Can-Tribute at DoSomething.org

Hey tributes! We've got a great opportunity for you to do some good for people in need.

DoSomething.org and BBYO have a campaign running called Can-Tribute where you can sign up to run a food drive in celebration of the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

To help DoSomething.org members will run a food drive and donate to their local food shelter.

• In 2012, 49 million people lived in households without enough food to eat.
• More and more people are relying on food banks and pantries. Those programs need donations from individuals to keep supplying meals.
• Food drives are crucial, so run one that's Hunger Games-themed! Channel your inner Katniss or Peeta in this challenge that's fun AND rewarding.

By participating, you have a chance to win a $5,000 scholarship and tickets to a local pre-screening of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 for you and 20 friends! How awesome is that!

For details on the campaign and information on how to run your food drive, click here.

UPDATE [11/11/14]: The campaign has been extended until November 30! The chance to win local pre-screening tickets has now passed, but you can still donate cans and get involved with the campaign and help out a lot of people, which is really the most important thing!

MOCKINGJAY PART 1 Countdown - Week 10

We're back for another week of Mockingjay Part 1 Countdown. We're getting closer and closer to the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1! Can you feel it? HEY! Can you feel it? Thank you.

This chapter starts Part II of Mockingjay "The Assault" and picks up immediately after the cliffhanger at the end of the previous chapter. Peeta had warned District 13 of an attack, and Katniss watched him getting beaten before the video feed cut off. She emotionally tries to deal with what she had witnessed when Haymitch and Coin argue about the validity of his warning. When Haymitch and Katniss assure Coin that Peeta believes there will be an attack, Coin decides that a Level 5 drill would be helpful in any case. Boggs leads her down in the depths of District 13 to the bottom of the stairs.

credit: mockingday

Plutarch finds her and asks her to be an example to the rest of District 13 and to act calmly in order to keep everyone else calm. When he leaves, she inspects and puts together her family's compartment according to the instructions:

Katniss notices that the others around her follow her example. It's a small indication to both the audience and Katniss that she holds sway over people. Even in a situation like this, she has more power than she thinks.

When Mrs. Everdeen arrives without Prim, Katniss realizes that Prim had gone back to their compartment to get Buttercup. She panics and rushes to the doors, which are closing, and shoves herself in between them. Gale and Prim arrive with Buttercup, Katniss's game bag, and the box of medical supplies they brought from District 12. As this scene would add suspense, I'm hoping Prim almost getting locked out will make it in the movie.

They get to their compartment, and Coin starts to make an announcement when the first bomb hits. Katniss brings their beds to the floor so that she, Prim, and Buttercup can huddle together. They talk, and Prim tells Katniss that she thinks she'll be trained to be a doctor. 

When Prim asks Katniss how she is doing, Katniss opens up to her and explains how she is worried that President Snow will kill Peeta. Prim tells her that they won't because Peeta is all Snow has to get to Katniss.

“So, what do you think they’ll do to him?” I ask. 

Prim sounds about a thousand years old when she speaks. 

“Whatever it takes to break you.”

In this exchange, we get both an insight into Prim's wisdom and growth and a sense of foreboding. Prim's words will fuel Katniss's motivation to save Peeta, so I'm fairly confident this conversation, in some form or another, will end up in the movie.

Week 1 

Week 2
Week 3 
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

FANSITE EXCLUSIVE: "Peeta" official TV spot

We are proud to be debuting the newest TV spot "Peeta" along with the some of the other Hunger Games fansites!

Another heart-wrenching TV spot featuring a crying Peeta.

#FandangoMockingjayContest: Win $1,000 worth of Movie Tickets!

Submit your Mockingjay fan art and get a chance to win $1,000 worth of Fandango Movie Tickets AND see your art on Fandango's Hunger Games gift cards!

Follow Fandango on Tumblr and submit your fan art with the tag #FandangoMockingjayContest for a chance to win! For more info, check out their Tumblr post and the Official Rules.

