By the Book: Catching Fire Chapter 3
Several weeks ago, the Mockingjay.net staff began our special By the Book feature, where we analyze ‘Catching Fire’ chapter by chapter. We share what scenes from the chapter we believe will make it into the movie, what our favorite lines are, and what we’re afraid might be cut from the film.
By the Book will contain SPOILERS for Catching Fire, so if you haven’t read the book and don’t want to know the story, stop reading right now!
In Chapter 3, Katniss is left reeling after President Snow’s visit. She doesn’t have much time to process it before Cinna and prep team arrive and she and Peeta depart on their Victory Tour. While the train is stopped for refueling, Katniss goes outside with Haymitch and tells him about her conversation with the president and asks him to help her get through the tour. Haymitch tells her that she’ll have to pretend to be in love with Peeta for much longer than the tour if she wants to keep her friends and family safe– she’ll have to pretend for the rest of her life.
Ciara
I think once Snow leaves we’ll need a very short breather so I’d like the start of this chapter to make the cut. Alone in the study, a moment to let the gravity of her situation sync in and then we see her taking the burden alone and hiding it from her family. I like the idea of Katniss in the bath, a little quiet to herself before the Capitol descends upon her. The bulk of this chapter will be trimmed drastically and I have little hope for Katniss’ talent, Cinna or the stylist banter but Effie would be a brilliant exposition filler at this point: briefly describing all about the Victory Tour, the schedule, what’s expected of her and Peeta etc. While this is going on we need to see Prim again and that would be a great opportunity to do the ‘Bam!’ moment when Katniss is reminded of Rue. Maybe have Prim peer around the corner like Rue in the training centre. It would be a nice reminder that the Games and Rue’s death has never left her and would lead in nicely to the scene in District 11. And I want the little moment when her mother hands her the mockingjay pin ʺfor luck.ʺ I think at the train station we’ll have Peeta and Katniss waving to the cameras, so in love and entering the train, doors shut and we see the smiles on their faces drop slowly, the love between them fall apart. I think it would be a nice contrast to show what is (ahem) real and not real. The first film established the trust between Katniss and Haymitch so he’d be the perfect person to reassess the dangers of the situation with for the audience and perhaps a brief nod to the horrors of being a mentor and the Quarter Quell.
Line Predictions
Haymitch: ʺYou and Peeta, you’ll be mentors now, every year from here on out. And every year they’ll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of your private life, and you’ll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy.ʺ
Erin
I’m not entirely sure how they’re going to handle the information found in Chapter 3. I don’t have very high hopes for any of it making it into the movie, actually. I can see them cutting Katniss reassuring her mother, the entire scene with the prep team, and I’m pretty certain that we won’t see or hear anything about the Victor’s ‘talents’ so Cinna bringing all those dresses to her house probably won’t make it. As much as I want the scene with Katniss telling Haymitch about President Snow’s visit, it won’t make much sense to go from the scene of President Snow threatening her and moving straight to her telling Haymitch about that threat. Personally, I think they will extend the scene in District 11, where Katniss tells Peeta what happened. He’ll storm off, but Katniss and Haymitch will stay longer and she’ll say ʺIf you can just help me get through this trip.ʺ I’d love to see Katniss and Peeta running toward each other through the snow before the tour starts, but for the sake of time I believe that will be cut and we’ll see a shot of them boarding the train–perhaps of her waving good-bye to her mom, Prim, and then not waving at Gale– and then we’ll see a shot of the train arriving in District 11.
