Jennifer Lawrence was propelled to the Hollywood A-list status, thanks to her role in The Hunger Games. The fantasy film series was based on Suzanne Collins’ hit novel series of the same name. Interestingly, Collins was inspired by one long-running TV show to write her magnum opus. CBS’s reality TV show Survivor instilled the thought of a series of survival games into the mind of Collins.
The show, hosted by Jeff Probst, changed television forever as it forced other reality TV programs to up their game. The Hunger Games was just one of its major effects on popular culture. If you observe closely, the parallels between the world of Survivor and Lawrence’s dystopian world are hard to miss.
Jennifer Lawrence’s The Hunger Games drew inspiration from Survivor
At least for a few fans, the premise of Suzanne Collins’ famous novel series The Hunger Games reminded them of CBS’s reality competition, Survivor. The tagline of Survivor, “Outwit. Outplay. Outlast.”, seems to perfectly summarize The Hunger Games as well. It is because the long-running reality show served as an inspiration for Collins to write the novel series.
When the novel series was brought to the screen, starring Jennifer Lawrence, fans could see more and more parallels between the two. While the fate of the Survivor contestants is not as brutal as the movies, both the show and the fictional story force the contestants to compete in an extreme environment.
Another element Collins took from the show was a personality like Jeff Probst to host the games in her story. There were some elements of similarities between Probst and Caesar Flickerman. When it came to the movies, Stanley Tucci captured Flickerman with all his flair. However, it wasn’t just Collins who took something from the show.
According to former Survivor contestant Stephen Fishbach, the contestants of the latter seasons revered Collins’ book. He shared in his article on EW that many Survivor contestants identify with the protagonist Katniss Everdeen and her “experience beyond the superficial details.”
Fishbach shared that like Katniss and the other contestants in The Hunger Games, the reality TV show contestants also needed to figure out their strategy. He wrote that some would intimidate others with a “brash attitude and physical prowess” like the Careers in the book. Others wait for their opponents to take each other down.
Like in the story, contestants needed to build alliances which sometimes turn good or bad. There would be complicated relationships like that of Katniss and Peeta. And there would be some brutal betrayals. Fishbach praised the “genius” of Collins’ story as it perfectly “captures the emotional nuances of a game that pushes you to the limits of your endurance.”
Jennifer Lawrence’s mainstream career took off after the Survivor-inspired Hunger Games films
Jennifer Lawrence got paid more than $50 million for The Hunger Games franchise (via Celebrity Net Worth). Lawrence has since become one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. With a net worth of $160 million, the Red Sparrow actress is getting paid in millions, such as the staggering $25 million she received for the 2021 Netflix film, Don’t Look Up.
Lawrence went on to win a Best Actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, but she had already surprised some of the greatest actors with her performance in The Hunger Games. Francis Lawrence shared that she could easily switch to Katniss in the film and capture the emotional nuances of the character. He shared during his appearance on Happy Sad Confused podcast:
And she could turn it on and off with a switch. And I think it drove some other actors, not this group, but some other actors kind of crazy. Because it was easy for her. And that drove people, some people nuts, because she could be joking around and laughing and being really silly and then you like say ‘action!’ and she just becomes entirely present.
It appears that the film gave her a big break into mainstream Hollywood and she should thank Survivor for inspiring Suzanne Collins to write the story. Survivor Season 47 recently concluded with Rachel LaMont emerging as the winner. Season 48 will premiere on February 26, 2025.
The Hunger Games is now available for streaming on Starz, while Survivor is available on Hulu.
