NEW CATCHING FIRE STILLS!
The first image of the Catching Fire Katniss Barbie was released this week. Now Barbie Collector has posted images of four Catching Fire Barbies: Katniss, Peeta, Effie, & Finnick!
All three Katniss, Peeta, & Effie dolls are $24.95. Finnick is a little more pricey at $29.99. All are available for pre-order now, with an expected shipping date of December 15th for a timely gift! Pre-Order your own at BarbieCollector.com. (thehob)
At long last, the final districts, District 7 (lumber), District 9 (grain), and District 11 (agriculture) have been revealed from CoverGirl’s Capitol Collection:
District 9 (Grains)
District 7 (Lumber) & District 11 (Agriculture)
You can now see all 12 looks at CoverGirl’s Capitol Beauty Studio. (thehob)
Out Magazine has a new interview with Josh Hutcherson about his work with Straight But Not Narrow, sexuality and his relationship with Sam Claflin. (thehob)
On his childhood
It helps that he was clearly well-adjusted before getting into the business. The Hutcherson family Golden Rule was “Treat people the way you want to be treated,” a simple moral compass that kept him out of trouble when he left Kentucky and started acting at age 9. He worked steadily playing a series of sweet but-moody kids on TV and the big screen, studying with tutors on set. But unlike some child stars, he doesn’t have regrets about skipping out on school—except one: “I would have liked to start a GSA or help out kids that were feeling bullied or discriminated against.”
On his bromance with Sam Claflin
In Catching Fire, Peeta and Katniss are sent back to battle other former champions and forge a tentative alliance with the Golden God-like Finnick (Sam Claflin). Lawrence regularly deflects questions about Claflin’s hot body to Hutcherson, who confirms their bromantic bond. “You know there are just times when you meet people in your life and it clicks instantly?” he asks. “It was like that with Sam. I like people that just let me be myself, and I don’t feel like I have to try to be extra-fancy.”
On taking a stand against bullying
“Talking to kids in school and reaching out through social media we found to be really effective,” he says. “That’s where the bullying happens the most, where people are molded into who they become when they grow up. Kids are so mean to each other sometimes. You’re figuring out who you are, and you’re insecure about it. Especially if you don’t have a great family life or you’re being influenced by a religion too much, a way to feel better sometimes is to put somebody else down. Our goal is making kids more compassionate and more understanding that people are just people. It’s really about being yourself.”
You can read the full interview at Out.com
CF star Willow Shields is featured in the November issue of Teen Vogue, with a new photoshoot and interview. Plus a Q&A with JLaw & Sam Claflin! (hunger-games.net)
Excerpts from the article:
Willow Shields on meeting Jennifer Lawrence:
“Jennifer said, ‘I’m going to be your big sister on set, if you need any tips, it’s OK,’” she recalls. “I couldn’t ask for a better person to work with.”
Willow Shields on returning for Mockingjay:
“What Prim has to do in Mockingjay will be a real challenge,” she admits. “But I love a challenge.”
Chad Stahelski on training for Cornucopia scene:
“The turntable, which is part of the Cornucopia, had many unique challenges and required intense preparations and rigging. The entire cast – Jen included – was always very eager to try just about anything. They give it their all.”
Excerpts from the Q & A:
Teen Vogue: Jennifer, was it important for you to set a certain tone on the set as the leading lady?
Jennifer Lawrence: I just wanted everyone to be comfortable. When there are new people, it can get awkward, but everyone was so great – including you, Sam.
Sam Claflin: I first bumped into you at stunt training. Your archery put me to shame. I was quite intimidated.
TV: How will your characters interact with each other in the movie? You have a… complicated relationship?
JL: Finnick is the most seductive man in the Capitol. At first, Katniss is very put off by him, but the more she learns about him, the more she starts to understand and respect him. They become weird friends.
SC: He has charm and charisma going for him, but deep down he has insecurities, which overshadows his ‘external beauty’.
To read the complete article, check out the scans
CF director Francis Lawrence appears in this week’s NY Mag where he talks about working with a variety of actors, the arching story of CF, and the amping up the of the love triangle. He also confirms the death of the shaky cam.
Excerpts can be read below:
You have all these pedigree actors coming in, from Philip Seymour Hoffman in Catching Fire to Julianne Moore in Mockingjay. You could have had no-name actors, and the fans would have accepted that.
If you can have Philip Seymour Hoffman, get Philip Seymour Hoffman! And he loved the books, so he signed on. Same with Jeffrey Wright. Same with Julianne. If you can just get those amazing actors, then that’s 80 percent of my job.
Does Jennifer Lawrence still do the karate-running? She hated how she looked running before.
She said she always made this stupid face when she ran, and I had to specifically watch out to make sure she didn’t. So I was always checking. I would tell her, “You made the stupid face!”
The first film skimped a little on showing us the strategy behind the Katniss-Peeta love story.
I felt the same. I felt the love story in general was, um, a bit buried in the first one. I wanted to bring the love story to the surface. And when I say love story, I mean the triangle.
Will this one have better CGI?
Uh, yeah. I think the effects are phenomenal. If you know the book, there’s a monkey-mutt attack, and Weta, who did Rise of the Planet of the Apes and King Kong, did the monkeys for us.
Scans from Entertainment Weekly‘s CF cover story have hit the web. The feature article includes an in-depth interview with JLaw, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson while filming was going on in Hawaii.
They discuss filming and Mockingjay casting especially Julianne Moore.
EW: Do any of you have a favorite memory from making the sequel?
Jennifer: I know it exactly. In Hawaii one night, we were having a party at Josh’s house and we all held hands and ran into the ocean. We would run as fast as we could into the water and we’d keep running until we fell, but we were all scared because we didn’t know where the reef was because it was dark
Jacobson: And you should understand that this is a group of people that includes everybody. It’s the rare set that doesn’t have any hierarchy.
Jennifer: We all-from the producers to the [production assistants]-genuinely know each other and love each other.
Hutcherson: Yeah, on some sets-
Jennifer: Well, why do you think I’m so upset that it’s ending?
Hutcherson: I was going to say-
Jennifer: You’re not acting upset.
Hutcherson: I was going to say [picks up chopsticks and pretends to stab her]… I was going to say that I don’t expect to ever experience the closeness I feel with these people on any other ever.
EW: Jen, what was your hardest day on Catching Fire?
Jennifer: The one I was dreading to shoot was probably Katniss’s night terrors. I was so afraid of that scene I showed up to set early.
Hutcherson: And then the moment afterwards we were like, “That was fantastic, are you kidding me?!”
Francis: She did on one take.
Jennifer: But don’t you find that that’s a part of it? If I’m not scared to do something, then I’m bored.
Francis: Really? Gauntlet thrown down. [Movies] three and four await!
Read the rest here.
See you next week, Tributes!