Line Predictions
Even if they don’t use these lines until later, I want them to include Katniss saying ʺIf you can just help me get through this tripʺ and Haymitch saying ʺYou’ll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy.ʺ
Tash
I really felt for Katniss in Chapter 3, President Snow’s visit has left her reeling, then immediately she has to start playing the part and preparing for the Victory Tour, filming her talent and appearing on camera with Peeta again for the first time in months. I don’t think that a lot of Chapter 3 will make it to the screen, given the time spent with the prep team and that most of it is Katniss’ inner monologue, but there are definitely important elements to show. I would like to see a little chatter with the prep team, especially as later on it is from Venia, Octavia and Flavius that Katniss discovers which districts are rebelling, though as they were seen for about 30 seconds in ‘The Hunger Games’ their role will probably be shortened again. I’d be happy for it to be shortened/cut as long as there is some time spent with Cinna, as they must show how close they’ve become and how important this relationship is to Katniss, so even if they do cut the talents he could still be present due to the Victory Tour. By far and away though the most pivotal moment of this chapter is its closing paragraphs, when Katniss confides in Haymitch. The stakes are raised even higher as Katniss goes from worrying about the intermediate future to the long-term future, and those scenes simply must be included so that later events make sense. Although as Erin has noted if they do shuffle the kiss and President Snows visit around, it may not make much sense movie wise for Katniss to tell Haymitch straightaway about Snow’s visit. I thought that Woody and Jen did a terrific job on the roof at the end of ‘The Hunger Games’, so I’m looking forward to more of their interactions in ‘Catching Fire’.
Line Predictions
Haymitch: ʺ…you’ll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy…Do you understand what I mean?ʺ
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone’s predictions are perfect!!!!!!!!!!! I love them!!!!!! CAN’T WAIT UNTILL NOV. 23rd 2013!!!!!!!!!!!
Ugh, I’m not excited about Snow’s big scene… It made me sick reading it, don’t know how I’ll do seeing it! But I think y’all’s predictions are pretty good. And those lines have to be in the movie!
Whatever makes it, especially Katniss/Snow talk and then Katniss/Haymitch talk, it needs to be intense and serious. The audience, especially non-readers, need to see how powerful and evil the Capitol and Snow are and the influence they have over citizens lives and even the need to pretend in the relationship. People should really see how Katniss def isn’t 100% loving Peeta like he is with her revealing her own personal conflict with her feelings for him and Gale.
I agree that much or even most of this chapter is destined to be cut. I think I mentioned in the last By the Book post, that I could see giving the Victory Tour an ‘Engagement Party’ theme, complete with on-location wedding dress photo shoots in the Districts and a vote for best dress at the end of the tour. It would be bizarre and chilling and the visuals would be great. If they go this route the Haymitch quote about “You’ll never be able to do anything except live happily ever after with this boy” is probably a keeper. Effie’s gushing comments “Isn’t it thrilling…in your very first year as victor you get to be a mentor” is so obnoxious that I suspect it will be retained as well.
I’m still convinced that it makes much more sense to reverse the order of the District Tour so that the tour starts with a party in the Capitol, moves on to Districts 1 and 2, etc, and ends in District 11. The D11 scenes are by far the most dramatic part of The Spark section.
The District 11 scenes would then be immediately followed by a hurried return to District 12 (swarming with Peacekeepers as a reprisal for Katniss & Peeta’s speeches). This would set the stage for a Bonnie and Twill scene (still the easiest way to introduce the meaning of the Mockingjay as well as the hope that District 13 still exists) — as well as Gale’s flogging.
I think they should keep it they way the book goes…… I still like all the predictions though.
I agree with Ciara and Tash.
Katniss_LuvR-Grl, good news: its actually november 22 2013 not november 23. and the dvd is coming out on august 18!!! cant wait
I really agree with Destined. They need to make the movie so that non-readers will really understand the twisted and cruel ways of the capitol. I think the whole message of THG Trilogy is that goverment is over powerful and forces us to do thing the people don’t want to do. you see that in the books alot, like how the capitol forces the distrcit’s children to fight to the death. also, they make Katniss pretend to be in love with peeta. they make finnick be a ….. not finishing that sentence. that’s twisted and sick. so yeah, they’ll need to make non-readers under stand that.
I do agree with that they might cut out alot of scenes. but the other day there was a post on this website saying Francis Lawernce was going to try to make the movie as much like the book as possible. so im really hoping. i hope that they’ll keep the scene will katniss and peeta running at each other and falling into the snow then kissing. i also hope they wont cut out katniss’s conversation with Haymitch.
