Hunger Games director Gary Ross did a Fan Q&A with The New York Times.

Gary, what was the biggest challenge that you encountered in the editing room? Also — just because I love my state — how did you like North Carolina? Would you be wanting to come back for future projects? — Savanah, North Carolina
A.
I think the biggest challenge was keeping the feeling of dread and tension alive in the first part of the film. It would have been easy for these “games” to feel like an abstract concept (the first part of the movie has no real IMMEDIATE threat to the tributes) and yet the characters are facing near certain death. The tone that was established in the reaping was essential in doing that. Steven Mirrione and I did quite a bit of restructuring in the first half to make sure the tension did not abate. As for your state, I LOVED it. And I miss Asheville very very much and I cant wait to go back.
Q.
Given the tremendous pressure to make this movie a blockbuster, there must have been even more of a tension than usual between your artistic vision and the commercial one. How did you have to modify that artistic vision to arrive at the movie as released? — Ken N., San Francisco
A.
Actually, I felt the only way to make the film really successful was to be totally subjective (Suzanne wrote in the first person present). So I tried to put “commercial” considerations out of my mind. You can’t really make a movie by worrying about the marketplace and I always felt the only way to realize this story was to make it as personal as I could. I also felt this couldn’t feel or look like other “franchises” without sacrificing the naturalism the story needed. It helped being in the woods a long way from Hollywood.