Fandango Debuts Final Mockingjay Part 1 Trailer, Tickets On Sale Now

Fandango has debuted the final 60 second Mockingjay Part 1 trailer, and if this doesn't hit you right in the feels... well see for yourself.

Dead by morning! If we burn, you burn with us! We don't know how we're going to survive this movie to see the final one, but we'll try.

Tickets to see the movie are now on sale at Fandango here.

Elizabeth Banks answers "Are You A Hayffie Shipper?"

For her youtube series Really Important Questions, Elizabeth Banks answers the question, "Are you a Hayffie shipper?" Meaning, does she think that Effie and Haymitch should be in a relationship? Check out the video below!

Don't think it was lost on us that her character in Pitch Perfect had Haymitch's last name!

Mockingjay Pt. 1 On the Cover of Empire Magazine

The December issue of Empire Magazine features a new promo picture of Katniss in her Mockingjay outfit with her fancy new bow:

 

From Empire's website:

Inside the issue, everyone from old hands Jennifer Lawrence to franchise newcomers Julianne Moore (playing District 13 President Alma Coin) talk about what to expect from the first half of the final chapter of the immensely popular post-apocalyptic series, and how the story has been tweaked to accomodate all that plot.

The details you can see on the subscriber's cover (left) are really cool - the Mockingjay symbol on the right and the Capitol symbol, partially in flames, on the left. The December issue of Empire Magazines will be available digitally and on newsstands this Thursday, October 30.

Empire Magazine

Francis Lawrence in Total Film Magazine

Francis Lawrence recently talked to Total Film Magazine about filming both Mockingjay movies:

You shot Parts 1 and 2 of Mockingjay back to back. Presumably you didn’t shoot chronologically?
The efficiency of doing two movies back to back, even though it’s one long story, is that if you have built a set, you shoot the scenes for both movies on that set. But we primarily worked on Part 1 first, for the continuity of the story and also because we have to turn that one over faster. We need the editors to be cracking away at Part 1 and we need to be turning over visual effects while we’re shooting Part 2.

How does Mockingjay differ from the first two THG movies?
Catching Fire ratcheted up from The Hunger Games, and I’d say Mockingjay ratchets up from Catching Fire. We’re getting closer to war. We’re not in the Games anymore. But it’s the same story and heading towards the resolution.

It must be bigger in scale than the first two films, which were primarily set in District 12, where our heroine Katniss Everdeen lives, and the Capitol and the Games stadium.
You get a whole bigger picture. At the end of Catching Fire, Katniss realises that District 13 hasn’t been destroyed, there’s a civilisation living underground. So we spend a fair amount of time in District 13, and we get to spend a lot more time in some of the other districts. We see some of the uprisings there. And finally, in Part 2, we’ll make our way into the actual streets of the Capitol. Part 2 is a war movie, and Part 1 is, in a weird way, a propaganda movie.

Katniss was damaged in Catching Fire. She must be totally screwed-up now!
Yeah, she’s worse [laughs]. Oh yeah. She’s not in good shape! But Jennifer [Lawrence] has a good time with that, and luckily for her, it doesn’t take too much of a toll because she’s able to jump in and out of it. Which is kind of amazing. Some people would have to live it all the time and they’d be miserable to be around for the whole 10-month shoot!

Cynics say splitting the Mockingjay into two films is pure commerce…
I definitely saw there was enough material and how distinct the two stories were. And having also spent time adapting Catching Fire, you realise how much is left on the table. Mockingjay is four hours’ worth of movie. And we have some world expansion, so there are some bonus things which aren’t in the books. Not changes – expansion, which we’ve worked on with Suzanne. She loves that stuff!

Losing Philip Seymour Hoffman must have been such a blow, both personally and for the Mockingjay films. He was great as Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire…
He’s better in these. We had not finished but we were almost done. We had about eight days with him left, but the bulk of his scenes were done. It was tragic, and it threw everyone off for a long time. We didn’t shake the feeling off until we moved to Paris, and then Berlin.

How are you getting around the eight lost days?
We gave a few things to other characters, and we had some footage of him where we can make it feel like he’s in a scene where he’s not.

