America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 310, Question 308: Is "The Hunger Games" a rip-off of "Battle Royale"?

"The viewing experience is good, at least so far, and it's already confirmed that 'The Hunger Games' will be a successful commercial blockbuster." One film critic secretly noted.

"It's been over an hour, and the plot is more than halfway through without any obviously illogical scenes. The story setting is interesting, and the conflicts are intense."

"Although only Gal Gadot is a big name in the cast, the casting is reasonable. The character of the ghost of Fansia is outstanding. This is likely to be an excellent commercial film."

"I think the character of the ghost of Fansia is too outstanding, and she overshadows the female lead. Moreover, such a strong character must have a reasonable cause of death, otherwise the character setting is a failure."

"MGM is clearly going to promote Crystal Liu, from Supernatural to The Hunger Games, and then Dragon Ball. Her career path is clear: TV series, supporting actress in A-list productions, and leading actress in A-list productions."

"Aside from being messed with by Eric Cooper, I really can't think of any other reason to promote an Asian woman. Although Crystal Liu is very beautiful, the range of her career is just too wide."

"Three steps to heaven! Right?"

"Yes, that's what I mean, but we still have to see how well The Hunger Games performs at the box office. The films next door, Van Helsing and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, are both super big IPs, especially Harry Potter, whose future is uncertain."

"Hehe. Haven't you noticed? Ever since MGM clashed with the Big Six, big-budget productions have always won, but smaller budgets have often been thrashed. Let's see if things will change this time."

"I'm going to see 'Harry Potter' later, do a comparison, and post a review tomorrow. What about you?"

"It's too late, I need to rest first."

On the big screen, Katniss and Peeta were planning to snag a bargain.

In their minds, although the ghost of Fansia was terrifying, the four of them were not fools and would definitely make her pay a heavy price.

They would wait until both sides were severely wounded before going out to clean up the battlefield.

Both sides possess a large amount of weapons, equipment, medical supplies, and other essential resources. If they don't eliminate them this time, they won't have such a good opportunity again.

After waiting for a while, and sensing no further movement, the fighting had probably ended.

The two men helped each other approach the hiding place, where they saw the bodies of the four men lying on the ground, along with some scattered equipment.

"Katniss, an arrow has been left behind."

"Don't worry, the ghost of Fansia isn't dead yet. Perhaps she's hiding nearby, and those weapons are bait."

Upon hearing this, Peeta suppressed his impulse, and the two continued to hide and not show themselves.

This situation continued until evening. Feeling truly safe and extremely hungry, the two finally came out.

"Katnis, here's your weapon. Now you have a bow and arrow. Hmm? Why is there only a bow? Where are the arrows?"

"Be careful!"

Katniss tackled Peeta to the ground, narrowly avoiding a shot of a Nepalese kukri.

"Bait!" Peeta said with a twitching expression, mocking himself.

"Don't worry, she's injured too, look at her waist."

The camera zoomed in on Xiao Liu, revealing that his clothes were torn at the waist, exposing a long knife scar. Although it had been treated simply, blood was still seeping out little by little.

"I'll engage her, you attack from behind, let's go for it!"

Peeta roared and charged forward. His advantage, due to years of hard work, was his strength. If he could land a blow, he was sure the Native American girl wouldn't be able to get up.

But he clearly overestimated himself. Facing the ghost of Fansia, whose strength, speed, and agility were all maxed out, he was suppressed as soon as they started fighting.

Even with the two of them together, they were still no match. At this moment, they finally understood how the four-person group had been eliminated. This girl had definitely been hiding her strength during the test. She shouldn't have gotten 10 points; she should have gotten a perfect score.

Just as the two were about to be killed, a hornet's nest suddenly fell from the sky.

Vansia instinctively slashed with his sword, unleashing a swarm of poisonous bees that stung all three of them, leaving them covered in wounds and forcing them to scatter and flee.

In a panic, Peeta jumped into the water, while Katniss was rescued by the youngest contestant, a little girl named Yun.

She had been hiding in the surrounding trees; the hornet's nest was the one she threw away.

The role is played by Chloe Moretz. The little girl is only 7 years old, but she debuted last year and is very cute.

