Hunger Games Movie Casting: Why Everyone Should Just Shut Up About It

I am a HUGE fan of The Hunger Games, like many of you are. I am one of the many people that are eagerly anticipating the film and all of the casting announcements. I, however, am not like many of the series fans that I've seen trolling the Hunger Games Facebook fan page. Many of these fans are insanely critical of every casting decision. I've seen at least six comments on each casting decision that sum up to "the series is ruined because of this actor," especially in response to the casting of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. This is one of the reasons that people can't stand and make fun of fandoms. Obsessive intolerance.

I am not a casting director, screen writer, movie director or anything related to the movie making process. My guess is that neither are any of the Facebook trolls, blog writers/commenters or general fans of the series. So why, without any prior experience in film casting, would any of us profess to know what is best for the casting of a movie? How can any of us think we know who should be cast in any role when we haven't seen any of the actor's auditions, or even the list of the people who were trying to get the role? Chances are, the actor you envisioned to play Haymitch Abernathy never even expressed interest in the role (this is probably the case with my beloved Robert Downey Jr.), or the actress you wanted to play Katniss could have bombed her audition (I don't know how the fan faves Kaya Scoledario or Malese Jow did on their auditions, but it obviously wasn't good enough to win the roll), or any combination of things.

What really gets me is when fans say things like "Her hair is the wrong color! This movie is going to suck!" Think about it, folks. Do you think that the casting department would pick an actor for a role based on their hair color?! If they did, then the movie would totally suck. Casting is based on the talent of the actors and the chemistry between the characters that interact with each other. Jennifer Lawrence is an Oscar nominated actress who obviously has the chops to play Katniss. Woody Harrelson is an awesome actor who has proven himself in several films and is more than capable of playing Haymitch. Even Lenny Kravitz, who has limited acting experience, had to have shown something in his audition that made them think he was the best choice to play Cinna. They don't just cast people in movies willy-nilly and hope it sticks. These things are thought out and planned far more than what 13 year old fan girls do when they make a photo manip.

The point is, none of us are qualified to decide who is the best person to play a roll in a movie. None of us are qualified to decide whether or not the movie is ruined based on any of the casting. News flash: the movie isn't out yet. No one knows if it's good or bad because they aren't even finished making it. How about we let the casting people do their jobs and wait to see what happens? The same thing happened when they were casting Twilight, Harry Potter and all the other book-to-movie adaptations that have a solid fan base. Guess what? Those movies came out just fine, in spite of the fact that people thought the casting would ruin the movie. Remember the Replace Robert Pattinson online campaign? Now look at the Twilight franchise.

Fans of The Hunger Games, do us all a favor. Get over yourselves. You can't have your dream cast in a movie and have it be good. Let the professionals do their job and make your judgments when the film is finished.

I'll step off my soapbox now.

Pics from the Lamb and Wool Festival!

This Saturday's Lamb and Wool Festival at Thanksgiving Point was so fun! I was there showing off drop spindle spinning for the festival visitors and selling some Things Liz Makes yarns, fibers and crocheted items. There was all kinds of fun stuff for people to see and do, including watching a sheep shearing, checking out all kinds of farm animals, and learning to dye wool with Kool-Aid. I thought it was awesome that they were doing that, since I use Kool-Aid for a lot of my own wool dyeing.

Here's a shot of my table at the festival:

My husband is that blur with the soda.

And here's a shot of me spinning some lace-weight yarn on a drop spindle:

It was a pretty awesome day, and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Review: Trial of Blood and Steel Series

Trial of Blood and Steel Series
Written by Joel Shepherd
Book 1: Sasha, Book 2: Petrodor, Book 3: Tracato, Book 4: Haven
Publisher: Pyr
Release Dates: Oct. 2009 to Apr. 2011
ARCs provided by publisher for fair and honest review...Thank You!

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars




A fantasy series that proves hard to get into. Kind of unrelatable main character, inconsistent pacing and tough-to-follow POV changes make this series difficult to swallow. A good read for fans of the genre, but not really our cup of tea here at Things Liz Loves. Full review after the jump. WARNING: SPOILERS!

The Things Liz Makes Shop Update and Blog Update

The Things Liz Makes shop has a new look! Well, really, it's just a new banner. But it's a nice banner with pretty fonts.

There will be a full-blown shop update, complete with new items for sale, next week. I've extended the blog followers coupon code for 20% off (code "TLLBLOGFRIENDS") through June 30th, so hop by the shop and pick up some one-of-a-kind yarn, bags or bookmarks! And for all you spinners out there, I'll be stocking hand-prepped and dyed spinning fibers, which are a joy to work with.

Look forward to some big reviews in the next couple of weeks. Stephanie has been hard at work reading a series for a full four book review, and I've been preparing reviews for some of this year's biggest titles. I will also be dropping more movie and DVD reviews for you guys once I get past this weekend's festival.

See you guys soon!

Things Liz Makes at the Lamb and Wool Festival

Hey everyone! My fiber arts company, Things Liz Makes, is going to be representing at the Lamb and Wool Festival at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT on Saturday May 21st! I'll be displaying yarns, fibers and finished projects, as well as demonstrating crocheting and spindle spinning. Anyone in the area, feel free to stop by and check it out! The festival is going to be full of fun woolly things, including sheep herding and shearing demonstrations, felting and spinning demos and fun projects! I'm personally pretty excited for the festival, but I'm a fiber addict and need exposure to as much wool as possible.

Here's the info about the Lamb and Wool Festival:
Each spring, Farm Country demonstrates the centuries-old tradition of sheep shearing. This process, done by a craftsman called a “shearer” is traditionally done in the spring over several days. The Lamb and Wool Festival is an annual event to entertain and enlighten families. Sheep dog demonstrations, duck herding, wool sheering, waulking, storytelling, wool crafts & activities, entertainment, pony and wagon rides, food, and more.
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
* Hacky sacks (10 am- 6 pm)
* Wool soap (10 am - 6 pm)
* Solar wool dyeing (10 am- 6 pm)
* Wool bracelets (10 am- 6 pm)
* Spinning & weaving demonstrations (10 am- 6 pm)
* Food Vendors (10 am- 6 pm)
* Pony & wagon rides (10 am- 6 pm)
* Wool shearing (10 am- 2 pm)
* Sheep dog demonstrations (12 noon, 1 pm, 2 pm, & 3 pm)
* Duck herding demonstrations at (12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm)
* Storytelling at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm

The fun all starts at 10am. Admission is $5 per person, ages 3 and up. Thanksgiving Point Club Members and children under 3 are admitted free. For more information and a map to the event, check out the Thanksgiving Point Website and the Utah Valley Weekend Planner.

Hope to see a few of you there!

PLAYING HURT Blog Tour Interview

The big day is here! The Things Liz Loves stop on Holly Schindler's Playing Hurt blog tour! Today we have an interview with Holly all about Playing Hurt, and it's an awesome interview! Check it out after the jump!