How could you translate Katniss' internal thoughts to screen?
If you become the screenwriter for the new adaptation, what would you do?
Are there any movies or tv series which have good example of this type of narration?
so I'd definitely make it a tv series for starters. one series per book, I'm thinking maybe 6-8 hour long episodes? I think that would give enough time to go into detail and include a lot more of the scenes that just couldn't be included in the books. I think you could even explore that post game interview period a bit more.
I'd say the biggest issue is externalising everything going on in katniss' head and everything she is telling us about Panem.
I'd definitely want to avoid voice overs, I'm not the biggest fan of them a lot of the time and I think if Katniss started narrating her thoughts as they are in the book it'd start to come out a bit like Joe's monologues in You lol.
I actually really like how the first film incorporates the use of the capitol television and Cesar flickerman's commentary to do a lot of the explanation of the world we're in and what things are. it takes us out of katniss' head and is a creative believable way to explain things to us.
Due to time constraints the films cut out a lot of the talking and get straight to the action but as a result we don't really get to know who the characters really are and we don't necessarily get to explore in depth what they are to each other, Katniss, Peeta and gale kind of get whittled down to girlboss everdeen, simp and dude. Especially Katniss who actively tries to be closed off. Having the extra time in the series means conversations from the books get to be included and we also get to explore those relationships further. I mean, we never really learn anything about gale and his relationship with Katniss in the films, he's just there. you could honestly dedicate a whole episode to the death of katniss' dad and the aftermath including the bread scene and her meeting gale. structurally I think I'd place it maybe episode 2 or 3, following on from the events of the reaping. I'm assuming the film was on a smaller budget, but having 11 year old actors play this out will really drive home the tragedy of it and help us understand katniss' relationship with her mum more. Also another good flashback episode would be Haymitch's games.
having the knowledge we do from tbosas and soon to be sotr, it would be fun to be able to explore some of the other characters more too. I like how we get that conversation between snow and Seneca crane in the first film and how we get to see Seneca crane sent to his execution. I'm not saying I'd want a flashback episode, I'm just saying with the knowledge we now have, I'd want to see the fear in snow's eyes as he draws the connection between Katniss and Lucy and maybe include a couple of easter eggs. and we also know from Katniss and Peeta about what went down with their parents but I'm assuming we'll get some extra info from sotr.
I wouldn't want flashbacks all the time, but a couple of full episodes dedicated to them and a few extra scenes here and there would be interesting. I'm thinking series 1 would be more focused on Katniss, so the flashback episode I mentioned, potentially some b roll when she tells the goat story?? idk and then series 2, the flashbacks would have more of a focus on the world building and other characters, so Haymitch's games, katniss' parents and the mention of the rebellion before. and then series 3 I think all these fragmented flashes of flashbacks here and there. as katniss' mental state is in tatters in mj, I find it pretty fragmented to read and I think that would reflect that. I'm thinking moments like the 5 year old hanging tree and Katniss mentions prim making her practise dancing when they all start dancing at finnick's wedding and ugh I think including that would just be heartbreaking (AND AGAIN a display of the details of a relationship, not just Katniss as prim's protector!) and then OBVIOUSLY Peeta would be the best use for these fragmented flashbacks, having him at the centre of an episode that really utilises them, mixed in with fake monstrous ones of Katniss.
The inclusion of conversations is so important for Katniss too, so we get to understand her personality more. I like that she isn't always necessarily likeable to even the audience, but on screen I want to care for her as if she were a friend, like we do in the books. it's so sad you miss out on all her funny little asides in the books and the only time that is ever externalised is when she's talking to Peeta, so it'd be nice to have the time to include those. because it's all these little details that make a character feel more real. also, when appropriate for her character, because I don't want her to just spewing out everything she's thinking to everyone, but every now and then it would be a good way to externalise some of the stuff she does say in her narrative.
having a little more time for the non-verbal moments too would also be great. There's a couple of well done scenes in the film that show her push and pull and confusion about Peeta. The first being when she's up the tree and sees he is with the careers, we get that sense of betrayal. The second is when she asks Rue about Peeta, so we get that she still cares. so that kind of puts together what I'm saying about conversation and the non-verbal moments. but think of how many moments there are where Katniss is just appreciating Peeta (eyelash scene eg) you know it's those kinds of moments that need to be highlighted to understand the shifts in perspective and feelings towards one another. because you know what? the hunger games is not a blockbuster action like the films would have you believe. action is a part of it and integral to telling the story, but it is not the main point of it and it is certainly not a glorified Hollywood type of action. I've said it before, but the cave scene is 70 pages long and it's hardly 5 mins in the film. similarly, the majority of catching fire takes place out of the arena, but the film skips through the 2/3 of the book before the arena and takes place mostly in the arena which is the 1/3 of the book.
I'm gonna leave this hear for now because there's multiple books to cover and it's starting to get really long and I'm getting overwhelmed with ideas , but I think you can start to get the picture. if anyone is interested how I might approach specific moments, that might be fun and would stop me running away with all my ideas. so hmu if you wanna know lol