The subsequent plot largely follows the original film. Yun helps Katniss find the bow and arrows that Fansia lost, teaches her how to identify poisonous fruits, and ultimately sacrifices herself to protect her.

The death of a little girl was starkly displayed on the big screen.

There is a common saying circulating online that Hollywood movies cannot show scenes of children and pets dying.

That's complete nonsense!

There's only one reason they don't appear: to pass censorship and get a lower rating, thus earning more box office revenue.

But as long as you have strong enough connections, or you're aiming for an R rating, there are plenty of movies that feature children and pets being killed.

Although "The Hunger Games" has visuals, it is not gory and has been rated PG13, meaning children aged 13 and up can watch it independently.

Yun's death marked Katniss's complete awakening; she made the classic gesture of rebellion and took up arms to avenge the little girl.

He attacked and killed four contestants in succession, fully demonstrating his strength and ferocity.

At the same time, Yun's death angered the people of the other 12 districts, and even led to a fierce conflict between the soldiers of District 11, where Yun belonged, and the soldiers of the Capital District.

Hope is possible, but it can only be a spark, not a prairie fire.

Seeing that the situation was changing, the organizers decided to shift the focus and planned to market the tragic relationship between the male and female protagonists to attract attention.

No matter the era or the moment, gossip always manages to grab headlines, as has been proven time and again.

So the organizers deliberately pushed for Katniss and Peeta Point to reunite and changed the rules for the first time.

The winner has been changed from one person to two people, as long as they come from the same region.

In order to help them clear obstacles, they even began to constantly manipulate and force the strongest hunter, Vansia Ghost.

Wildfires, torrential rains, wild beasts, lightning—they used every means at their disposal, encountering even more challenges than Katniss faced, yet they still failed to kill Vansia.

In the final moments of the match, only three people remained on the field. The male and female protagonists were fighting two against one, but they were still at a disadvantage against the exhausted Ghost of Fansia. They fought to the death once again, both of them suffering heavy losses.

Although this character only appeared for a total of ten minutes, his formidable fighting power was fully demonstrated.

With all three now injured, Fansia resumed her pursuit, clinging to their backs, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

The chase lasted a day and a night, leaving all three of them exhausted.

Finally, Katniss had a flash of inspiration and remembered that Yun had taught her which fruits were edible and which were poisonous, so she deliberately picked some and set a trap.

The camera had previously shown that the ghost of Fansia couldn't distinguish between strawberry jam and blueberry jam; she was completely ignorant about these things.

Seeing the male and female protagonists pick and eat them, he did not hesitate to eat them to replenish his strength, but ended up being poisoned.

After realizing something was wrong, her life was on a countdown, with only one minute left.

The ghost of Fansia rushed forward like a madman, intending to take the male and female protagonists down with him, and the final battle began.

But it only lasted one minute. After seriously injuring two people, he was shot through the heart by Katniss's arrow.

At this point in the story, the audience finally breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally at ease.

But one can't help but marvel at how powerful this boss is, on par with a demon king.

Throughout the entire film, Fansia the Ghost doesn't have a single line. At most, she nods during interviews, and the host speaks for her.

But beneath her delicate and fragile appearance lies the fiercest and most terrifying fighting power.

The cold-blooded and cruel killing skills stand in stark contrast to his appearance, and this character is destined to leave an indelible impression on many viewers. Countless people will remember the actor Crystal Liu.

The subsequent plot is largely the same as the original, with Katniss and Peeta forcing the organizers to survive.

Flames of resistance began to smolder in the 12 districts.

Bang bang bang bang

As the grand and solemn music mingled with sadness, the film came to a close, the lights came back on, and the audience responded with applause.

When the main creators went on stage to express their gratitude, the cheers immediately rose several decibels when they saw Xiao Liu come on stage.

When Chloe Moretz came on stage, a wave of maternal smiles erupted. The rosy-cheeked little girl was just too adorable, and the character of Yun was simply too endearing.

After asking a few questions, the microphone was handed to Eric, who, although not involved in the production, was the executive producer and co-writer.

"Mr. Cooper, was the Hunger Games inspired by the Japanese film Battle Royale?"