Finally, can you give us a hint, action-wise, of what to expect in Mockingjay – Part 1?
There’s a lot of action. We get to see more of the uprisings and there’s a rescue sequence that’s very cool – it’s in the book, but we got to expand on it. There’s a lot of cool, fun stuff. But these movies are very emotional too.

It's very interesting how he talks about Mockingjay Part 1 as a propaganda movie and Part 2 as the war movie. The book also seems to be divided kind of similarly, with the first part focusing on Katniss deciding to be the Mockingjay, realizing that people see her that way, and then actually acting as the Mockingjay. Does this interview reinforce your theory on how the Mockingjay part 1 is going to end?

The December issue of Total Film Magazine is out in the UK and select locations in the US now!

Thanks to Panem Propaganda and Quarter Quell for the heads up!

Jennifer Lawrence talks about Mockingjay pt. 1 on Cineplex Magazine: "You guys are gonna be pissed!"

Jennifer Lawrence (or, well a new picture of Katniss Everdeen) is on the cover of Cineplex Magazine!
Here are some highlights:

On wrapping the series:

"On the last night we all laid and held each other like puppies."

On the ending of Mockingjay Part 1:

"Oh God, I don’t want to tell you that. It’s a really great ending, and you guys are going to be pissed.”

Pissed that we have to wait a year, maybe but we will probably love the ending! Are you going to be pissed?

You can download the November issue of Cineplex Magazine here. We also have screencaps of the article after the jump.

Panem Rising - Contest and Pre-Registration

As with the previous Hunger Games movies, a mobile game will be released to promot The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

According to the pre-registration email: "Panem Rising is an all-new role-playing card collection game in which you can join the rebellion against President Snow and help bring freedom to the people of Panem!"

As an incentive to pre-register prior to the release of the game, you will receive "an exclusive FREE Katniss card".

Pre-register here.

The creators of Panem Rising are holding a contest to "Become A Part Of Panem Rising".

From the email: "Choose a district from Panem and submit a themed photo or drawing of yourself posing as a rebel citizen of Panem for the chance to be one of eight fans featured as characters in The Hunger Games: Panem Rising! Defend your freedom and you could be included in the official mobile game for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 movie!"

Click here for Rules and How to Enter.

We are really looking forward to this game. We have no confirmed release date as of now, but we'll keep you updated!

District Voices - District 6

District 6 Liaison to the Capitol Justine Ezarik (iJustine) and a master engineer show just how tough the SJ-7 Peacekeeper Assault Vehicle is.



I would definitely be scared if I see even just one of those rolling into my neighborhood!

MOCKINGJAY PART 1 Countdown - Week 9

Welcome back to Week 9 of the Mockingjay Part 1 Countdown!

Chapter 9 of Mockingjay is quite a doozy. We have the aftermath of seeing Peeta's worsening condition weighing heavily on Katniss. She's released from the hospital but her nightmares are keeping her from sleeping. She's upset and worried about Peeta and angry at Gale for not telling her about Peeta's interview.

After confronting Gale, Katniss is whisked away to her film crew. The team is nearly done putting together some powerful footage in remembrance of past tributes that have died in the games to be aired in each district. As they ready those to air that night, Katniss and her team are sent to District 12 to film some footage. After filming Katniss and Gale in the destruction that used to be their homes they follow Gale and show how he escaped the attack on 12. While having lunch Katniss notices mockingjays in the trees around them. Pollux asks Katniss to sing a song and Katniss sings Rue's notes before launching into a new song to stop the memories of the arena that thinking of Rue brings on.

This is one of my favorite things in the book and I'm extremely excited to see in on the big screen. Katniss sings "The Hanging Tree" while everyone watches in awe. Castor films her singing and the mockingjays picking up the tune.

As they make their way back Katniss and Gale have a private moment and Gale brings up their kiss after Gale got whipped. As Gale becomes emotional Katniss kisses him. Gale accuses Katniss of kissing him only because he was in pain and tells her that it'll pass as he walks out.

