‘The Hunger Games’ stars defend film’s violence

Actors Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, stars of upcoming teen movie The Hunger Games, have defended the display of graphic content in the film, saying it was important for the telling of the story, yet not exploitative.

“It’s the violence and the brutality is the heart of the film, because it’s what gets the people angry to start an uprising and to start a revolution and no wars start with watered down kind of cut and candy views on some things. So, yes, I do think the violence and brutality is justified, but I understand if everybody has a different standards for ratings,” Lawrence, who plays the film’s heroine, Katniss Everdeen, said at the European premiere on Wednesday.

Lawrence’s co-star, American actor, Josh Hutcherson, added that while the use of violence was an important part, the film does not exploit it. Young people, he said, would be fine watching it.

“I think so, yeah, I mean it’s, I think kids are more mature than they have been over the years and I think that I mean the whole idea was to make this movie and stay true to the book without alienating audiences. So [director] Gary Ross did it in a way where he didn’t make the violence, glorify it at all. It’s not overly gruesome or brutal but it is part of the story in some way,” he said.

One of the most eagerly awaited titles of the year, The Hunger Games had been edited by its distributor in Britain in order to earn a lower rating and broaden the potential audience.

Lions Gate UK made the changes to qualify for a “12A” rating rather than “15” which had been available for the unedited version.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) said the distributors had digitally removed “sight of blood splashes and sight of blood on wounds and weapons”.

The film has already been compared to other successful young adult franchise, such as Twilight and the Harry Potter films.

Some industry experts have predicted it could gross nearly $100 million in its opening weekend in North American cinemas alone.

Actor Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale Hawthorne, one of the lead characters, says the cast felt some pressure to make a movie that would also please Collins’ readership.

“I think, you know, there was always that on our minds that we definitely wanted to please the fans but I mean everyone is going to have a different opinion of the book. You know everyone has their own imagination. So we really had to trust in Gary [Ross] and were fortunate enough that Gary is such an amazing director and really had a clear vision of what the books I think should be, and I think he’s pulled it off so,” he said.

While slated a teen movie, Toby Jones, one of the adult actors in this ensemble cast, said he thinks also older audiences will enjoy watching it.

“It feels like a sort of adult film in style, it’s not that fast editing you see all the time in films that are supposedly for young people. It’s much more, it believes that the audience were interested in the characters so it takes its time. It’s large bits where it’s just visual, it’s not even, there’s not even dialogue and that’s really refreshing,” he said.

Based on the first of three novels by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games pictures a futuristic world, in which the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem, forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a nationally televised event introduced as a twisted punishment for a past uprising. The games’ participants, its “Tributes”, are forced to fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss  (Lawrence) is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson. 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.