I believe very few parts of this chapter will survive. I’ll focus on what I’d like to see: Like Ciara said, after president Snow’s exit from the room, they should leave some time so the audience can process what just happened. Maybe show Katniss shaking (*like a chihuaha* :p), and then show her in the bath, putting her head bellow the water, showing how that threat affected her. They could show Effie, they may show the prep team and Cinna arriving, but they probably wouldn’t give them any atention. The kiss with Peeta on the snow will probably make it, and then they’ll go to the train, maybe then Effie can fill them (and the audience) in on what are they doing there and maybe what they’ll be doing as mentors in the next Games… Later on, the train stops, and she talks to Haymitch…
Anyway, according to Josh Hutcherson, Francis Lawrence said he will keep the movie extremely close to the book, so I’d say he won’t make major changes in the story/timeline, and that’s definitely good.
Regards
@sugarcubes+fishnets yeah i totes agree with you!
SUGAR CUBES AND FISH NETS!
@Sugar Cubes +Fishnets thank you! That is by far my biggest concern with CF, that is really shows viewers its not just the Hunger Games that’s barbaric and sick, its beyond that and more 24/7, just oppression to the max. And Snow is the driving force behind it. THAT needs to be crystal clear.
@Peetas bakery-SUGAR CUBES AND FISH NETS right back at cha.
@Destined- yeah i really agree. the hunger games isn’t just what’s twisted, the capitol does so many sick and barbaric hidious things.
Also, like how Snow forces Finnick to sell his body. that is one of the most sick, cruel, evil, twisted, and barbaric things i’ve ever heard. i mean,forcing children to fight to the death is sick enough, forcing someone to marry and have children with some one they dont want to is twisted, but forcing some one to be what finnick is forced to be??? that’s evil.
@Sugar cubes+fish nets I know its just horrible on all levels. Even what they do to the Avoxes just dehumanizing them altogether. That is effed up for real. And let’s not get to the torture. Just like Hunger Games drew in the audience by rooting for Katniss and seeing what she’s going though in the games and trying to get home, CF needs to capture the audience by really revealing the atmosphere of living in the Districts and their wavering tolerance and also the superiority of the Capitol. Almost like put yourself in their shoes realistically its a nightmare. They better turn it all the way up in CF! Its not my fav book from the trilogy for nothing.
@Katniss Luvrgirl & Sugar Cubes. Lawrence didn’t say he wasn’t going to change things he said, according to Josh Hutcherson: ‘I want to make the movie out of the book. I want the book to be the best movie possible.’ The book is 391 pages and 27 chapters long. Unless the book is made into two movies that material has to be extracted or condensed into about seven or eight sequences of 10 to 15 minute in length for a total film run time of about two hours. The dramatic tension has to be kept high and be structured in a way that’s not necessary in a book. Plus it has to be done in such a way that people who have not read the book have a shot at understanding what’s happening. It’s a daunting task and fans of the book should realize that the only way to do right by the spirit of the book is often to change things so they work on film.
I love your comment, Ciara. Especially about Rue and Prim. I just want them to stick as close to the book as possible and don’t overdo anything. Follow in Gary Ross’s footsteps too. And please don’t make the language over-the-top. They should also go into more detail about the Avoxes, especially with Darius when he becomes one later in the second book. They should make that scene where Katniss recognizes Darius as an Avox – make it as dramatic as necessary. Also, when Mags dies in the arena – they should make that a pretty sad scene. More so than what was done in the book.
I do hope Haymitch’s line about Katniss having no choice but to “live happily ever after with that boy” is kept in some form, even if not word-for-word. Also, re what he says about mentoring, it seemed that the fact of Haymitch himself being a Victor, and the actual concept that the mentors are drawn from prior victors for the district, was overlooked in the first film, but hopefully it’ll be mentioned in the second. And that we also find out what the Capitol does to Haymitch’s family as payback for him using the force field to help him win, as this also shows how tyrannical Snow and the Capitol in general is.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the “kissing in the snow” scene is left out of the movie, especially because it’s meant to be mostly fake. I wonder if Lawrence and company will follow Gary Ross’s lead in minimizing the physical aspect of the romance, or will make CF a bit more of a romantic film than THG. Hopefully they will, especially considering how un-romantic most of MJ is.