The team makes their way back to District 13 and Katniss heads straight for bed. After sleeping the next day away, Katniss gets brought to Command in time to see a live appearance with President Snow and Peeta. Peeta is getting worse and worse each time we see him and the two discuss the damage in the districts. Beetee in the meantime has figured out a way to break into the Capitol signal and footage of Katniss and other propos are shown in all the districts and the Capitol itself during the segment. Everyone in Command is cheering Beetee's achievement except for Haymitch, Finnick and Katniss who all realize that Peeta is the one that will suffer in exchange for this.

Seeing Katniss on screen visibly shakes Peeta and Snow is infuriated. Snow asks Peeta if he has thoughts on Katniss. Peeta seems at war with himself and somehow gets a message across. District 13 is going to be attacked tonight. Snow orders the show to end and the last thing we hear is Peeta's cry of pain as his blood splatters the tiles.

This is one of the best chapters. We know that the Hanging Tree is going to be in the movie and Peeta's warning is crucial to District 13's fate. I am so excited to see the footage of the propos disbursed with the footage of Snow and Peeta.

Join us next week in time for District 13 to get bombed while everyone plays with Buttercup in Chapter 10!

District Voices - District 9

Ashley Adams and Jimmy Wong from Feast of Fiction show us how to make a Mellark Bakery specialty- Peeta's Apple Goat Cheese Tart!



We don't want to get anyone in trouble with President Snow but... was that a Mockingjay symbol in the flour? ETA! Feast of Fiction has uploaded a BTS video for their District Voices episode where they talk about some easter eggs - we all noticed the Mockingjay symbol in the flour, but did anyone catch them pointing at the ingredients with the three finger salute? I did not!

District Voices - District 5

In the third episode of CapitolTV's District Voices, District 5's Chief Energy Researcher Derek Muller (of YouTube channel Veritasium) explains to us how electricity can be generated from falling water:

New Mockingjay Part 1 Stills!

Check out these new stills, thanks to QuarterQuell.org!

Effie still from the latest issue of ELLE magazine

You can get the HQ versions here

"Most Anticipated" TV spot

Check out the new TV spot debuted by Samsung that includes one of the most heartbreaking shots of Peeta we've seen so far.

Thanks to QuarterQuell.org!

District Voices - District 2

District Voices is back today with District 2’s Senior Peacekeeper Training Officer Shane Fazen (of the Youtube channel fightTIPS). He shows the fight techniques taught to Peacekeepers in training.

What a wonderful insight into peacekeeping methods. He offers the most timeless fighting advice:

"CHOICE" Preview

Check out this new preview from Doritos!

District Voices - District 8

CapitolTV's District Voices series has started with District 8. Rob Czar & Corinne Leigh of the DIY fashion-craft YouTube channel ‘Threadbanger’ describe the contributions of District 8 to Panem and explain what can be done with excess materials from Peacekeeper uniforms.

That outfit is so chic. I'm sure District 8 citizens wear things like that ALL the time.

Follow the District Voices series on Capitol TV.

Edit:

Threadbanger has also posted a behind the scenes for their District Voices video.

New song from the Mockingjay part 1 Soundtrack : "This is Not a Game" by The Chemical Brothers (ft. Lorde and Miguel)

As the curator of the Mockingjay part 1 soundtrack, Lorde has chosen to collaborate with the Chemical Brothers and Miguel on This is Not a Game. Listen here:

It's certainly different and probably more upbeat than any other song for any of the Hunger Games movies so far. What do you guys think?

Direct Lyrics

CapitolTV presents District Voices

Google and Lionsgate have announced a partnership in bringing a 5 part web series, with a new video each day this week posted at 1PM PT/4 PM ET on Capitol TV. The series will involve Youtubers as the District Voices. This looks like it's going to be a great in-universe tie-in, as this can easily be Capitol propos. We've been wanting this kind of in-universe movie promotion since the beginning so we're happy to see it for Mockingjay especially.

