Lionsgate is hoping The Hunger Games will do for them what Twilight did for Summit and the first big piece of marketing material giving fans an attempt to judge what the film, based on the first novel in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins, by debuting the teaser trailer at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) as presented by Jennifer Lawrence who stars as the film’s lead character, Katniss Everdeen.
In a dystopic future, Katniss is a 16-year-old living in the post-apocalyptic country of Panem. Every year, a boy and girl are chosen from each of the country’s 12 districts to fight each other to the death until only one remains. Katniss is from one of the poorest districts, but she is skilled in archery and hunting, which makes her a fierce competitor. Katniss wears a mockingjay pin — the flaming symbol on the poster — which is a sign of rebellion against Panem’s oppressive government.
Along with Lawrence, the film features a rather impressive crop of actors including Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland and was co-written and directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit).
Lionsgate will release the feature on March 23, 2012 and you can watch the first teaser trailer directly below and click here for all of my Hunger Games coverage including pics and posters.
Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
