A lot of hype and anticipation awaits the release of "Hunger Games", the first film of the trilogy based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. Now, on the eve of that release, Collins is under media fire and question. Did the author steal this idea from a Japanese novel that was published in 1999, and made into a movie in 2000? See the trailer for "Battle Royale" here and be the judge.

"Battle Royale" is a dystopian story about a yearly event in which a class of teenagers is chosen at random and sent to a remote island to fight to the death until only one remains. Sound familiar? Suzanne Collins claims she wasn't aware of the Japanese book or movie when she wrote "Hunger Games". In an interview a year ago, she claimed she still hadn't seen or read it.

Here's the trailer for "Battle Royale". Is it possible Collins knew nothing about it?

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