50 things you didn’t know about “The Hunger Games”! (List)

Read in the list below 50 interesting and fun unknown facts about “The Hunger Games” movies!

1. Jennifer Lawrence’s Hunger Games hair cost $30,000…
In the Hunger Games books, Katniss has dark auburn hair, and the look was recreated for the films. Lawrence, who is naturally blonde, was worried about the damage that repeatedly colouring her hair might do to it, and refused to let stylists experiment on her locks in their search for the perfect shade. Instead, they rented five $6,000 lace wigs in different mahogany hues to determine the final colour.

2. But she eventually had to chop it all off anyway.
Despite her precautions, poor Lawrence’s hair ended up so damaged from the dyeing process, she eventually decided to cut her losses (and her hair) and adopt the short style she’s sporting at the moment. So, while her hair in the first film is all her own, the long dark locks Katniss sports in Mockingjay are actually a wig.

3. You can get your very own Hunger Games Barbie doll (and one man has repainted his to look exactly like Jennifer Lawrence).
Turning dolls into Jennifer Lawrence might sound like a slightly strange hobby. But the results of artist Noel Cruz’s efforts are admittedly impressive.

4. You can also get your very own Hunger Games underwear.
On e-commerce website Etsy, which specializes in unique, often home-made items, you can pick up a fan-made Hunger Games bra from Etsy store Stitch3D.

5.  It inspired a surge of interest in archery.
According to Denise Parker, the CEO of USA Archery, the franchise has sparked a surge of interest in archery from young people, especially young girls – many of whom are eager to learn to use the type of bow used by Katniss in the films, known as a recurved bow.

6. Jennifer Lawrence went partially deaf in one ear after getting multiple ear infections from filming deep diving scenes during Catching Fire.

7.  The dress Katniss wears after winning The Games is the Panem equivalent of Princess Beatrice’s hat.
According to design critic Alexandra Lange , the dress Katniss wears after winning The Games in the first film is designed to reflect her lowly status in the eyes of The Capitol. “The winner’s clothes didn’t shout,’You’ve proven yourselves worthy to become one of us!’ but rather looked like an uneasy fashion no-man’s-land: dressy and sparkly but still kind of tacky” Lang wrote. “It reminded me of the terrible Philip Treacy hat that Princess Beatrice wore to the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William: Princess Beatrice is not considered a top shelf royal and in the eyes of the world, the hat just reinforced her lowly status. The media reaction was swift and vicious.”

8. Suzanne Collins doesn’t just do violent dystopian fantasy. She also does cute Canadian bears.
Back in the Nineties, Hunger Games author Collins penned episodes of the Canadian animated children’s TV series Little Bear – a gentle, rather charming show about a curious grizzly bear, based on the books by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrator Maurice Sendak.

9. Finnick Odair is terrified of giant crabs.
Sea crabs, that is. Despite his character’s prowess with a net and trident, Sam Claflin, who plays Finnick in the films, recently confessed to a profound phobia of the large crustaceans. “I think big crabs scare the living daylights out of me,” he said. “I dunno why, maybe because I’m a cancer.”

10. Like the heroine she plays, Jennifer Lawrence admitted that she knows how to skin and cook squirrel.

11. A katniss is actually a common water plant that also goes by the name of “arrowhead” — a nod to the protagonist’s archery skills.

12.  US library-goers tried to get the book banned.
On a 2013 list of the top 10 “most frequently challenged” books, released by the American Library Association , The Hunger Games came in at number five, due to its alleged unsatisfactory religious viewpoint, sexual content, and lack of suitability for the intended age group.

13. The part of Effie’s makeup that takes the longest is her elaborately designed, long nails. On average, her manicures would take about 45 minutes.

14. Unlike Katniss, who basically communicates with District followers and President Snow through post-apocalyptic social media, actress Jennifer Lawrence has said she’ll never get a Twitter or Facebook account.

15. At one point in the novels, a starving Katniss actually eats a katniss, whose roots are edible.

16. Obscure Seventies electronic music is hidden in the soundtrack.
While the official sound track to the first Hunger Games films includes tracks by well known artists such as Taylor Swift and Aracde Fire, viewers with a mockingjay-like aptitude for picking up tunes might have recognized some rather more obscure music embedded into the score of the first film. A sample from Sediment, a 1972 track from pioneering Seventies artist Laurie Spiegel, was used to enhance the intense, semi-surreal feel of the Cornucopia scene. The full track is nine minutes long, and was created by Siegel using an analog synthesizer and very retro tape machines.

17. The director of the Catching Fire and Mockingjay films, Francis Lawrence, also directed music videos like Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny from the Block,” Beyonce’s “Run The World (Girls),” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”

18. Author Suzanne Collins was previously a staff writer for ’90s Nickelodeon classics such as Clarissa Explains It All.

19. Suzanne Collins modeled the character of Katniss Everdeen after the mythological Greek character Theseus, a savior of Athens. She also modeled Katniss’s extensive hunting skills after her father, who was forced to hunt for food during the Great Depression.

20. It’s all bread and circuses in Panem.
Panem, the name given to the fictional country of The Hunger Games, is taken from the Latin phrase “Panem et circenses”, which translates, aptly enough, as “bread and circuses”. The phrase describes the use of diversionary techniques by leaders who want to generate public approval, whilst hiding some of the less savoury aspects of their regime. In Panem, the televised annual Games echo the gladiatorial games of ancient Rome, and distract the public from the grim reality of their situation.

