Now that "The Hunger Games" has transformed Josh Hutcherson into the bread-slinging, camouflaged cutie Peeta Mellark (and trending Twitter topic Josh HOTcherson), are you willing to see every last movie he makes?
Apart from February's "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," though, Hutcherson's "Hunger Games" career effect has yet to be tested. Until now. Oh-so-conveniently, "Detention" (an indie slasher flick of his which sat on a shelf for about a year after debuting at Sundance) has been dusted off and prepped for distribution this Friday, just as "The Hunger Games" comes off a three week box office winning streak.
This campy teenage thriller stars Hutcherson (who's also an executive producer) as Clapton Davis, an eccentric high schooler who faces a trifecta of trouble — a bully, a maniacal principal (Dane Cook) and a serial killer — in his quest to nab the affection of popular blonde cheerleader Ione (Spencer Locke). As Hutcherson himself described it on "The Tonight Show," "It's like if 'Back to the Future,' 'Scream,' and 'The Breakfast Club' had a baby and then doused it in like '90s boy bands."
Not subtly, some of the latest film clips released for "Detention" have deftly kept him in the spotlight.
Consider this one, in which Hutcherson's character stares down the fist of the high school equivalent of Danny Bonaduce, all the while keeping his charming wits about him.
Or this one in which he displays some mad bowling skills and a knack for quirky hand gestures.
In case that wasn't enough, here's yet another one with Hutcherson ruing one of his sartorial selections. And a fourth one where he fast-talks his plans for a hipster music blog.
You get the gist. Clearly, The Hutch's growing fanbase is a major consideration in this film's marketing strategy, but the question remains: Will it work? In other words, will you check out "Detention" this weekend to catch his latest flick, or would you rather just hit up a repeat showing of "The Hunger Games?" Weigh in with our poll!
Amanda Bell is a young adult book-to-film enthusiast and has made a name for herself as a fan-friendly, informative and dependable source. In addition to being the District 14 columnist for NextMovie, she runs the popular Twilight Examiner column. Keep tabs on her on Twitter.
