Hunger Games Fireside Chat Podcast

Well, we've made it to the end of another year. And what a year it's been! Our first episode of 2012 was called "The Year of The Hunger Games," and that definitely ended up being a pretty accurate moniker. It's hard to believe everything that's happened over the last 360-something days! We kick off Episode 90 -- our last episode of 2012 -- by celebrating the end of Catching Fire filming. Woohoo! Adam and Savanna then share their Top 5 Hunger Games Moments of 2012 and play some short clips from past episodes that correspond to each of those moments. Our panelists will also share some of their  top moments of 2012. (Reminder: Don't forget to enter our The Hunger Games 12 Days of Christmas giveaway!)

In Episode 89 of Fireside Chat, we start out by discussing The Hunt, a new Hunger Games-style reality show that has been ordered by the CW. EW has summarized the show as follows: "In 'The Hunt,' 12 teams of two are dropped into the wilderness without food, water or shelter. They must compete in a game where they'll rely on their physicality, survival skills and hunting skills to endure the harsh conditions and 'capture' one another." What do you think? Is this a bad idea? Are you horrified and/or disturbed? Or do you think it sounds like a fun concept? We then do a round of Catching Fire Pick a Page, so get your books ready! We spend the rest of the show pulling topics out of our grab bag. Update: All the topics we pulled out of our grab bag are listed below!Did Katniss and Peeta name their children in a Harry Potter manner after their dead loved ones? (from Matilda)Would you rather face off against Cato or wrestle Thresh? (from McKenna K.)Crackpot Theory: Johanna and Finnick were dating before the Quarter Quell. (from McKenna K.)

It's time for another installment of Fireside Recs! In Episode 88 of Fireside Chat, we talk all about J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, since the movie opens in the U.S. on the 14th. We also briefly chat about Josh Hutcherson's fake head injury, which you can see in some new photos from Hawaii that popped up online last week (we're linking to them at our website, if you'd like to go check them out). Lastly, in light of the news that both "Safe & Sound" and "Abraham's Daughter" have been nominated for Grammy Awards, we chat a bit about the Catching Fire soundtrack. Do we think they'll do another companion-style album this time around? What do we think the tone of that album might be like? What artists would we like to see featured?

In Episode 87 of Fireside Chat, after briefly weighing in on the news that the arena scenes will be filmed in IMAX, we will spend the rest of the show discussing all of the new Catching Fire set photos that sent the fandom into a frenzy this week. As you know, Catching Fire is now filming in Hawaii and will be there until December 22-ish. (FYI: We're currently linking to all the set photos on our website for those of you who haven't seen them.)  Some things we focus on include the arena outfits, the weapons, Jena Malone's hair, the missing mockingjay pin, and other little details that you'll spot if you look closely at all the pictures! If you haven't already, leave a comment on our website letting us know what you think about the photos. What things stood out to you? Do you feel more excited after seeing Jennifer, Josh, Sam, Lynn, and Jena in character? Any complaints? Any questions?

In Episode 86 of Fireside Chat, we spend the first half of the show talking about the Catching Fire motion poster, which was unveiled by Lionsgate last Tuesday! At 10:30pm, we chat with author V. Arrow about her new guide to the trilogy, The Panem Companion. Leah Wilson, Editor-in-Chief of Smart Pop Books, also joins us. For more information about The Panem Companion, please visit our website at HGFiresideChat.com. We finish with a couple of grab bag topics, time permitting. (Update: We pulled out one topic from Katie Ross which asked us why we think Haymitch didn't want Katniss and Peeta to know about the planned arena escape.)

In Episode 85 of Fireside Chat, we spend the first half of the show talking about the Catching Fire logo and tagline, both of which were revealed before midnight showings of Breaking Dawn - Part 2 on Thursday night/Friday morning. For those of you who haven't yet seen it, the tagline is: Every revolution begins with a spark. The rest of the show will be filled with grab bag action, since we won't be doing an "Unscripted" episode this month. Update: We pulled the following topics out of our grab bag: - Cave/Marry/Kill: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Katniss Everdeen (from Tess) - "In the first Games, when Peeta is running with the Careers, they kill the girl who started the fire below Katniss's tree. But her cannon doesn't sound, so they send Peeta back to finish her. Do you think he killed her? And if so, how?" (from Emily 414)

In Episode 84 of Fireside Chat, we kick things off by touching on an interesting bit of news that broke last week: The new X-Men movie, which was due to start filming in January, has now pushed production back to April. Will this give Catching Fire some more breathing room? Does this mean that Gary Ross could have directed Catching Fire? Will this interfere with the filming of the Mockingjay movies? We also weigh in on a recent article published by io9.com: "Could The Hunger Games Get Published Today"? We then launch our new series, Fireside Recs, and discuss Ally Condie's Matched trilogy.

In Episode 83 of Fireside Chat, we spend the first part of the show talking about the unexpected news that broke last Thursday: Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence will also be directing both Mockingjay films! We then move on to a variety of political topics since Election Day is this Tuesday for those of us who live in the United States. Based on their views and ours, who would make a better president of Panem: Obama or Romney? And who would be a better president of the U.S.: Snow or Coin? How do we think elections are conducted in Panem? To wrap things up, Ellie from Down with the Capitol clears up some confusion surrounding the changes that have been made to Victory Tour 2013, and we finally give Lyme some airtime.