CapitolTV Presents 'District Voices' - ALL-NEW Series! 

CapitolTV is pleased to announce the arrival of an all-new program; DISTRICT VOICES! Join your favorite YouTube creators for this special 5-episode series, featuring a glimpse at the productivity, and creativity, thriving in Panem's districts... Sanctioned by the Capitol Ministry of Information, DISTRICT VOICES was made with friends from Google.

Debuting TODAY at 1pm PT/4pm ET, the premiere episode of CapitolTV’s DISTRICT VOICES series arrives in style fromDistrict 8 with an imaginative crafting demonstration from the textile district’s Rob Czar & Corinne Leigh, co-helmers of the DIY fashion-craft YouTube channel ‘Threadbanger’, who make fashionable use of all that excess Peacekeeper armor. Then…

TUESDAY - District 2:

Experience the pride & power one must possess to join the ranks of the Capitol's noble Peacekeeper force, featuring tutelage and insight from District 2's Senior Peacekeeper Training Officer Shane Fazen, of the instructional MMA & self-defense instruction YouTube channel ‘fightTIPS’.

WEDNESDAY - District 5:

Venture deep into District 5’s ‘Coriolanus Nine’ power facility to join Chief Energy Researcher Derek Muller, known for his mind-blowing experiments and scientific discussions on YouTube channel ‘Veritasium’, as he shows us how Panem manages its electricity needs.

THURSDAY - District 9:

Join us for a hearth-warming baking how-to from the Grain District's Jimmy Wong & Ashley Adams, best known for their ‘Feast of Fiction’ cooking channel, celebrating Panem’s most cherished victor; Peeta Mellark!

FRIDAY - District 6:

The season concludes with YouTube’s 'iJustine’ (Justine Ezarik). Serving as District 6's liaison to the Capitol, Justine brings her signature enthusiasm to CapitolTV with an exclusive glimpse at the driving force that proudly supports the transportation needs of Panem’s vaunted Peacekeepers.

Tune in at 4pm ET each day this week for a new episode of DISTRICT VOICES and explore life in the districts with CapitolTV and your favorite YouTube creators.

Don’t forget to register for updates from CapitolTV… It’s mandatory.

The full press release is below the cut.

MOCKINGJAY PART 1 Countdown - Week 8

We're back for another edition of our Mockingjay Part 1 Countdown. It's week 8, so naturally we will be discussing Chapter 8 from Mockingjay.

Chapter 8 starts off with the aftermath of the attack on District 8. Katniss is banged up, and she spends a night in the hospital. After a conversation with her mother, who had not known she'd gone to District 8, she is taken to Command in a wheelchair. She meets with Cressida, Messalla, and the "insect" cameramen first.

Castor introduces himself and his brother Pollux, who is an avox.

Side note:
After seeing Castor's name misspelled too many times as "Caster", I made a comment to fellow admin Courtney that I keep picturing him as a caster or spellcaster in Dungeons and Dragons, which we both play. Courtney then encouraged me to do the following:

Yes, a caster Castor D&D 3.5 character sheet. I created a level 10 sorcerer, with emphasis on charisma-based skills because Castor speaks for Pollux, and I imagine he did a fair bit of negotiating on his brother's behalf while buying his way above ground. Also, I gave him a relatively high strength modifier because I imagine it would take a lot of strength to carry his camera everywhere. Enjoy!

After everyone enters the meeting, Katniss watches the propo that has aired. I'm really looking forward to actually seeing this propo, and maybe we will get to see it being aired for the districts instead of Katniss watching after the fact.

Katniss realizes that Coin does not know that she disobeyed orders and removed her earpiece, and she notes that Haymitch is angry with her for it. After some discussion of other propos they will put together and air, including ones featuring dead tributes like Rue and Mags, the meeting ends, and Katniss falls asleep in the hospital.

When she wakes, Haymitch is there to confront her about the earpiece, threatening to even have a chip implanted in her where he can talk to her whenever he wants.

