Written Interview: Gary Ross (“The Hunger Games”)

An interview on WGA.org with Gary Ross, co-screenwriter and director of The Hunger Games:

Suzanne Collins mentioned that your script really nailed the emotional arc, particularly between Katniss and Peeta in a way that had not been captured in any previous drafts. How did you zero in on this emotional center?

I wrote a draft of my own which was very faithful to the book. Subsequent to that, Suzanne read it, liked it a lot, gave me some notes and came out to visit me in California. We started talking to one another even though we weren’t working together on it yet, and that conversation was so electric and spontaneous that within about an hour we were working together.

To me the story was the arc of someone who trusts no one and who ultimately learns to trust. [Katniss] has made herself as invulnerable as possible, kind of steeled herself off from the world, but she’s someone who learns to trust, develops a sense of empathy, and learns to care.

The great irony of the story is that that makes her stronger rather than weaker. That was a very interesting idea to me. I saw the whole mistrust of Peeta as a really interesting aspect of the book. Here was somebody who has such a guileless, open, unending love for her that she mistrusts it. This is also something that’s resonant outside The Hunger Games that’s very interesting.

Obviously an emotional arc is always crucial to drama, but do you think it’s even more crucial with material like this that’s several things at once — an action film, a family drama, a coming-of-age story?

The emotional center of a movie is always the most important thing. I don’t think it’s particular to this story. I do think it makes a story like this so much more resonant, richer and a much fuller experience when it has something strong on it’s mind and has such a strong emotional core.

One of the things that drew me to make this movie, both as a writer and a director was that it was a phenomenal character piece at the same time. Yes, it has this massive canvas of this hideous spectacle being put on by the Capitol, but there’s also such a personal story, and it’s an acting piece.

When you’re able to make a movie on this big a canvas but have that strong and emotional core, you’re lucky.

Do you feel there are any themes here that are apropos of our time?

There are a lot of things. This book has a lot on its mind. The whole idea that entertainment can be used as a means of political control is fascinating. That entertainment has evolved into this hideous spectacle is really interesting. We’ve created our version of the Arena, writ small. Suzanne was able to extrapolate on those things and realize how resonant they are.

There’s also something deeper going on here, which is why it appeals to teenagers so much, [which is] how much can you trust? How vulnerable can you be? Does opening yourself up make you weaker or stronger?

That’s Katniss’ journey. It ultimately leads to self-sacrifice and discovery of her own humanity and her own ethics. She reaches an ethical line that she just will not cross and that makes the piece resonant.

For more of the interview, go here.

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