Oh, he’s just going to kill me for this, but it’s TOO FUNNY. Besides, I get HUNDREDS of letters a year from him, and never exploit them, so just this once is OK. I sent Michael Alig a copy of the The Hunger Games so he wouldn’t be the only person in the world without an opinion. This is what he wrote back:

Dear Jimmy,

Thanx for the Hunger Games book… I’m up to chapter 8 now. Now, lemme get this straight: The book is a satire of the direction America is heading, right? The huge gap twixt the rich and the poor? And the citizen’s of the Capitol… are today’s American’s, no? Glib, superficial, uncaring of anthything but the newest trends and sensations? Wait a sec! Are these people club kids? YES! They ARE! With their purple hair, face piercings, men in lipstick. etc! Oh, I see it all now! Suzanne Collins wrote a book about… ME! How silly of my not to have noticed it at first! The largest-grossing book series and motion picture in the history of, well, books and motion pictures… is all about ME and the SCENE I CREATED! Well, of course Ms Collins doesn’t mention me by NAME – that’d be too obvious. But she does, I notice, include little hints: When Cinna and Portia style Katniss and Peeta as “twins” it’s a reference to the IT TWINS! And “Peeta” is Peter Gatien? Or Peter Peter Boyfriend Stealer?

OK, I’m sorry. I realize that’s going a bit too far. Imagine Suzanne Collins even know who Peter Peter Boyfriend Stealer IS. Crazy huh? But THE REST is pretty right on the mark, huh? And yes, I’m kidding about the veiled clubkid references. But the glib, superficial, self-centered, not-having-a-clue citizens of the Capitol are clubkids, right?

I laughed when I read that, of course. But he does a have a point. Watching those Capitol City scenes in the movie felt like I was right back at Club USA. And whether Ms Collins was directly influenced by the club kids or was referencing something that was referencing them (like some of Galliano’s clubkiddier collections for Dior), there’s no denying that the look of superficial citizen’s of the Capitol is PURE clubkid. For once, I don’t think he’s being an ego manic.