Katniss and Finnick watch another propo that was put together from District 8 footage, and immediately after, the second Peeta interview airs. Katniss notes how he is in visibly worse shape than she saw him in the first interview, and she realizes the first interview could've been taped long before it was aired. This interview is the first real hint of what the Capitol has been doing to Peeta since the arena blew up. He cautions Katniss about who she is working with, and when the interview is over, Finnick and Katniss agree to pretend they hadn't seen it. And when Fulvia and Plutarch show up later, they do not mention the interview.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Peeta's true state. Whether or not they will show this interview, I'm not sure, as they could easily cut this out since it is short. We may not see him again until the interview where he warns 13. However, if the focus of Part 1 will be getting Peeta back, it may be beneficial to drop more hints about Peeta and also to start putting doubt in Katniss's mind about whether she should trust the rebels. So far we haven't seen much of what goes on in this chapter in the promotional materials, so it can go either way.

Tune in next week when we discuss Chapter 9!

Week 1 

Week 2
Week 3 
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Week 7

District 13 Hack 5!

Another hack has been unlocked! Here's what you have to do:

The start of this one is the same as the first 4 hacks. Steps 1 through 5 are here (but select Hack 5 instead of 4 of course!)

Next up you will see this on your mobile device (we used an iPhone):

and this on your desktop:

parts of the 3D figure will be highlighted and you will need to trace the pattern on your mobile device. You will have to do this twice to unlock the hack. (Don't worry it's way easier than Hack 4!)

and then this page appears:

We're not sure where to go from here but our friends at QuarterQuell have gotten to a page with transcriptions of Peeta's interview with Caesar Flickerman, which you can check out here.

Lionsgate announces premieres and press tour for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

As expected, November will be surely be a busy time for us Hunger Games fans.

Today, Lionsgate announced plans for the press tour and premieres for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

On November 1st, the press tour will start in Beijing and hit Seoul, London, New York and Los Angeles. Cast members including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Sam Claflin will be in attendance.

Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Natalie Dormer, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland will join them in Leicester Square in London for the world premiere on November 10th. Fans in the US who purchase tickets on Fandango October 29th during the first 24 hours of advance sales will be entered for a chance to win a trip to the London Premiere.

All of the cast will reconvene for the Los Angeles premiere, which will take place on November 17th at the Nokia Live Theater.

For the full press release and details, look under the cut.

New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Preview Unlocked

@TheHungerGames asked fans to tweet #UnlockMockingjay to reveal the latest preview video. Click to watch!

Tweet #UnlockMockingjay to see Katniss return to District 12 in a brand new preview of #Mockingjay Part 1! http://t.co/upo4FJ6wNI
— Mockingjay - Part 1 (@TheHungerGames) October 15, 2014

This seems to be seems from the opening of Mockingjay, where Katniss sees the destruction and devastation in District 12 and set to Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde.

From what we can see in the video, we don't know how we're going to keep it together, even just in the opening of the movie.

MOCKINGJAY Part 1 COUNTDOWN - Week 7

Welcome to week 7 of our Mockingjay Part 1 Countdown! Chapter 7 is one of my favorite chapters of the book for a few reasons. I'm going to discuss them further later, but I am going to enumerate them for now because it is also a good way to summarize the chapter:

• Cressida (played by Natalie Dormer) being introduced
• The District 8 hospital scene
• Katniss (and Gale) vs. the Bombers
• Katniss becoming the Mockingjay

This chapter is so compelling and so action-packed, it reads like it was made to be turned into a movie. As you may or may not know, a good portion of what happens in this chapter is featured in the (which you can re-watch here if you need a quick refresher), so we know what to expect. 

Natalie Dormer being cast as Cressida was like a dream come true for me. In the TV shows I've seen her in, she's played incredibly smart, fearless, strong, somewhat calculating characters. The role of Cressida, the director/journalist tasked with following Katniss to film propos to encourage morale among the rebels, is somewhat similar to other roles she has taken on. A big difference, however, is the fact that the movie is set in the middle of the war. It will be interesting to see her in a setting that is somewhat grittier with a sense of urgency (the life-or-death kind). Mostly, I am looking forward to seeing how her relationship with Katniss is portrayed in the movie. Also, does she get to keep her accent?

