A Hunger Games Fan Journey - Day 2

On the second day of my awesome Hunger Games week, I fulfilled my dream of meeting Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark in the film. After a long day of waiting, and on the eve of The Hunger Games midnight release, I was able to cap off a fabulous day with two awesome pictures with Josh.

I woke up too late to even attempt to try and get a picture with Jennifer Lawrence at Good Morning America. My alarm never went off, and plus the previous day kind of left me physically exhausted more than anything else. There was always a main priority for this entire weekend that I had been waiting months for: get a nice picture with Josh Hutcherson and meet him in person at least once. While the two autographs I managed to obtain for the day before were outrageously awesome, I knew I had to go back to try and obtain a picture.

The day started with uncertainty, like it so often does. Did Josh pretape his television appearances for the day, just as he did with David Letterman the day before? Was he leaving the city soon and would we even be able to get a glimpse of him? This time around, it was myself and four of my friends who spent the majority of the day hopping on the subway from place to place in what can only be described as a fog of unknowing.

As David Letterman was obviously filmed the day before, my friend Kim and I spent several hours trying to piece everything together in our heads. Step by step, we tried to figure out a spot or place we could see Josh, even if just for a moment. She checked her phone on his Facebook page, and then we knew where to go in an instant:

Right after seeing that, my friend Kim called the studio for 106 & Park almost instantly and insisted she had tickets. She asked what time she should get there and if Josh Hutcherson was indeed going to be there in the flesh. The operator insisted we arrive right away and that Josh would most certainly be there. Like normal fans, once we arrived at the studio we spoke to the man in charge of the whole thing, and shockingly he was incredibly nice and friendly. He told us he would be the one bringing Josh inside, told us where to stand, and even promised us that Josh would stop. Well, as much as he could promise anyway considering the stopping is all up to the artist.

After two not-so-long hours of waiting, Josh pulled up in an SUV, and the difference from yesterday seemed immediately obvious. He wasn’t being rushed! He was actually talking to people! He was doing pictures with fans! I started hyperventilating a little, because as close as I was to Josh yesterday, I never actually imagined I’d be seeing him again so soon and have the opportunity to ask for a picture.

He was marvelous. Stunning. So nice. I kind of fumbled my words a little because I was legit shaking by the time he got down to me and my friends through the line of people.

Me: “Hey Josh, how are you doing?”
He puts his arm around me for the picture…
Josh: “Hey, what’s up buddy!”

After that, I kind of blacked out. I had something else for him to sign with me, but at that point I didn’t want to bug him too much. He was so nice and sincere and really seemed to care about us, the fans. The first picture with him was blurry, and he had no problem taking another with me. WIN!

After me, there was only my friend Tomwattie, and they were trying to rush Josh in. She said “Wait, I didn’t get a picture yet.” And Josh was like “I’m not going in yet, I need to get her.” I don’t even know how I lifted the phone to take her picture because I was shaking and staring at Josh and not being able to comprehend what was going on at all. And then he went in, and I was jumping up and down for a good ten minutes.

We decided as a group to wait for Josh on the way out just to say hello. When he came out, he was rushed back into his car, but he said “Guys, I’m so sorry I’m running really late for a dinner!” The very fact that he acknowledged us still being there was more than enough for me, and the topper to yet another great day. This is literally the most perfect picture I've ever laid eyes on!