Are there any differences between the Catching Fire movie and book?

Question

So I recently watched Catching Fire. I thought it was pretty faithful in some parts with gaping holes in another. Is there a list of the differences between the two?

The scene with Joanna in the lift didn't happen, as well as her outbursts on stage when being interviewed by Ceasar. Are there any others?

Answer 1

There are a good amount of differences. Some of them are major, some minor. I'll start as I remember them.

• Firstly, there's no Bonnie and Twill. They are the refugees from District 8 going to District 13.
• They also showed her the mockingjay symbol on the bread. They are foreshadowing because it not only foreshadows District 13, but also how the mockingjay is becoming a symbol of the rebellion. In the movie it's only shown on Katniss as her dress, pin, and once on a wall.
• Plutarch did not show the Mockingjay watch. It was foreshadowing to show how he supports the rebellion and that the arena was a clock. They didn't add this because they wanted suspense or for the audience to question if he was an ally or not. But THEY DANCED!! Also ties into Plutarch suggesting the visitors go back in. Whose side are you on anyway?! Snow was supposed to say that.
• Haymitch's backstory. HELLO! This one was one of my favorite parts. Haymitch won the 2nd quarter quell (50th hunger games) by using the force field to shoot his weapon back up. Lets just say it was pretty damn cool. It lets us understand Haymitch's life a little more and realize he's been training kids who go out and die for around 25 years. It shows that the force field can be used as a weapon.
• Gale was whipped for a different reason. In the movie he was saving someone who was being attacked by the new head peacekeeper. In the book he was caught with a wild turkey. It makes Gale seem more heroic. Oh and we saw what happened to the old head peacekeeper which was cool.
• There was no Darius. Darius was the peacekeeper who had tried to help Gale out when he was whipped and got turned into an Avox for it.
• Pregnant then forgotten. Peeta says Katniss is preggy but it doesn't affect anything.
• Johanna (which I loved) flipped out majorly. She was cursing and everything. Power to you girl! In the books though she wasn't that aggressive. But it was slightly unexpected and I liked that.
• Peeta is more manly. He can swim instead of sitting on the rock like a lost puppy waiting for help. He also doesn't have a prosthetic leg like he should.
• The Escape Plan (when Kafniss shoots the electic wire at the force field) seemed more like Katniss's idea from a movie perspective. Just how I thought, having my friends who never read the books, saying how smart Katniss was for trying to do that.

That's all I've found that are semi-important. Good luck! Still a good movie.

Answer 2

There are a lot of lists on the interwebs. This one looks to be pretty comprehensive (read: It has everything I can remember plus a lot more). Generally, contestants are dying off screen or in a flurry of blurry camera work – either way, deaths happen much faster in the movie than in the book – courtesy of the PG-13 rating. The movie also shows more backstage machinations because of the third person narrative. These two very general facts also apply to the first movie.