Happy Halloween (a few days in advance)! It's time for our monthly "Unscripted" episode! We have no set plan or agenda in place for Episode 82. Instead, we spend the evening pulling listener-submitted questions, discussion topics, Crackpot Theories, What Ifs?, Would You Rathers?, and Cave/Marry/Kills out of our trusty grab bag. We choose topics from the grab bag (or “topic cornucopia”) at random and discuss, debate, and speculate! You're always welcome to send us a topic for the grab bag by emailing us or leaving us a comment at our website (HGFiresideChat.com).   Update: All the topics we pulled out of the grab bag are listed below! - Which Catching Fire tributes would you most like to have with you if you had to spend the night in a haunted house? (from Vaultmaster) - What would the Mellark bakery sell during Halloween? (from Tess) - Many people think that if Katniss didn't go into the Games, she would have eventually married Gale. Do you agree? Or were Gale and Katniss never suited for a romantic relationship? More importantly, would Katniss have been able to overcome her stated fear/aversion of marriage and kids with Gale? (from Satsuma) - Were the Districts and the Capitol renamed [after the rebellion]? (from Matilda) - What if: Cato and Clove were the star-crossed lovers? (from McKenna)  

In Episode 81 of Fireside Chat, we kick things off by weighing in on the news that Elizabeth Banks broke last week on her blog: Danny Strong is officially in as screenwriter for both Mockingjay films and has already begun work on them! Next, we discuss all the latest Catching Fire set photos (links can be found in the promo for Episode 81 at our website). We also talk about the differences we've already observed between this production and that of The Hunger Games. To conclude, we take a look at Vulture's recently published list of the Top 25 Most Devoted Fan Bases. The Hunger Games fandom was ranked #7. Do we agree with this ranking and their breakdown of the fandom? Is the average demographic really "[f]emale, teen, or teen at heart"? We discuss!

In Episode 80 of Fireside Chat, we spend most of the show chatting about all the new Catching Fire set photos that popped up online over the last week (as well as some older ones that we forgot to discuss on Episode 79). Links to all of the photos -- which reveal the new Peacekeeper uniforms, some Capitol vehicles, the District 6 reaping, and more -- can be found in the Episode 80 promo at HGFiresideChat.com. We also give you an update on Victory Tour 2013 and go grab baggin'!

In Episode 79 of Fireside Chat, we kick things off by chatting about the latest filming-related updates: the newest set photos and extras casting calls, etc. We then discuss Jo Willems, the new cinematographer, and Danny Strong, who will -- allegedly -- be writing the scripts for both Mockingjay films (this is still a rumor at this point). To conclude, we make some "New Movie Observations" and talk about the sad Hob lady and Peeta's walking stick.

On Episode 78 of Fireside Chat, we spend most of the show talking about last week's MAJOR news: Lionsgate finally revealed the rest of the Catching Fire cast! We now know who will be playing Blight, Woof, Cecelia, the morphlings, and all the other unnamed victors. We also talk about the fact that the much-hyped Mystery Woman is actually Mrs. Everdeen. Do we think this was Lionsgate's original plan? Was the fandom foolish to get so overly excited about the unnamed female silhouette? To conclude, we play a movie-themed edition of The Sound of Hunger!

It's that time again! We weren't able to do an "Unscripted" episode last month due to the barrage of Catching Fire news, so this is well overdue. We have no set plan or agenda in place for Episode 77. We do, however, have a grab bag full of listener-submitted questions, discussion topics, Crackpot Theories, What Ifs?, Would You Rathers?, and Cave/Marry/Kills. We choose topics from the grab bag (or "topic cornucopia") at random and discuss, debate, and speculate! Update: The topics we pulled out of the bag are listed below! - What is/was between Haymitch and Effie? A love-hate relationship? Acceptance? Just love? Only hate? (submitted by Matilda) - Do you think Peeta isn't Mrs. Mellark's son? The books say that Peeta has two older brothers and doesn't mention Mrs. Mellark abusing them at all, because perhaps they are her only two blood sons? (submitted by Noelle) - What are the strategies that you feel Lionsgate is going to need to use to keep us all "connected" to this franchise over winter/spring of 2013? (submitted by Michael F.) - "I never really thought about it in the books until a previous post suggested Buttercup was a muttation. What if Buttercup was a mutt sent by D13 to find the perfect person to start a rebellion?" - Cave, Marry, Kill: Bonnie, Katniss, and Seneca Crane's Beard (submitted by McKenna K.)

In Episode 76 of Fireside Chat, we kick things off by discussing the location of District 4, which was revealed last week through The Hunger Games Adventures, the official social game for the Hunger Games franchise. Did YOU think District 4 would be located in the [former] Pacific Northwest? We certainly didn't! Next, we talk all about the set photos that exploded onto the Internet this past week, showing us that (a) Sam Claflin's hair is now bronze, (b) Jeffrey Wright is reading Mockingjay, and (c) this movie really is being made! To conclude, we pick some fascinating and amusing topics out of our grab bag and make a very "adventurous" phone call...