The District 8 hospital scene is one of the most compelling parts of the book. Katniss visits a hospital in District 8 and is surprised and moved by the rebel's reaction to her presence and the fact that she is alive. She then realizes how important she is to the rebellion, which, based on the teaser trailer, is (or will be) illustrated in the movie (since her realization was internal in the book)  when someone from the hospital asks her if she was there to fight with them to which she responds, "I am. I will." 

gif source

After obtaining the footage Cressida's team needed to put together a propo, hoverplanes from the Capitol appear to bomb the hospital. Katniss is whisked away to ensure both her safety and that the Capitol bombers do not see her. When she realizes that the target was the hospital, full of injured rebels who cannot run, much less defend themselves, she takes it upon herself to fire back at the hoverplanes. Her and Gale manage to take a couple of the planes down, but the Capitol was ultimately successful and the hospital is destroyed, along with those in it. 

gif source

The bombing is featured prominently in the trailer, and we see Katniss' bow and arrow, and Gale's crossbow, described in the book as a bow fitted with scopes and other gadgets, having been designed as military weapon. We can also clearly see them taking full advantage of their weapons' special features, as the arrows they fire cause considerable amounts of damage to the targets they hit. Long story short: their weapons are bad ass and I am excited to see more of what they can do with them!

Faced with the Capitol's ruthlessness and cruelty and with a little prodding from Cressida, Katniss films a response to President snow and the attack. If Katniss saying she is ready to fight with the rebels seemed compelling, her message to Snow is probably going to be compelling and a half! It will be compelling on steroids. "Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!" Thankfully (or sadly, depending on how you feel about visual spoilers), we will have to wait until the movie is out to see that particular scene. However, here's a little something I've drawn to show you guys what I think that scene is going to be like (I have a feeling this is exactly what it'll look like in the movie):

And that's a wrap! Join us again on Friday for the next installation of our Mockingjay Part 1 Countdown! In case you missed the previous weeks' posts, here they are:

Week 1 
Week 2
Week 3 
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

District 13 Hack #4

We've got another TheCapitol.pn Hack to share with you all! Hack #4 has been activated.

Here are the instructions:

1. As always, go to district13.co.in on your mobile device. This was done on an Apple iPhone.

2. Connect with Facebook or Twitter. Hint: if you are having issues connecting, you can choose Do Not Save Progress to go straight to the hack - thanks QuarterQuell.org.

3. Go TheCapitol.pn on your computer and enter the Session ID on your mobile device.

4. Touch and hold the middle of the circle on your mobile device to pair your devices.

5. Awesome, you're in! On your mobile device, choose Hack 04.

6. This one is a toughie but doable, especially if you're not taking screencaps during it.

Just do your best to get to 100.

And you are rewarded with The Capitol's file on Gale:

Once again, Happy Hacking!

CapitolTV Alert: Road Closures

Audio transcription:

Starting today, all streets within a six mile radius of the President’s mansion will be closed for routine maintenance. All traffic will be re-routed and no pedestrians will have access to the moving walkways. Anyone caught in the area during the closure will be detained for questioning. You will be notified when the area re-opens. Thank you.

Routine maintenance? What do you think it means?

Hunger Games YA YA YA!

We are giant South Park fans and have been waiting for a Hunger Games reference for years, when suddenly last night it happened.

In the previous episode Randy Marsh dressed up as Lorde for a party, nothing out of the ordinary at all. Randy was clearly filling in for the actual Lorde, a connection that fell through. After that episode aired SPIN Magazine came out with an article called " 'South Park' Thinks a Middle-Aged Man Can Pass for Lorde", to which we were laughing hysterically over the fact that SPIN didn't get the joke because Randy does this kind of thing all the time.

