I find it very interesting that I started this post several weeks ago, and am only just now finalizing and posting it. (It's been a VERY busy few weeks!)
This is where you ask, "Why is it interesting?" You'll have to read to find out.
Over the years, there have been a handful of movies, television programs, musicians or athletes/sports teams that I have just LOVED. LOVED enough to become enthralled (read: obsessed) with them. Those that know me well are, at this moment, saying quietly to themselves, "
Dawson's Creek." Yes, I was one of those. I was a Creeker.
Part of being a Creeker was being active on fansites, which were still a fairly new phenomena in the late 1990s. Fansites are exactly what they sounds like: a site for fans to come and
stalk keep tabs on their favorites actors. A fansite can be about a person, a character, a book, a movie, a television show, a musician, basically anything someone is a fan of. Depending on the site, you can find out just about anything about that subject, from new projects to personal relationships to off-screen hijinks to arrest records. Some are very well-done, mature sites. Others are....not. I admit, as a young fan of
Dawson's Creek, I looked for any and all information that I could find.
As I've grown older (and hopefully, more mature), I've found that I have little patience for sites that stray too far into the personal lives of my favorite actors. That has led me to be quite a bit more picky when searching for fansites to help me keep track of projects/actors I'm interested in.
Now those that know me well are, at this moment, saying quietly to themselves, "She's about to start talking about
The Hunger Games, isn't she?"
Unlike
Dawson's Creek, it took me awhile to start trolling fansites for
The Hunger Games. I read the books long before ever hearing about a movie, and I've never been one to follow fansites for books (however, I must say:
Divergent, by Veronica Roth. Yeah, they got me, hook, line and sinker). So it wasn't until filming began that I really started searching to see what I could find out about the cast, crew, production schedule, etc. Once I started, however, there was no going back.
There are numerous fansites out there for
The Hunger Games, as well as for the people involved in the film. After several days of reading and searching, I quickly realized that there were only a small handful that were a) up-to-date, b) run by responsible journalists, c) well-organized, and d) for true fans (by which, I mean, fans of the story, fans who can break down a movie sequence, fans who can analyze a book passage for the unspoken message).
Of those small few that made my cut, there was one, in particular, that continued to draw me in. The news is current and applicable, but stayed away from the "who's-dating-whom, who-impregnated-whom, who-got-arrested-last-night" tabloid journalism. The writing is great, they have fun contests, they run a great forum, and they found a way to use the fandom to do something more than just promote a book/movie. They partnered with
WhyHunger to help raise money in support of hunger and poverty awareness. But I think the part I like the best is that these women who run the site are adults. They have lives and families and responsibilities, and yet, they still find time to have fun and be fans! And that is not meant to insult the younger fans who run sites. Remember, I was a teenager and twenty-something who worked on a fansite once. It takes people of all kinds to fill out a fandom! But as an adult, I appreciate the adult voice brought forth on this site.
For awhile now, I've considered dropping them an email to say "Thanks!" Just a note to let them know that I have an idea of the time and work they put in, all because they truly love
The Hunger Games. And maybe while I'm at it, slip in a little plug on my background, you know, just in case they ever need any help.... But I haven't, and I probably won't. I'll simply continue to check for news and updates as we get closer and closer to the casting and filming (and release) of
Catching Fire.
If you are a fan of The Hunger Games franchise, or even if you are just a fan of any of the people involved in the movie, visit
The Hob. Say hello in the forum, enter a contest, take some time to look into the charity they support, and have fun!
Roughly two weeks ago, The Hob posted an announcement that they were on the lookout for a new blogger to join their staff. Despite being in a daylong conference with several coworkers, I managed to find time that very day to pull out my laptop and type out my application. Following that, with my usual pessimism, I waited. And waited. And checked my email. Until, only a matter of days later, I gave up. Which was stupid, because there was no deadline for applications, I had (and still have) no idea how many people applied, and anyway, why do I always assume that I suck at everything I do? Welcome to my life....
But then, one day, I logged into my email, and saw this message: "We...want to invite you to join our team." Wait. What? I had to read it three or four times, because I was SURE I'd read it wrong, that it really said, "Thanks, but we've decided to invite someone else." Sorry, I just have absolutely no self-confidence, unless we're talking about me with my trumpet. And we aren't. So.
So.
So, I emailed back, and they replied, and I replied, and...well, you get the idea. And I'm now one of their bloggers - that is, I WILL be, if any news ever happens again. It has been a S..L..O..W.. news week.