21. Actor Donald Sutherland went completely method when he auditioned for the part of President Snow by sending a three-page letter to Hunger Games director Gary Ross entitled “Letters from the Rose Garden.”

22. Jennifer Lawrence only earned $500,000 for her role as Katniss in the first movie.
Her salary rose to $10 million for Catching Fire. Her increased profile from this YA franchise also helped JLaw land multi-year Dior contracts in excess of $25 million.

23. Steven Soderbergh worked as second unit director of this film. He shot the majority of the District 11 footage, including the riot scenes.

24. The spinning cornucopia in Catching Fire spun at 35 mph. Actors has to wear motion sickness bracelets to keep from getting sick.

25. The rights to Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, were acquired for $200,000. Collins was also compensated for adapting the novel to a screenplay.

26.  Josh Hutcherson was only one of the final candidates for the Peeta role.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alex Pettyfer, Evan Peters, and Alexander Ludwig were also strong contenders. Ludwig was evantually cast as District 1 tribute Cato.

27. Elizabeth Banks based the voice of her character, Effie Trinket, on Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame and Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story. Strangely, Effie’s name is never spoken in the movie.

28. Magic Mike’s Alex Pettyfer, along with that kid from the Taylor Swift music video Lucas Till and Weeds’ Hunter Parrish were all considered for the role of Peeta.

29. All three leads changed their hair color for the movie. Jennifer Lawrence dyed her blonde hair brown.
Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson switched hair colors for their respective roles. Liam dyed his sandy blonde hair a darker shade more appropriate for inhabitants of The Seam. Josh went from brunette to blonde to more accurately portray the golden Boy with the Bread.

30. Jena Malone accidentally surprised a stranger whilst filming the nude elevator scene in Catching Fire.
The scene in question, during which Malone’s character Johanna Mason provocatively strips in a lift in font of Peeta and Katniss, was filmed in a 49 floor Atlanta hotel. Unfortunately for Malone, the hotel was in use at the time of filming. During one take, the lift doors unexpectedly opened, to reveal a very surprised man, clutching a tray of coffees.

31. The total Hunger Games body count is 39.
17 of these deaths occur during a flashback where Katniss’ father and other miners are killed in a mine collapse.

32.  The Mockingjay song contains only four notes.
These four notes are the same opening notes of 1968’s Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet.

33. Frank O. Gehry’s architectural designs inspired the look of the Cornucopia, which was the source of goodies, supplies, and mayhem at the beginning of the movie’s games.

34. Woody Harrelson is a real-life vegan.
During the scenes where his Haymitch character eats, Woody is only shown eating vegetables or desserts and drinking.

35. Lenny Kravitz was cast as stylist Cinna without an audition.
The producers hired him on the basis of his performance in 2009’s Precious.

36. Jennifer Lawrence almost didn’t take the role of Katniss because of the gigantic scope of this production.
She knew the franchise would be a life-altering experience.

37. Jennifer Lawrence is best friends with Lenny Kravitz’s daughter, Zoe, whom she met on the set of X-Men: First Class.
JLaw couldn’t stop calling Lenny “Mr. Kravitz,” and the trend passed onto the rest of the film’s cast and crew.

38. Jennifer Lawrence took archery, climbing, combat, yoga, and running classes to prepare for this role.
On the last day of training, she ran into a wall at full speed but somehow emerged uninjured. She accidentally kicked Josh Hutcherson during filming, and he sustained a concussion.

39. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson were both born in Kentucky.
The state resembles District 12 due to its widespread rural poverty and reliance upon coal mining.

40. An A113 Easter egg appears in this film.
You can see the number in one of the video screens of Katniss during the games. The number refers to an infamous classroom at the California Institute of the Arts.

41. Director Gary Ross wanted to make the film partly because his two twins are big fans of the books.

42. The Hunger Games is the second time Paula Malcomson has played Jennifer Lawrence’s mother on screen.
The first time was in Cold Case: A Dollar, A Dream.

43. A really amazing fan-given name for Katniss and Peeta is…”Peeniss”.

44. Many of Hollywood’s favorite young actors auditioned for the role of Katniss.
Notably: Chloe Grace Moretz, Shailene Woodley, Hailee Steinfeld and Emma Roberts.

45. One day while the two “star-crossed lovers” were fooling around set, J Law got a bit aggressive and kicked Josh Hutcherson in the head, giving him a concussion… because apparently archery isn’t her only skill.

46. Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, and producer T-Bone Burnett wrote and recorded “Safe and Sound” for The Hunger Games soundtrack in one day.

47. Danny Strong, who played Jonathan Levinson on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, penned the scripts for both the Mockingjay films.

48. Collins didn’t originally plan to make The Hunger Games a trilogy.
When she got to the end of the first book, she knew there had to be a sequel, because she knew Katniss would be punished for almost eating the nightlock berries.

49. The first Hunger Games movie was banned in Vietnam.

50. On the last day of training for the first film, Jennifer Lawrence ran full-speed into a wall.
Her trainer was afraid she had burst her spleen and she had to get a CAT scan.