Quentin Tarantino Thinks That The Hunger Games Ripped Off A Wild 2000 Movie

"The Hunger Games" tells an uncomfortably relevant story of a group of young people who are randomly chosen to fight to the death in an outdoor arena. Society has become a dystopian nightmare. Totalitarian government-approved death sports are used to maintain order over the people. The only survivors are a boy and girl who develop a close bond. Fun premise, right? Well, it isn't the only story of its kind, as the 2000 Japanese movie "Battle Royale" explored the concept years before Suzanne Collins' novels, and the "Hunger Games" movie series that followed, came to be.

The similarities certainly haven't been lost on Quentin Tarantino, a filmmaker who's cited the Kinji Fukasaku-directed "Battle Royale" as one of his favorite films of the 21st century — and one of the movies that inspired "Kill Bill." Tarantino believes that "The Hunger Games" is a complete knock-off of the Japanese film, and by extension, the Kōshun Takami novel it's based on. As he told "The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast" (via World of Reel):

"I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn't sue Suzanne Collins for every f***ing thing she owns. They just ripped off the f***ing 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, they talked about how it was the most original f**ing 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."

Tarantino's argument isn't a new one, but it might be the most colorfully articulated version of it. The parallels between both stories are obvious, but was "Battle Royale" an inspiration for Collins' tale of dystopian slaughter?

Suzanne Collins has claimed that she wasn't familiar with "Battle Royale" when she wrote "The Hunger Games," so the similarities appear to be coincidental. In a 2011 interview with The New York Times, she recalled being actively discouraged from familiarizing herself with Kōshun Takami's story, presumably because it would've had an effect on how she approached her own death sport saga:

"I had never heard of that book or that author until my book was turned in. 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.'"

This debate will undoubtedly continue while both stories are available for public consumption, but it is worth noting the major differences between the pair. "Battle Royale" is more twisted, violent, and horrific, making it the ideal option for anyone who thinks "The Hunger Games" doesn't go hard enough. However, no one can deny the success of the "Hunger Games" franchise, and the world is big enough for both properties to co-exist.