Next Friday, the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins's bestselling young adult novel The Hunger Games hits theaters, and Hollywood pundits are already anticipating a blockbuster on Twilight levels. Buzz has already begun about the film's rural scenery: Much of the movie was shot in the rolling hills of North Carolina, and the Huffington Post already has an article about how to visit filming locations.
The abandoned cotton milling village of Henry River stood in for District 12, heroine Katniss Everdeen's home, while the city of Charlotte posed as the all-powerful Capitol of Panem. According to the article, the film studio was considering taking the production to Georgia, British Columbia or even Australia, but was finally sold on North Carolina after finding Henry River, which was abandoned in 1971, the lush forest of DuPont State Recreational Forest, which was perfect for the Arena scenes, and an abandoned warehouse in Shelby well-suited for the Reaping scene and The Hob. The Charlotte Convention Center was the location chosen for the scene in which Katniss rides a chariot through the Capitol—while on fire, of course. (Please encourage your clients not to try that themselves when they visit Charlotte, no matter how much they love the books or the movie.)
If your clients want to visit filming locations used in the movie, go to www.visitnc.com. There are no specific Hunger Games-themed itineraries as of yet, but after the movie's premiere next week, we're pretty sure there will be plenty.
