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Quentin Tarantino had a hot take about The Hunger Games that got the Internet talking. The celebrated filmmaker joined the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast to chat about all kinds of movies. But, his comments about Hunger Games ripping-off Battle Royale have everyone taking notice. Tarantino argues that Battle Royale writer Kenta Fukasaku (or maybe Koushun Takami, who wrote the novel the movie is based on?) should have sued Suzanne Collins because of the similarities between the two ideas.
Here’s what the Kill Bill director said, “I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn’t sue Suzanne Collins for every f****** thing she owns.”
“They just ripped off the f*****’ book. Stupid book critics are not going to go watch a Japanese movie called Battle Royale so the stupid book critics never called her on it,” Tarantino added. “They talked about how it was the most original f*****’ thing they’d ever read. As soon as the film critics saw the film, they said, ‘What the f***? This is just Battle Royale except PG!’”
Where to begin with a statement like this? Tarantino clearly cares a lot about the medium of film. But, this take is dismissive at the best, and maybe even wrong at the worst at the worst end of it? Yes, the stories of The Hunger Games and Battle Royale do harbor some similarities to each other. But, there have been multiple ideas where two very similar ideas come out near each other without any cheating or copying occurring.
Did Hunger Games copy Battle Royale?
As we just said, the Hunger Games and Battle Royale situation seems like one where the more popular version of a similar story gets this accusation lobbed at it. Suzanne Collins has done well for herself. But, honestly so have Fukasaku and Takami. (Go on Lettrboxd right now and check how many of your friends have ranked/rated Battle Royale. It’s near-universal acclaim in film circles.)
For her part, Collins has been asked about this issue as far back as 2011. The New York Times interviewed the Hunger Games author about all of this success. During their conversation, the question of Battle Royale and its inspiration for the source material came up. Collins laid out a timeline that seems absolutely conceivable.
“I had never heard of that book or that author until my book was turned in,” Collins explained. “At that point, it was mentioned to me, and I asked my editor if I should read it. He said, ‘No, I don’t want that world in your head. Just continue with what you’re doing.’”
Why does this happen so much?
So, with that all established, the question of how this happens so often rears its head. To be brief, people have ideas at the same time. If you look at the groundwater in the early 2010’s, youth cultures around the world were feeling alienated by not having a voice in political and community discussions. Identities being easily weaponized against one another would lead you to look at the idea of battling your classmates as novel.
BJ Colangelo and Harmony Colangelo’s This Ends at Prom podcast heard about these quotes and quickly pointed out that Battle Royale’s writer took inspiration from Stephen King’s The Long Walk. And, there’s a long chain of Young Adult media taking strands from things that inspired their creators.
That’s probably what’s going down here. Every generation gets the Battle Royale they deserve, it would seem. But, seeing so many people pick up on this discourse is interesting to witness at a time where The Hunger Games is on a wild resurgence. None of the creators in this story are exactly struggling in the public eye. Maybe it’s just a case of us all being more similar than we think?
(Photo Credit: Lionsgate/Toei)
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Aaron Perine
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