IF I CAN DREAM

17 Return to Panem with new book from Suzanne Collins

Let’s go to the movies with former

(Facebook/Twitter) Chris Hayes (left) and Cody Benjamin (right) co-authored the book “What About the Movies?,” an extensive look at the cinema.

editors’ new book about the cinema

RACHEL FOOR Staff Writer R.G.Foor@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Two IUP graduates and former editors of The Penn recently published a book about the future of cinema in a world of smartphones and streaming.

Cody Benjamin and Chris Hayes graduated from the journalism and public relations department in 2016 and 2018 respectively. After graduation, Benjamin quickly went from being a staff writer for Ogden Newspapers to a sportswriter for CBS Interactive while Hayes works as a marketing assistant for Tri Rivers Musculoskeletal Centers.

Brought together by their mutual love of movies and writing, the pair decided to collaborate on “What About the Movies?,” a comprehensive look into the history and future of the cinema industry.

“’What About the Movies?’ is part love letter to cinema, part exploration of its place in today's society,” Benjamin said, “where so much of our entertainment is consumed individually, at home or on the go. Its mission is basically to answer the question: Do the movies still matter? Theaters have been around for more than 100 years, but do they have a future in this world full of streams and smartphones?”

As people born in the mid-90s, Benjamin and Hayes are both old enough to have experienced a world without smartphones and at-home entertainment and young

(Facebook) The book is available on Amazon and Lulu.

enough to have grown up during a technological boom in the 2000s.

“The book is kind of unique,” Hayes said, “because it’s from the perspective of two guys who still remember the days when everyone went to the theater and bought DVDs and stuff like that, but we’re also young enough to be on the front lines of the transformation of the industry into what it is today, which is obviously a lot different than 20 years ago.”

To compile the information needed for the book, Hayes researched topics like the history of popcorn and the world’s most unique movie theatres. Meanwhile, Benjamin interviewed dozens of movie executives, critics and other people involved in the industry. The most challenging part of the project was “combing through all the quotes and information we got from industry sources,” according to Benjamin.

“Everyone involved, from cinema owners to movie critics and so forth, were so helpful in offering insight into the business,” he said. “The challenge was taking all of that and giving the reader a clear, concise narrative.”

Even when separated by a thousand miles, the pair was still able to work together on the book by using Google Docs and shared Word documents. After finishing their final rough draft, they used Lulu, an independent publishing company.

“It was also super rewarding to read and edit the entire thing, which was the final step,” said Hayes. “To see the finished product on bookshelves and online is awesome, too.”

Their collective academic experiences at IUP were invaluable to the creative process of writing the book.

“The basic journalism classes were instrumental in shaping my grammar and style,” said Benjamin. “The civic journalism projects taught me about interviewing and compiling a breadth of sources. And all the experience outside of class, from editing and writing at The Penn to working on IUP-TV, made me a much more refined reporter. IUP was a true building block for the career I have today, and I'm very grateful for all those who helped mold me along the way.”

You can buy your copy of “What About the Movies?” at Amazon or on Lulu.com.

HEATHER BAIR Culture Editor H.Bair@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

In 2008, Suzanne Collins introduced readers to the world of Panem, a dystopian world set in the ruins of North America, where the Capitol and its outlying 12 districts participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Now in 2020, Collins is taking us back to Panem with new book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” a prequel to the trilogy, also being made into a movie by Lionsgate.

“The Hunger Games” centers around 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen after she volunteers for her sister, Primrose, during the annual Reaping, which selects the tributes who participate in the annual games, a fight to the death.

In 2009, the sequel to “The Hunger Games” was released. In “Catching Fire,” the surviving victors of the 74th Games must compete again at the Quarter Quell, a cruel twist of the annual Hunger Games in which surviving victors are reaped to fight again against other surviving victors.

With twists and turns galore, “Catching Fire” led to the final book in the trilogy being released the next year, “Mockingjay.”

Lionsgate, along with Collins, began production on the movie versions in 2011, with the first film being released in 2012. “Catching Fire” was released in 2013. The third book was broken into two parts with the cinematic version, part two picking up in the middle of the book starts.

The prequel book was announced in late 2019, with the new film being announced April 2020. A production or release date has yet to be announced, along with a cast list, however it has been said that the prequel film will focus on Coriolanus Snow, the future President Snow, at the age of 18 as he is chosen as a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games.

In the trilogy, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is a cruel tyrant whom fans have hated since the very beginning. He rules Panem with an iron fist, and when Katniss and Peeta defy all odds in the 74th Games, his own rebellion ignites within him as he issues a personal vendetta against the two.

(Facebook) “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” will be released May 19.

While the cast list hasn’t been released, there is speculation that Jennifer Lawrence, who played Katniss in the original films, Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), and Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne) will not be returning due to the timeline of the books.

Since “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” takes place roughly 74 years before “The Hunger Games,” the characters we’ve long associated with the trilogy would not be present in the book.

However, that doesn’t mean we won’t see familiar faces. One of the favorite characters from “Catching Fire” is Mags Flanagan, who served as Finnick Odair’s mentor in his games and makes an appearance in “Catching Fire” as a fellow tribute who teams up with Katniss and Peeta.

We may also get to see younger versions of Katniss’s mother and maybe even her father, who is not present in the books other than in references, since he died in a mining accident when Katniss was 11. We may also get to meet Gale and Peeta’s parents, as well as a young Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), who is Katniss and Peeta’s mentor in the 74th Games.

Director Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the four films, will also oversee the newest film. Collins was brought back on for approval of scripts and to help Lawrence with the film.

There hasn’t been any further information released regarding the film. However, Collins’ new book will be released May 19 as originally planned for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.