The Starving Games

The Starving Games is a 2013 American parody film based on The Hunger Games and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film stars Maiara Walsh, Cody Christian, Brant Daugherty, Lauren Bowles and Diedrich Bader. It is Friedberg and Seltzer's first film to be distributed independently after a long relationship with each other, being released simultaneously, in theaters and video on demand by distribution start-up Ketchup Entertainment.

Plot

Game

A game is structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role.

Attested as early as 2600 BC, games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. The Royal Game of Ur, Senet, and Mancala are some of the oldest known games.

Maiara Walsh

Maiara Walsh (born February 18, 1988) is a Brazilian American actress and singer best known for playing Ana Solis on the sixth season of the hit ABC show Desperate Housewives and as Meena Paroom on the Disney Channel sitcom Cory in the House. As of 2013, she portrays Simone on Switched at Birth.

Personal life

Walsh was born in Seattle, Washington to a Brazilian mother and American father of Irish, German, and Swedish descent. She speaks fluent Portuguese and is proficient in Spanish. Walsh and her family moved to São Paulo, Brazil when she was two years old. At 11, she moved to Simi Valley, California to pursue her acting career. Walsh is a human rights activist, and spends much of her time volunteering and getting together community projects. She also enjoys travelling, reading, spending time outdoors, and studying psychology, biology, and neuroscience on her own time. Walsh also writes a personal blog on her official website.

Career

In the fall of 2010, she guest-starred on CW's The Vampire Diaries as Sarah. In Atlanta, Walsh then filmed Mean Girls 2 as Mandi Weatherly, an A-list clique girl. Walsh was also on the Dr. Phil Show. In the segment she revealed painful memories from her time in primary school and gave advice to teens on how to best empower themselves. Later that day, Walsh shared some advice during a live webcast, sponsored by the Dr. Phil Show.

Starvation

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake needed to maintain human life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death. The term inanition refers to the symptoms and effects of starvation. Starvation may also be used as a means of torture or execution.

According to the World Health Organization, hunger is the single gravest threat to the world's public health. The WHO also states that malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases. Undernutrition is a contributory factor in the death of 3.1 million children under five every year. Figures on actual starvation are difficult to come by, but according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the less severe condition of undernourishment currently affects about 842 million people, or about one in eight (12.5%) people in the world population.

The bloated stomach, as seen in the picture to the right, represents a form of malnutrition called kwashiorkor which is caused by insufficient protein despite a sufficient caloric intake. Children are more vulnerable to kwashiorkor whose advanced symptoms include weight loss and muscle wasting.

Brant Daugherty

Brant David Daugherty (born August 20, 1985) is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as Noel Kahn on the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars. He also has a recurring role as Brian in the long-running NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives.

In 2013 he was a regular of the cast of Lifetime Network's Army Wives for season 7, which began airing in April 2013, in the role of Patrick Clarke.

He had a credited role in Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's motion picture comedy The Starving Games released in fall 2013. In 2014 he had a credited role in the Charlie Sheen FX series Anger Management.

Daugherty was a contestant in season 17 of Dancing with the Stars in which he partnered with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd. They were eliminated in the eighth week of competition, finishing in seventh place.

Personal life

Brant Daugherty was born and raised in Mason, Ohio, the son of David Daugherty, an art teacher, and his wife, Mary Beth (née Hirt) Daugherty, head of rehabilitation services for Shriners Hospitals for Children, Cincinnati. He grew up along with his brother, Adam, and sister, Caitey. Brant's father, David, was an art teacher at Mason Middle School when he died of cancer on February 19, 2009 at age 57.