Manicures
The upper society in the Hunger Games universe looks very peculiar, especially their hairstyles, something screaming "punch me in the face" or "shoot me with a sniper rifle" . The most elaborate makeup, however, were Effie's long nails. It took 45 minutes to get them done, proving that patience is one of the most important virtues you can have as an actor.
The Director
Francis Lawrence was the director of Catching Fire and the Mockingjay films. He also used to direct music videos featuring Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce. A man of many and surprisingly diverse talents.
Katniss?
The protagonist's name is a strange one, isn't it? Turns out it was all very subtle and deliberate. Katniss is a fairly common water plant and its other name is Arrowhead. Katniss from the movies is very skilled with the bow and arrow. She actually gets to eat her namesake plant during the movies.
Peeta
The lucky guy who made out with Katniss in the first movie? Both Cato(Alexander Ludwig) and Gale(Liam Hemsworth) auditioned for the role. Josh Hutcherson beat them and became the paint master from the same district.
The Spinning Cornucopia
The Cornucopia is in emblematic structure in the Hunger Games books and movies. It is the place where numerous supplies are stored, and where numerous people lose their lives while fighting for the goods. It looks like a horn(kind of) and in Catching Fire it was spinning around madly. 35 miles per hour to be exact. The actors needed to wear special bracelets, otherwise they'd be puking their guts out.
Cook Like They Do It In Hunger Games
It may sound surprising considering "hunger" is in their name, but there are quite a few excellent recipes, which were taken out directly from the Hunger Games fictional works and put inside a very real unofficial Cookbook. Over 150 recipes! You can buy the hardcover version right now for 2 dollars. It includes delicious dishes like the Groosling Soup and of course the Lamb, Fig and Olive Stew.
Jennifer Lawrence
Actress Jennifer Lawrence seems to be the perfect fit for Katniss for several reasons. One of them is that she can actually skin and cook a squirrel if for some reason this is her only option for survival. Jennifer grew up in Kentucky, which contributed greatly to her outdoorsmen skills.
Merchandise
Like every other respectable franchise the Hunger Games has tons of nice things to buy, which will remind you of the movies. There are the usual dolls, clothes, beach towels and.......underwear. Bras to be exact, with the fiery symbol of the Mockingjay. Perhaps they give women the strength to be awesome.
Almost Banned
The books apparently do not appeal to everyone. In fact there is a solid number of people, who want them banned in the United States. The most cited reason is that the works are not suitable for their targeted age group. Rebellions, sexual content, "interesting" religious views, the works. The violence, of course, comes last. Not to worry though, even if they do get banned we'll always have the internet.
Finnick Odair
The guy, who comes from the so called fishing district, is pretty capable with the net and trident, and was even dressed up as a fish at some point, is actually afraid of crabs. The actor who plays him that is, Sam Claflin. It didn't show in the movies but in hindsight it is still slightly amusing when compared to Jennifer Lawrence and her Katniss character.
Hunger Games Summer Camp
Sounds fun, right? A great place to send your kid to and a smart way to cash in on the series' popularity. Hunger Games Summer Camp was opened in Largo, Florida, and traded its fighting to the death, survival of the fittest style, for some benign flag collecting. Unfortunately kids are pretty impressionable, especially the ones who know how the real Hunger Games work. Death threats and fighting became so common the camp was swiftly closed down for good.
Archery
Unsurprisingly the Hunger Games franchise inspired many people, especially young girls, to try learning archery, which is good. Using a bow can really improve your posture and back muscles. Although to be fair a pepper spray would do a better job in an urban setting and will definitely make the woman using it more dangerous.
Jennifer Lawrence and Wigs
Not to worry, the lovely Katniss hair and braid we see in the first movie is not a wig but Jennifer Lawrence's natural hair(with some enhancements). Mahogany was not her true hair color though, it is blonde, so dyes needed to be applied. The actress refused to let stylists experiment on her to find the perfect shade, so a set of wigs was rented. A set of wigs, which cost 30 000 dollars. In the end everything turned out fine and semi-permanent hair dye was used to achieve the end results. Costly but worth it. In later films she did wear a wig though, because her hair was noticeably shorter.
Kissing
Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth did their share of kissing during the later movies. According to Liam she ate foods with large quantities of garlic and tuna before each ordeal. It was all in good fun, Jennifer Lawrence is famous for being a prankster after all.
The Three-fingered Salute
The salute is an iconic gesture for the Hunger Games universe. It represents solidarity and later on a sign for the revolution. All of this took a very interesting turn in 2014, when a group of Thailand protesters used it, expressing their silent resistance. It was later on banned by the military of the same country.
The Katniss dilemma
It is known that a large number of young Hollywood actresses were considered for the role. In the end it all came down to four girls - Jennifer Lawrence, Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld and Lyndsy Fonseca of Nikita fame. It was a hard choice for them too, considering how huge the scope of the series is, rivaling the ones of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.
