Local Fans Starved for 'Hunger Games'

By 8:30 p.m. Thursday, at the in Stony Brook, all but two midnight showings of The Hunger Games – out of 14 – had sold out, and the only IMAX presentation remaining available would begin at 3:15 a.m., according to theater employees.

As hundreds of Hunger Games fans waited outside the theater, reminiscent of midnight releases of the various and films, it was hard not to draw comparisons to those two series.

"There are no teams in The Hunger Games, said Emily Riley, 15, of Setauket. She said she was squarely in favor of Twilight's Team Edward, but this movie is different. "Teams are not allowed. This is not Twilight. You're not a real fan if you think there are teams."

Devin Dever, 15, of Stony Brook, loved all three of those series, but "the first Hunger Games book is better than the entire Twilight series," she said. However, "the Harry Potter books are written better as a whole."

The crowd – overwhelmingly teenagers, for whom it was a school night – could be seen re-reading the book, eating pizza from nearby , and finding other ways to entertain themselves during what would be hours of waiting.

Kayla Shea, 17, of Centereach, and friends Summer Toth, 16, and Kayleigh Treanor, 17, arrived around 7 p.m. Shea brought supplies to make balloon animals for them to entertain themselves as they waited five hours.

For Shea, "Harry Potter" was her first love, followed by "The Hunger Games." Her advice: Read the book before you see the movie. "Don't start reading it unless you have the entire day free," she said.

Treanor agreed. "When I was reading it, I just loved that I never knew what was going to happen next. It was shocking, suspenseful," she said.

One person in particular stood out from the rest of the crowd.

"I might be the only parent here," said Mike Mignanelli of East Northport, who was holding a spot in the line for his daughter Juliana in celebration of her 13th birthday. "I can't disappoint my daughter, so I don't mind waiting. It's a school night, but it's a special night."

Mignanelli read the Suzanne Collins trilogy so he could have something cool to talk about with Juliana – and soon his son Christopher, 10, who is in the process of reading it.

"I'm actually very excited to see the movie as well," he said. "It's amazing. I thought it was a kids' book, but I couldn't put it down."