A Hunger Games Fan Journey - Day 1

The same week The Hunger Games quietly became a full-blown phenomena, I had the good fortune of meeting the cast in the city, and it was one of the craziest but most fulfilling experiences I could have imagined. Hunger Games Fandomonium is in full blast as I explore the ups and downs of a 3-day Hunger Games fan journey that includes meeting Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Jennifer Lawrence.

I started the whole thing off with a nice trip to Good Morning America on Tuesday. Unsure of the crowd it was going to attract, I forced myself to wake up at 2:30AM and got to the studio around 4:00AM. The fan turn-out that early was pretty much nothing to speak of, as it was only myself and a few others. I had never tried to meet anyone before at GMA, so I knew the whole thing was going to be an experiment to see what would work. Around 5:30, security put up some barricades, even though they informed us that Liam Hemsworth was most certainly going to be stopping for fans in the GMA courtyard. One guard urged us to stand in the courtyard, as we looked like true fans with shirts and all.

Around 7:00AM, the excitement reached its boiling point as Liam arrived in a black SUV. Nobody was screaming, nobody was pushing, but there was a considerable crowd that had accumulated by the barricades in anticipation of his arrival. A couple people shouted his name, and he made a waving motion to everyone and brusquely strode in through the studio’s side entrance. Over the next hour, what can only be described as madness ensued, as he came out into the courtyard behind us and everyone rushed over to meet him. My efforts saw success after shouting for him to come over, as he not only stopped to take a picture with me, but he also signed my Entertainment Weekly magazine. He was as nice as time would allow, saying “Sure man” when I asked for a picture… And that accent was almost too much to handle.

After meeting Liam, all my concentration shifted to making it into the Barnes and Noble book signing… which sadly didn’t happen. Not only did it take them about two hours to distribute all of the bracelets for the signing to take place later that night, but when we first arrived, none of the staff or anyone inside would disclose how many wristbands they were allotted to give out. So for three and a half hours, my friends and I waited in anticipation, not knowing if we would even make it into the signing. The cutoff for the line was almost exactly ten people in front of me, which was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to throw something at the people giving out the wristbands. It didn’t help that a woman had come by before and insisted our spot in line was more than good enough to make it into the signing. Yeah, sure lady!

Then it was off to David Letterman, where I was hoping to snag a much-wanted photo with Jennifer Lawrence and hopefully get my Illustrated Companion Book signed. With hopes dashed for even the smallest glimpse of Josh Hutcherson, I was hoping I could at least get in some time with Jennifer. Surprisingly, Jennifer showed up relatively early, but she was in something of a rush due to all of her promotion she was doing for the day. She signed autographs faster than I could ever have imagined possible. She wasn’t stopping for pictures due to being in a rush, but she really made sure she signed for everyone. I didn’t get to exchange any words with her, but she signed my Illustrated Companion. I was giddy with excitement once she went inside, as she looked absolutely stunning and seemed to emit a glowing energy about her.

Then came the most shocking and simultaneously amazing moment of the day: the creepy old men who hunt for autographs pulled out 8x10s of Josh Hutcherson, as did many fans waiting at David Letterman: Josh Hutcherson was taping a day early! I couldn’t believe it at first, and then it slowly sank in. I had a bit of a freak-out moment with another fan when his SUV pulled up, and then: he came out of it, just as short as I’d imagined, and just as friendly. He took much more time signing than Jennifer, slowly writing out his name, but again was unable to stop for any photos with fans.Despite not taking pictures with anyone, he made the exception for one young girl who may have been about 10. He got to me, and he signed my Illustrated Companion Book. He actually spoke words to me when I thanked him for being so nice. “Thanks for coming out guys.” That was enough for me.

Somehow, on the first day, I managed to meet all three of the main cast AND got an item signed individually by all three of them. That’s more than I would have gotten if I had made it into the Barnes & Noble signing, and that’s what I call an EPIC WIN!