In the original timeline, "the hunger games" as a novel-adapted film, was somewhat similar to "harry potter".
It first built a large fan base, and once the foundation was solid, the movie naturally attracted many book fans to buy tickets, with teenagers and young adults as the mainstream viewing group.
The most direct manifestation of this was in the box office: out of a total global box office of 700 million US dollars, North America accounted for almost 60%, and overseas 40%.
For a film with such a high box office, this proportion is actually very unusual.
Blockbusters with explosive box office like "The Matrix", "harry potter", "the lord of the rings", "pirates of the caribbean", and "transformers" all had overseas proportions exceeding 60%.
Ultimately, the novel sold best in North America, but was weaker when viewed globally.
The production cost of the original film did not reach A-level; it was on the larger side of B-level.
This led to very poor special effects, few grand scenes, and instead, the main focus was on aspects like male-female relationships, which could have been cut to save time.
It's important to remember that a major selling point of "the hunger games" was its battle royale mode; many viewers who hadn't read the novel were attracted by this gimmick.
And then you show me this? What I want is fisticuffs, what I want is fighting and escaping; stimulate my adrenaline!
This version, starring Gadot, lacked the solid foundation laid by the novel, so it was inherently not strong enough and had to compensate in other areas.
Therefore, the focus of the film's promotion was on exciting combat, with MGM investing 100 million US dollars.
If this money were invested in 2012, it would have been enough to produce two versions of "the hunger games" starring Jennifer Lawrence.
After the film was completed, he personally reviewed it from beginning to end, and sure enough, the film made in 2004, whether in terms of visuals, sound, set design, or props, comprehensively surpassed the 2012 version.
Especially in grand scenes, it was uncompromising, primarily offering abundant special effects.
The film industry is a money-burning business; even if there's a ten-year difference and technology has innovated three or four generations, if you're unwilling to spend, what's the point? The effect might even be worse than before.
In response, period fantasy idol dramas collectively bowed their heads in shame.
Of course, the film also did not abandon the grand backdrop of political struggle and war; these were plot devices for deeper exploration in subsequent sequels, merely compressed to be shorter in duration.
Grand narratives can indeed tell a story more wonderfully and with greater depth, but first, you need to lure the audience into the cinema.
Our mainstream audience is teenagers; how many of them will pay attention to political struggles?
This element isn't omitted, but rather placed in the second installment.
Eric did not alter the original story framework; he merely made more appropriate additions and deletions based on the real situation.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly feeling his left hand tightly grasped, Eric turned to look at Liu Yifei beside him; she indeed looked very excited and nervous.
He gently patted her hand, signaling her to relax.
Look at Gadot on the right, her expression is very natural, and her attention is completely focused on the big screen.
The film's opening differed from the original, opting for a narrative voice-over, using one minute to broadly introduce the world's background, with subsequent details gradually filled in.
Natural disasters, man-made calamities, explosions, nuclear peace.
The screams and wails of humanity, the regression of technology, the collapse of order, and the re-establishment of new nations.
The grand special effects immediately captivated the audience's attention, ensuring everyone understood this background introduction to facilitate understanding of the subsequent story.
After explaining the origin of the hunger games, the scene shifted to the protagonist's coal mining district, adopting a hunting perspective.
Gadot was seen moving agilely through the mountains and forests, the dense trees unable to impede her steps.
An arrow was shot, with rapid, frame-by-frame editing, pinning a running rabbit to the ground.
"Wow! A hundred paces, piercing the willow! She looks very powerful."
"Katniss is an excellent hunter, didn't you see the trailer?"
"I mean Gal Gadot, didn't you notice? She did it herself, without a stunt double. That final jump-and-shoot move is very difficult; most people can't do it."
"Gadot is already great. I've been following her Facebook account; she often posts fitness updates. She has great muscle definition in her abs and arms."
"Really? Can Eric Cooper beat her? With such good stamina, the average man couldn't handle it."
"Uh, shut up!"
Just one appearance was enough to establish Katniss's persona as a skilled archer and excellent hunter.
As the female protagonist returned home with her prey, the male protagonist and male second lead also appeared on screen.
The male protagonist, Peeta, was recommended by his father's acquaintance, Jesse Eisenberg.
Unfamiliar? That's the guy who starred in "Now You See Me", "Zombieland", and "The Social Network".
