In addition to being a mother and wife, Suzanne Collins has a place on the Olympus of youth literature alongside other successful women such as JK Rowling (Harry Potter) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight). Thousands of young people have become hooked on the universe of The Hunger Games for daring to deal with topics such as oppression, poverty and the effects of war in the world, giving it a completely different spin on the stories to which the public was accustomed. Aware or not of his influence, Collins and his work lead a subgenre of dystopian sagas that have become successful film adaptations. What is the woman behind all this phenomenon like? Here we present them to you.
Born on August 10, 1962 and originally from Connecticut, United States, she has been marked by the theme of war since she was a child. Her father was a member of the Air Force and actively participated in Vietnam, and her stories have had a great influence on the author. In the same way, mythology has been one of her greatest inspirations. For her, Katniss is like the equivalent of a mythological being from the future, a heroine capable of ending tyranny, a symbol of strength and empowerment, recognized internationally.
The fame game
Even though she was named one of the most influential people by the magazine time In 2010, she does everything possible to go unnoticed; She avoids giving too many interviews and when asked about the possibility of making a cameo in one of the film adaptations, she says she does not feel comfortable around the cameras. For her, her fame is an ephemeral concept: “At the moment The Hunger Games It is receiving a lot of attention, but that will pass, like everything,” he adds.
The author enjoys being on the other side of the spotlight more, perhaps that is why she sympathizes with the character of Plutarch Heavensbee, played by the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman:
“I identify with him, because he creates the story in the sand and manipulates the characters, he is the true mastermind of the rebellion. If you look at it from a creative perspective, we do the same job,” he explains.
Despite being a private person, he always gets involved in the process of film adaptations of his work, whether supervising the script or with the production processes. casting. His opinion is very important to fans and calms them when there are concerns, such as those that arose when the protagonists were just selected.
In a statement to readers, he explained how Jennifer Lawrence embodies every quality necessary to portray Katniss and the other actors in the saga form the perfect cast.
Collins is not closed about her work, she can suggest changes in adaptations when she feels they require it. In the last installment of MockingjayFor example, Effie replaces Fulvia, the Elizabeth Banks character. When the author saw On firecalled the director and said, “There’s no way Effie isn’t in Mockingjay, she brings warmth and fun to these dark stories,” he said.
To be continue…?
Although many want the series to be extended, the writer does not feel the desire to continue exploiting the Panem universe if she does not consider having a worthy story to do so. That’s what happened with Ballad of songbirds and snakesa prequel to his original trilogy The Hunger Games.
“The Hunger Games They are just a part of a larger goal, which is to write war stories appropriate for children and young people and raise awareness,” he comments.
This mission began when he wrote his first saga: The Lowland Chronicles, a story about the battle between the inhabitants of an underground world and its effects on humanity. Likewise, he published Year of the Jungle in 2013, an autobiographical book that is based on his childhood memories of when his father was a soldier.
With her works, Suzanne Collins manages to sensitively examine the impact of war on younger generations. Regarding the possibility of creating another saga, she stated that she has plans to write a new series of books for teens at some point, but she has not given any further details as of yet.
5 things you didn’t know about Suzanne Collins
1) He began his career in children’s television writing episodes for shows such as: Clarissa explains everything and Clifford the big red dog.
2) He received training in sword combat.
3) In March 2012, Amazon.com announced that she had become the best-selling author of all time on Kindle.
4) Some of his favorite novels are Lord of the Fliesby William Golding and Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.
5) Due to their taste for mythology, many characters on the Capitol have Roman names such as: Cato, Cinna, Portia, Octavia and Fulvia
A version of this article was first published in the Special Edition of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 of Cinema PREMIERE in November 2014.