. Take a look at the tributes from each district, starting with the two from district one.

I really really like the person that they chose to portray Foxface, because she really does look like a fox!!!

So there they all are. I really like how this was done, and I love that it's kids of all ages and ethnicities, which is really cool. My only complaint is that all but one of them is supposed to die, yet most of them are smiling. Doesn't really go well together, don't you think? At least Katniss and Peeta aren't smiling. Keep checking Viral Infection, and especially this page because I'm going to write another article very soon. And don't forget Twitter (@viral_Nfection)!!!

What is "The Hunger Games"?

Originally written in 2008 by writer Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl that lives in a country called Panem, which is located where the United States used to be. Panem is made up of 13 different districts and a central capital, and every year two 'tributes,' one boy and one girl, are forced to compete in the gladiator style Hunger Games as a punishment for a failed rebellion by the districts years and years ago. The series - made up of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay - is a gripping and engaging story about the human spirit and what we can do when fighting for our rights. It is a fantastic, if a little disturbing, read.

In 2012, Lions Gate is releasing the first in four planned movies in the series, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. It is currently filming, and from everything I've seen it looks like it could be a really good movie.