In last night's episode "Cissy",  Stan and his Dad deal with gender identity issues and it is revealed that Randy is actually Lorde (How bout them apples, SPIN?!). So of course, here comes The Hunger Games reference:

Lionsgate announces partnerships with Doritos, Mazda and Whole Foods Market's Whole Planet Foundation

Today, Lionsgate announced partnerships with Doritos, Mazda and Whole Foods Market's Whole Planet Foundation as sponsors for the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part .

Doritos and Mazda will sponsor the Our Leader the Mockingjay app. An update is now available in order to unlock more content so update now! Don't forget your bag of specially marked Doritos.

Also, as previously posted, Doritos is sponsoring contests at UnlockDistrict13.com.

Along with Doritos, Mazda's involvement with the OLTM app will involve scanning logos to unlock content. Further, Mazda will sponsor a hovercraft design contest on Tumblr, in which every design will also trigger donations to various charities.

As for Whole Foods Market's Whole Planet Foundation, for every purchase of Courage of One juice $1 will be given to fund microcredit (small loans given to those who typically would not qualify). In addition, like Doritos, Whole Foods will sponsor contests.

Hopefully, we'll get the app stuff going once we have an appropriate bag of Doritos, but if you have the means, we definitely encourage exploring the updated Our Leader the Mockingjay App.

The full press release is under the cut.

Doritos and Lionsgate launch new contest! Unlock District 13!

Win stuff! Finally! A guiltless reason to tear into those bags of Nacho Cheese Doritos!

Lionsgate and Doritos launched the contest and the website UnlockDistrict13, where contestants can not only win a whole bunch of super cool Mockingjay prizes (including Red Carpet Premiere tickets), but also unlock some top secret Doritos-eaters only District 13 content on the Our Leader The Mockingjay App!(iOS, Android)

Register now and make sure to keep an eye out for the specially marked Doritos bags to participate!

For more information and to check out the prizes, click here. Sadly, the contest is US-only and while that is great for me and my love for Doritos (personally, I am looking to win either the gold, the cash, or the year supply of cheesy delicious snacks), it probably wouldn't hurt to still grab a bag or two for moral support!

MOCKINGJAY Part 1 COUNTDOWN - Week 6

It is Week 6 of the Mockingjay Part 1 Countdown! Chapter 6 brings us directly after the filming of Katniss's disastrous first propo. Haymitch gathers a group of people, including her prep team and former citizens of District 12 and shows them the footage, proving it will be ineffective. He asks the group for examples of when Katniss has made them feel something real.

Together, they conclude that all the examples provided had one thing in common: they were unscripted and from Katniss herself. Haymitch proposes to film her while she's out in the field, and Coin eventually agrees and says Katniss can go to District 8. This scene has always felt cinematic to me, so I hope the brainstorming scene makes it in, maybe switching out the notepad that Haymitch writes on with a fancy schmancy futuristic blackboard.

Afterwards, Katniss and Haymitch confront each other about failing to rescue Peeta, and Haymitch reassures her that they still can save him. This exchange is one of my favorites in the series and is pretty essential to illustrating Katniss's main motivation of the first half of Mockingjay.

Beetee equips her with Cinna's designs, and in comes Finnick for one of his best moments in the entire series. Finnick shows up fresh from the hospital, upset that he is not allowed to come. Katniss successfully distracts him, and as he is off to see Beetee, Katniss points out that Finnick has forgotten he is wearing a hospital gown and slippers and suggests that he put on pants.

He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown, leaving him in just his underwear. “Why? Do you find this”—he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose—“distracting?”

We are praying this scene makes it into the movie, as it is a character defining moment for Finnick and it creates a little levity for a generally heavy story.

The chapter ends with Plutarch explaining to Gale and Katniss the vision for the future of Panem, a republic that emulates our present day and their past. And then finally Plutarch gives Katniss the nightlock pill for in case she is captured.

While this chapter is light on the action, it's full of moments that feel so integral to the storytelling and the experience that is reading The Hunger Games that we're hoping this stays in the movie.

Join us next week for the next chapter!

Week 1 
Week 2
Week 3 
Week 4
Week 5