Now, THG really had One Dramatic Kiss between Katniss and Peeta, and I can see CF showing One Dramatic Kiss between Katniss and Gale (likely after the whipping), and One Dramatic Kiss between Katniss and Peeta — won’t even bother stating which one *that* would be. Though I guess since Gale and Katniss’s first kiss at the start of the story could be very dramatic as well, they might show Peeta and Katniss kissing for the cameras before getting on the train; I just don’t think it’ll be that long or romantic a scene.
I also unfortunately think that the whole Avox idea might wind up on the cutting room floor, or only referred to in the same subtle way the frst movie did. Yes, it does show how horrible the Capitol is, but it features fairly minor characters, and cutting it out wouldn’t really impact the major themes. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t even bother to cast a “Darius”.
Some really great comments and ideas again all, another good By the Book
@Hana – I have to keep reminding myself of the condensed format of a film and how it might all pan out, it certainly challenges me to think about things for each By the Book piece!
I can’t wait to see which parts we get right and wrong too
Ok. so I know they are gonna have to cut stuff, but I hope it’s not a lot. The book is good, but it does contain a lot of information. I hope it just doesn’t completely change. Some people were to totally rework the distric tour, but I totally disagree. That meetng they have in the district 11 justice building is really important, if they change the district tour, then nothing will work exactly right.
@Tash — It is really so hard to figure out how to do these kinds of book to film adaptations, especially since CF is such an incredibly rich, beautiful text.
Here at By the Book we’ve been taking a ‘bottom up’ approach to the film adaptation. Denise and Tiffany over at Welcome to District 12 have just started doing a great ‘top down’ screenwriting mock-up for Mockingjay that starts with a popular structural formula for movies which then guides the selection of key moments. Check it out — it’s really interesting. http://www.welcometodistrict12.com/2012/06/mockingjay-mockup-part-i-overview.html
I’ve been playing around with another type of top-down script structure — called the sequence approach to diagram what stays and what goes from Catching Fire. Paul Gorman has a super review of all these techniques here: http://paulgorman.org/writing/dramatic_structure.php
It’s really fun to draw out the structure for a classic three act, seven sequence pattern, then try to identify the key events from the book and fit them into the boxes. Let me tell you, I now have a major, major new appreciation for what screenwriters do and why they have to keep re-writing scripts!
I love ALL of predictions! I can’t wait until CF comes out.
@Hana – Thanks so much for those links, I am definitely going to have a read
You’re right though, it’s no simple feat to write a script! I keep getting worried about all the things we keep hearing about the CF script and the different writers that have been involved, but hopefully that means we’re going to end up with the best film possible.
OMG I <3 the hunger games
Those lines NEED to be in the movie! I love the predictions, i would have predicted the same things. Cant wait untill August 18 when ‘the hunger games’ dvd comes out or until Nov 22 2013. I feel like they are purposely making me wait so long for thwm both
I love Peeta Malark, besides Katniss Everdeen, he is my favorite character.
only if they could put every detail in the movie…of course they would have to make it into like five different movies. I mean they cut out that Peeta lost his entire leg in the first movie!
P.S. My favorite characters are Prim, Rue, Boggs, Johanna, Maggs, Wiress, Beetee, Greasy Sae, Madge, Paylor, Mitchell, Leevy, Hazelle, Posy, and Darius.
I know…I know it’s a lot, but I’m LOVE The Hunger Games!!!!!!
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I think that is a long time to wait for the movie to come out. I wish they could include all the parts from the book. It would make the movie so much more interesting. I know it would be a crazy long movie but they should not cut out snow. It shows how the capital feels about the berries in the original hunger games. Thant was also one of my favorite part and it would be cool to get a real image of snow because I am lost on what he looks like. I also wish they could show katniss’s thought in the movie. That is a big part of the book. How ever it ends up, I can’t wait to watch it!!!