Local fans share appetite for ‘Hunger Games’

REVERE – Groups of friends started gathering in the lobby of the Showcase Cinemas in Revere two hours before the midnight premiere of “The Hunger Games” on Thursday night.”We’re obsessed,” Sarah Denning said along with friends Alex Maguire and Holly Cohan, who made festive T-shirts for the occasion.The upcoming movie is based on the wildly popular novels by Suzanne Collins. “The Hunger Games” take place in the aftermath of the destruction of North America in a country known as Panem,that is comprised of 12 districts.Every year one boy and one girl are chosen via lottery from each district to participate in the Hunger Games, where they fight to the death until one remains. From district 12, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers for the games in place of her younger sister, while Peeta Mellark is chosen.In the books, Katniss is in a love triangle between Peeta and her childhood best friend Gale.”Peeta is just so sweet to her. It’s adorable,” Denning said in a T-shirt she made that say’s “Team Peeta.”For many fans, the midnight premiere was a chance to mingle with other die-hard fans,”The true fans are here tonight. We thought tonight would be the night to meet other fans and see some funny T-shirts,” Joe Blast said while wearing a handmade T-shirt that read “Team Finnick.” Finnick is a character from the second novel in the trilogy.The intense action is what seems to attract so many fans.”I like seeing kids go into the arena and die in ridiculous ways,” Blast joked.For Sophia Barbosa the violence and action was something she was not expecting from a teen novel.”It’s so different. I’ve never read a story like it before, All the action is what draws you in. I couldn’t put the book down. It was a quick read,” Barbosa said.For others, the character development is what attracted them to the books and movie.”I liked the characters. I felt that each one had a distinct personality that everyone can relate to,” Angel Mar said.Naturally, the popular series is being compared to the likes of “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” due to their similarly targeted demographics.It’s a comparison that “The Hunger Games” fans do not appreciate.”It’s not really fair to compare it to “Twilight.” There really isn’t anything similar other than the fact that they are books,” Kasey Stone said while rolling her eyes.”While I’m a mediocre Twilight fan and did read the books, I wouldn’t compare “The Hunger Games” trilogy to “The Twilight Saga” in any way, ” Kayleigh Tansey said.Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].