Savanna New! Most definitely someone every Hunger Games fan should be aware of! She's smart, she's crazy-cool, and she co-hosts the best Hunger Games podcast around: The HG Fireside Chat! Find out more about this superfan here!

WtoD12: I can't start anything without asking the most obvious question, how did you start reading the books? 

I started reading the books in 2010, a few months before the release of Mockingjay. Interestingly enough, at that point in time, I was NOT a reader of YA literature (aside from Harry Potter and Twilight). So I hadn’t heard ANYTHING about The Hunger Games until Adam mentioned that his friend Ariel had recommended it. I Googled it, of course, and the basic premise seemed totally fascinating – like nothing I’d ever read before. After having read nothing but heavy French literature and pedagogical texts for three years, I decided I deserved some “fun, light reading” in my life and went out and bought the first book at Powell’s in Portland. Little did I know what awaited me!

WtoD12: What inspired you and Adam Spunberg to start the podcast?

Adam and I both write for an entertainment website called Picktainment, and we had just completed a series of articles on casting The Hunger Games with The Hob. At the time, we didn’t consider ourselves “Hunger Games experts” (although, in hindsight, we really were), so we reached out to The Hob and asked them to help us out with the pieces that we were writing.

Rebekah (VV), Savanna, and Tiffany @ The Hob campground
Picktainment has a weekly movie podcast, and we talked about devoting an episode of that to our Hunger Games series. But we quickly realized that it would be WAY more fun to devote an ENTIRE PODCAST to The Hunger Games. At that time, there weren’t any Hunger Games-themed podcasts that were regularly releasing episodes, so we saw a need for a consistent show in the fandom. However, Adam and I have never really liked doing things by the book, so we decided to make our podcast more like an online radio show and do it all live and unedited. And we had such a great time working with The Hob that we thought it would be cool to make Fireside Chat a collaborative, interactive “community” thing and feature a panel of fan site representatives each week.
 

WtoD12: What other Hunger Games fan stuff have you been a part of?

Surprisingly, I haven’t done that much outside of Fireside Chat, just because that takes up a lot of my time. But I look forward to doing more in the future! I’ve contributed to a bunch of different articles on various websites (the Hunger Games countdown series at Movies.com for example), and I’ve been featured in videos for MTV and CELEBUZZ. I also wrote the Draco Malfoy story for ThePotter Games, if that counts! Maybe when I finally learn how to crochet, I'll team up with Shylah and we'll construct a life-size replica of the Cornucopia out of yarn. (You think that's sarcasm? Think again, my friends.)
  
WtoD12: What is it about this trilogy that moved you?

To be completely honest…everything. Katniss’s personal narrative, Collins’ AMAZING storytelling and beautifully constructed and lovable characters, the futuristic society of Panem, the social justice themes, etc. As Jennifer Lawrence has said herself many times in interviews, The Hunger Games is such an IMPORTANT story, and I’m so happy that so many people are reading it and finding themselves not only entertained but also questioning a lot of things currently going on in our world. I could probably fill a dozen pages responding to this question – but I won’t. Not now, at least.


Savanna poses with her signed Hunger Games poster
WtoD12: What is your strategy that earns you a house in Victor's Village?

Ha! Let’s be real here: I would never earn a house in Victor’s Village. I have no real outdoor skills, I can’t fight, and I’m not particularly good at hiding. And I am probably the least strategic person on the planet. Until killing someone with kindness actually becomes a reality, I’d be hopeless in any arena.

WtoD12: What other district would you become allies with aside from your own?

Definitely District 7! I lived in the Pacific Northwest for five years, so I feel a strong       
 affinity for trees and forests. And flannel-clad lumberjacks.

WtoD12: I understand you grew up in District 8. What's the best and worst thing about your district?

The best thing about living in District 8 is, of course, getting to produce innovative, outrageous clothing for the Capitol and to see each season’s “hot” items before the rest of the country; we really have an influence on national trends, but our designers are rarely recognized for their efforts. The worst thing about living in District 8? We can’t afford to wear any of the amazing clothes that we manufacture.
 
Savanna passes out buttons for Hunger is NOT a game!
WtoD12: The orange backpack? Or Seneca Crane's beard? THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!

There can only be one? Really? Sigh. Well, I mean no offense to the backpack, but I’m going to have to go with the beard. After running the Seneca Crane’s beard Facebook page for several months now, I’ve discovered that the beard has quite a quirky, fun personality. He’s a little egotistical, but I can look past that.

 
WtoD12: What fashion from The Capitol is your guilty pleasure?

I’m a little like Cinna when it comes to Capitol fashion, but my major indulgence is SCARVES. I probably own around fifty scarves at this point, and I have no plans to stop adding to my collection. You’ll rarely see me without a scarf; if I’m not wearing one, there’s probably one hiding in my bag. A scarf is the perfect fashion accessory, in my opinion, and they come in so many different shapes, sizes, colors, fabrics, and styles, that you can totally justify owning hundreds of them!

WtoD12: Any new Hunger Games projects coming up?

Well, I’m currently working with the HarryPotter Alliance on their new Hunger Games-themed campaign, Hunger is Not a Game. You can learn more about it here, but our basic goal is to rally the the Hunger Games fandom – which I know is full of passionate, conscientious individuals – and fight the world hunger crisis head-on by partnering with Oxfam America’s GROW campaign, organizing community food drives, and raising awareness of the causes of global hunger and what we can do about it. I’m thrilled to be working with the HPA, and I have strong hopes for HINAG.

Thanks so much to Savanna for answering our questions!

Past Featured Fans: Shylah |

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)