He also played Lex Luthor in the DCEU; does that ring a bell?
Although he was a connected hire, Eric felt he was quite suitable. Jesse Eisenberg had been in the industry for 5 years and had acting skills.
Moreover, Eric had seen his independent film "The Double", where the young man delivered a performance with extreme contrast before and after.
Considering that the male protagonist Peeta would later be brainwashed and have numerous scenes of extreme struggle, acting like a psychiatric patient, using Jesse Eisenberg would definitely be no problem.
The male second lead was chosen through an open audition, and the final pick was Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in Marvel.
He debuted this year and auditioned with a try-it-and-see attitude, never expecting to be incredibly lucky and get selected. I heard his agent is already nurturing him like a treasure.
He had just humbly approached Eric on the red carpet and exchanged a few words, even asking reporters to help take a photo, looking incredibly happy and Stupid, like a little fanboy.
Little did he know, the original actor was his brother, Liam Hemsworth. It came full circle back to their family; you could say two 'Hemsworths' can't be written out of one family.
If his performance in this film is good, promoting him to play Thor next year would be an excellent choice.
Subsequently, a futuristic spaceship landed in the coal mining district, making the audience realize that this was actually a sci-fi film, and marveling at the vast difference in development between regions.
The appearance of the Queen of Hearts, with her exaggerated Elizabethan attire, instantly made this supporting character memorable.
The lottery selected her sister, the female protagonist volunteered to replace her, and just ten minutes into the opening, the plot had already entered the Capital stage.
Then came the CP-building phase, where the various commercialized operational modes in the film made the audience exclaim, "Is this really a death game? Or a reality show?"
Liu Yifei also made her first appearance at the training ground; her weapons were dual blades—a longer Tang saber suitable for slashing and a shorter Kukri suitable for close combat.
In the test, she ultimately achieved a high score of 10, second only to the protagonist Katniss's 11 points.
At the same time, her weakness was also revealed: in the talk show interview segment, it was learned through the host that she couldn't distinguish between blueberry jam and strawberry jam.
The film also showcased life in the Capital District, a metropolis indistinguishable from modern cities, where people lived luxuriously, creating a stark contrast with other districts.
Watching the Capital District citizens gambling and betting, treating the hunger games entirely as an amusement park, made one's heart grow cold.
For any civilized society, treating living human lives as stakes for gambling or as a game for entertainment is unacceptable; it has crossed the moral bottom line.
During this time, brief flashbacks of the male and female protagonists were interspersed, making the audience realize that Peeta truly had feelings for Katniss.
And with the conversation between the President and the designer, the true nature of the hunger games was revealed.
"Why must there be a winner in the game?"
"If we merely wanted to intimidate the people of District 12, we could simply have them sacrifice two people each year and publicly execute them."
"This would not only save time and effort but also achieve the most direct deterrent effect. Yet, we choose to host the hunger games. Why?"
"The answer is hope!"
"Hope is something more terrifying and more manipulative than fear."
"Give them a glimmer of hope, let them enjoy one last warmth in despair, and these people will not rebel."
"But if fear drives them to desperation, the rebellion of District 13 will surely repeat."
"However, one must be careful with the intensity; too much hope is also dangerous."
"A spark is fine, but not a prairie fire!"
After watching this sequence, the teenage audience felt nothing, but the film critics' eyes lit up.
This film seemed to be getting more and more interesting, blending more profound thoughts into its commercial elements, striking but not overshadowing.
At the 40-minute mark of the movie, the hunger games officially began. The original dragged on for over an hour, and the audience was already impatient.
"One minute to countdown!"
"60!"
"59!"
"58!"
On screen, the Capital District screamed wildly, continuing to bet and open wagers.
People from other districts looked sorrowful; they would soon watch their children die.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
As the countdown ended, a group of people rushed to the center to grab resources. The male protagonist Peeta had been hiding his strength, being the first to escape and hook up.
The female protagonist, however, strictly followed her mentor's advice: she could pick up scraps but not charge directly. She was a hunter, not a close-combat expert.
District 1 and District 2, as an alliance, were all bloodthirsty individuals and very strong. They immediately cut down three people in a pool of blood.
But they were not the most terrifying. The camera focused on Liu Yifei.
As a contestant from District 7, the Textile District, her combat power was even greater. She first snatched a handy weapon at the fastest speed.