Eric frowned, and upon closer inspection, realized it was a reporter from The Independent.

Damn it, how did they let this bunch of trash in!

If they let slip even a single word, the word "plagiarism" will be trending on social media tomorrow, becoming an indelible label for "The Hunger Games."

"You mentioned 'Battle Royale,' which is a very good movie. I have indeed seen it, but there has never been any plagiarism."

"But the competition formats in both movies are almost identical. Didn't you draw any inspiration from them?"

Eric scoffed, "Borrowing? If we're talking about borrowing, then I can give you a good explanation. Have you seen Battle Royale?"

"Of course I've seen it."

"So, what is the name of the law mentioned inside?"

"BR Act." The paparazzi said without hesitation.

"Do you know that the BR Act itself is based on WWE wrestling?"

"WWE has a Battle Royale rule where a group of wrestlers enter the same ring and fight until only one remains. Please answer me, does Battle Royale plagiarize WWE?"

"Uh," the paparazzi said, speechless.

"What? Can't answer that? Then how about we explore the concept of battle royale mode in more depth? Have you read Lord of the Flies?"

"Okay, I can tell from your expression that you haven't heard of it. It's a work by William Golding, a Nobel laureate in literature, and you've never heard of him?"

"Then I suggest you go back and read it carefully. This 1954 novel is the earliest traceable literary work on the battle royale genre."

"If you don't like reading, here are two options: it was adapted into a movie in 1963 and remade in 1990."

"Of course, if you can't accept works that are too literary, you can also watch the 1987 action movie 'The Great Wall' starring Schwarzenegger."

"Now answer me, do you think Battle Royale plagiarized these works?"

Bang bang bang bang

Gadot clapped first, and Xiao Liu and the others quickly followed suit. They loved Eric's sarcastic remarks; he was so cool!

"Actually, The Hunger Games is less of a battle royale movie and more of a political thriller."

"As you can see, the core of the film is not to highlight the killings of young people, but to show something deeper."

"Due to time constraints, the first film can only show the surface of this world. In the sequel, more mysteries will be revealed and greater conflicts will erupt."

"I hope everyone can support this movie; it took the sweat and effort of thousands of people."

After the premiere, Eric really wanted to take Gadot and Xiao Liu home with him, but he held back his words, the time wasn't right.

I got home late at night, just as the three Olsen sisters arrived one after the other.

"What have you been doing so late?"

"I went to see Harry Potter and gathered some information for you," Elizabeth said.

"I think it's you who wants to see it."

"Hehe. We have them all, Gadot, you won't blame us, will you?"

Gadot smiled and said, "Watch whichever you like. What's the use of a few tickets? How was the movie? Was it good?"

Elizabeth hesitated, her expression unreadable: "I don't know how to describe it. It doesn't seem to be the Harry Potter I know."

"The movie's plot is actually very good, and it's very well made, but the style has changed drastically compared to before, becoming very dark."

"I've seen 'The Philosopher's Stone' and 'The Chamber of Secrets,' which are fast-paced and fun, but 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' is not like that."

"It's a feeling of complete break from what I've been through, and some scenes might even make younger children uncomfortable."

Gadot was a little confused by her contradictory description.

Is it good or bad?

"The plot is good, but I don't think the box office will be very good, especially since it's not very child-friendly."

Ashley and Mary shrugged: "That's how we feel too. It's good news for The Hunger Games."

Eric knew perfectly well that little Elizabeth's feelings were entirely correct.

In terms of critical acclaim, "The Prisoner of Azkaban" is among the top three in the Harry Potter series, and could even contend for the top spot.

However, in terms of box office, it is the worst performing in the series, because of its drastic change in style, which has become somewhat gothic.

However, even though it was the lowest-grossing film in the series, it still grossed nearly $8 million, while The Hunger Games grossed $7 million, and there was also a difference in the time period.

But let's not forget that "Prisoners of Azkaban" was released during the summer season, while "The Hunger Games" was released in the less popular March season.

The importance of release date for a film is self-evident, especially since Eric's version is of higher production quality.

This battle is going to be fought.

(End of this chapter)