The Starving Games

The Production

For parody filmmakers Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, “TheHunger Games” provided a target-rich environment in which to take aim at the juggernaut of characters and sci-fi, fantasy, action and adventure blockbuster movies of the last few years.

With their long list of parody films -- “Meetthe Spartans,” “Vampires Suck,” “DisasterMovie,” “EpicMovie” and “DateMovie” -- it is hard to imagine that Friedberg and Seltzer deem anything too outrageous or controversial. Since their original screenplay for “ScaryMovie” (2000), the writing-directing- producing duo have plumbed and plundered the most popular movies and genres of the last few decades, to create their own film franchise making fun of film franchises – not to mention lots of other random things.

To hear co-producer Kenny Yates, a veteran of all six of Friedberg- Seltzer parody films and designated spokesperson for the press-shy filmmakers, explain it, when making a spoof, those profane darts and pin- pointed daggers lobbed at “Avatar’s”famous blue Na’vi or the great and powerful Oz’s hot air balloons are just another way of expressing affection or paying homage.

“It is flattery,”said Yates, who prefers not to use fancy French film words. “Weadmire their performances so much that we feel like it has to be made fun of.  Nothing is off-limits, but a number of things are definitely floating right on that line of maybe a bit too outrageous…” he pinches the air and grimaces. 

By wrapping their arsenal of absurdities in familiar movie plots and populating them with double-take look-a-like cameos and “Didthey really just do that?!”moments, the writing-directing and producing duo have developed a method to their movie madness that never suffers from a lack of outrageous celebrities, pop culture references or genre movies to lampoon.

“Welove to make fun of the things we love,” said Brant Daugherty, who portrays jilted beau Dale, whose jealous rampage actually couldn’t come at a better time for Kantmiss and Peter.  “And if we really enjoy something, we want to see it get stabbed and poked at a little bit.”

Yates says “TheStarvingGames” works well because it remains faithful to the source material – well, up to a point that is. “Thisfilm is such a great spoof because it lives so much in the world of the original,”he said.“It follows the narrative with some changes here and there…”

Departures, detours and downright randomness are part of what makes parodies so much fun to watch and make. “Sometimeswe’ll look at something we’re doing and say, ‘This is ridiculous,’”said Walsh.“Andthe directors will say, ‘Yes! Yes, it is!  That’s why we are doing it.”

Similarly, co-star Daugherty hasn’t found the boundary yet.“Youfinish something and there’s this moment when you think, ‘Did we really just do that?!  We just made fools of ourselves!’ And then there’s another moment and you think ‘This is going to be awesome!’”

For Daugherty, what pushes foolishness into ridiculousness lies at the heart of the difference between a comedy and a parody movie.“Ina spoof is everything’s much more heartfelt, much more real and dramatic in a parody,” he said.  “It means everything to the character to the point of hilarity.”

Taking the iconic character of sure-shot Katmiss Everdeen and transforming her into Kantmiss Evershot, was ridiculous fun, but the process itself by which the filmmakers and actors approach the material is very serious business.

“WhenI first came in they said to me, ‘You can’t go too big,’ so I went big and then they said, ‘No, you’ve got to be super serious,’”said Walsh.“Inthis film, everything is dramatic, life or death. It’s serious. It’s about the goal.”

Yates says Walsh’s ability to play the drama straight makes all the other crazy, absurd characters and actions going on around her heightened by contrast.  “WhetherI’m pooping in the woods or in full Na’vi costume and blue skin, it’s full commitment to the character and the moment,”said Walsh.

For Walsh, playing the role of Kantmiss Evershot is close enough to the role of Katniss Everdeen, which the young actress coveted from the time she first read Suzanne Collins’ books years ago.“Icalled my agents and told them, ‘I am this girl.  I need to do this role in the movie,’ and they said ‘Ah, Jennifer Lawrence already has it,’”she said.  “It’sfunny how things come full circle because when this came around I said, ‘All right, I still get to play this girl!”

“Playingthe girl”is a group of hunky, fun-loving young male actors is all in a day’s work for Walsh.  “Everyday I come to set I want to rip my eyeballs out of my sockets,”she said, with a laugh.  “IfI have to work with a group of handsome, easy-going – and just plain easy – guys, I just find a way to make it work.  You just deal with it and count the days until it’s over.”

Another young actress on the set, newcomer Kennedy Hermansen who plays Petunia, Kantmiss’s sister, had a slightly different behind-the-scenes experience from her onscreen sibling.  “Theyactually made me feel at home although I’m 10 years younger than them,”said the 10-year-old actress from Texas.  “It’sbeen fun talking to them and goofing around between scenes, which is easy to do because everything’s a little goofy anyhow.”

 Goofy, unpredictable, fraught with drama and purpose, spoof movies are fun to make and fun to watch.  “Youcome to a parody movie knowing relatively what happens, but knowing it’s a spoof, you don’t know how it is going to happen and that’s the fun,”said Ross Wyngaarden, who portrays Marco. “You know it’s going to be funny, something over the top and you enjoy the ride that gets you there.”

The ride begins with the unique talents of Friedberg and Seltzer.With six films in a dozen years, the press-shy duo has almost singlehandedly kept the genre of parody films strong and topical.

 “It’shard to make parody movies and these guys are masters at it,” said Christian about Friedberg and Seltzer.  “Theyknow exactly what to do.” 

Wyngaarden adds: “They’renot the type of writer-directors who say, ‘It’s our material and we are sticking to it.’ They are really open to telling new things, always willing to make the joke better, to find something funnier.

Although the two do not give interviews or talk about their writing- directing process, with their latest release, “TheStarvingGames,” it’s evident that whatever the method, Friedberg and Seltzer find Hollywood films, celebrities and popular culture loaded with people, places and things ripe for ridicule.  Their tradition of finding uncanny look-a-likes for their eye-popping celebrity cameos and casting is further cemented in this film with the impressive work of Lauren and Jordan Bass of Bass Casting in Los Angeles and Ryan Glorioso of Glorioso Casting in New Orleans. 

“All of The Expendables look exactly like the real guys,”said Yates.“We have great casting directors who really search hard.If you look at Eric Buarque, you’d swear it was Bruce Willis. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris – Those guys were spot on. Thor was awesome and you could not have found a better one for the inflection he delivers.  Our look-a-likes were fantastic.”