Then she turned and cut down one person, slung a backpack over her back with the Tang saber, and threw a Kukri directly into another male contestant's head.
She coldly pulled out the Kukri, and facing the professional tribute siblings from District 1, she showed no fear, gracefully twirling her blades as she watched them.
Even with weapons in hand, the tribute siblings were intimidated by her killing intent and dared not engage directly.
Other contestants ran away, bypassing the three of them.
It wasn't until two contestants from District 2 joined that, facing a four-person encirclement, Liu Yifei feigned a move and quickly darted into the forest.
Before leaving, she suddenly looked back, coldly staring at the four-person group engaged in combined killing, as if she had already marked them as her biggest rivals.
This segment was specifically designed to highlight Little Liu's skills, establishing her as the most formidable fighter by intimidating the four-person group.
The effect was immediate.
"Wow! She is so cool!"
"This actress is so cool, especially the way she picks up the backpack with the long saber—it's elegant and beautiful. What's her name?"
"No wonder she got 10 points; her close-combat ability is truly explosive."
"The four-person group was scared of her. She's so ruthless when killing, but with such a powerful contestant, how will the female protagonist win?"
"The female protagonist is an archer, and archers counter close combat, so she'll definitely be shot dead!"
"Crystal Liu's Look back shot is so cool; she looks like she's targeting the four-person group."
"I saw the trailer. In the setting, this character is called Vanthia Ghost, and she has Native American ancestry. The actress is Krysten Liu, and she starred in "supernatural"."
"Oh my goodness! This battle royale looks so thrilling; half the people were eliminated right at the start."
"Well done!" Eric praised, squeezing Little Liu's thigh.
"Hehe, my leg was poked by an opponent when filming that scene, and it hurt for several days."
"Hmm? Then why didn't you say anything?"
"I was embarrassed. I didn't want the crew to think I was a delicate young lady, and it wasn't too serious."
Although their voices were low, Gadot could still hear them.
She hadn't yet realized that Eric and Liu Yifei had something going on. As an older sister who had worked with Little Liu for several months, she had a good impression of the humble and beautiful Little Liu.
"Liu, you should speak up about such things; it's an actor's normal right."
"Moreover, the crew always has doctors, and we are all covered by insurance. If something really goes wrong, the crew will not only not thank you but will also blame you."
"Huh? Why?"
"Not to mention delaying time, the union will also cause trouble. In the end, you'll only offend both sides and be caught in the middle."
"Understood, thank you, Gadot."
"Hollywood rules are different from over there; you need to learn to adapt," Eric said.
Subsequently, the plot unfolded from Katniss's perspective, fully demonstrating the brutality of the game.
As the female protagonist was intervened by staff and pushed in front of the four-person group, her strategy of surviving until the end failed.
The audience also gained a clearer understanding of the organizers' shameless actions.
Katniss was chased by the four-person group and forced to climb a tree. Especially seeing that the male protagonist had also defected and joined the four-person group, she felt even more heartbroken.
Some viewers couldn't help but curse Peeta as a betrayer, claiming his so-called love for the female protagonist was all fake.
But the truth was not so.
The original handling of this plot was extremely idiotic. Facing a female protagonist who had climbed a tree, the four people, despite being armed, were completely helpless.
Even if you're idiots, don't you know how to throw things, or how to set a fire? Such simple tasks?
This is indeed a commercial film, not aiming for too much rigor, but such a plot that challenges the audience's intelligence is still too trashy and shameless.
So this plot was changed. It was altered so that the male protagonist, Peeta, left a trail of marks, secretly leading the strongest hunter, Vanthia Ghost, over.
Because he had already discovered during the initial scramble for supplies that Vanthia would absolutely not tolerate the four-person group and would inevitably find a way to eliminate them.
After the plot change, Peeta's wisdom was directly evident.
Sure enough, just as the four-person group was about to eliminate Katniss, a female member was suddenly shot in the head and fell to the ground, with the Kukri embedded in her eye.
Immediately after, a leopard-like figure sprang from the bushes, slicing off a male member's gun-wielding arm with one strike and kicking him over.
Such a severe injury meant he definitely wouldn't survive.
The sudden turn of events threw the scene into chaos. While the two sides fought, Peeta shouted, "Go!"
He helped Katniss, who had jumped from the tree, to her feet. The two hastily hid, secretly observing the fierce battle, preparing to pick up the spoils later.