And Tuesday gave us actor and musician Evan Ross.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Mockingjay Casting ICYMI: Annie Cresta and Messalla
Casting announcements for Mockingjay are in full swing. On Monday, we got our Annie Cresta, Australian actress Stef Dawson:
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Johanna Mason added to Victor Banner
Johanna Mason is the next victor to be revealed for the Victor Banner on The Hunger Games Explorer.
The next #VictorsRevealed tomorrow, who is it going to be?
Natalie Dormer cast as Cressida for Mockingjay
NATALIE DORMER JOINS CAST OF LIONSGATE’S THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PARTS 1 & 2
SANTA MONICA, CA August 22, 2013 – Lionsgate announced today that Natalie Dormer has joined the cast of THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PARTS 1 & 2 as the character Cressida.
Dormer currently stars as “Margaery Tyrell” on HBO’s GAME OF THRONES and will be seen in Ron Howard’s RUSH this September, as well as Ridley Scott’s THE COUNSELOR in October. She has also completed production on the indie film POSH.Thanks to Hunger Games Examiner for the tip!
Dormer is represented by Untitled Entertainment, UTA and United Agents
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
*NEW* Victor Banner Revealed By Hunger Games Explorer
AND MORE ARE COMING!
Check out the Hunger Games Explorer countdown to see when the next #VictorsRevealed is!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Sam Claflin talks to Elle about becoming Finnick Odair
Elle magazine spoke with Sam Claflin about his role as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games. It's a pretty great interview:
ELLE: Hello, Sam! Let’s get to it. You’ve said in previous interviews that when you went in for your first Catching Fire audition, you didn’t know what the role was for. How could that be?
Sam Claflin: I was sent over a script and there was no title to what I was reading. It was just two scenes with a character called “Finnick” and a mini-character breakdown. I started reading the scene and saw the name Katniss, and I’d just recently seen The Hunger Games, so I thought, “OK, is this a connection?” But I didn’t know it was a trilogy. I just thought it was a one-time film. So I typed Finnick Odair” into Google an all these book and fan pages came up and I was kind of like, “whoa.” So, I just went through all of it and did as much research as I could the night before.
...
ELLE: I was surprised to learn that you read so much of the fan reaction to your casting, because it wasn’t the most positive at first…
SC: Yeah, I think everyone was very shocked. Which I understand because it’s such an important role in the franchise.
ELLE: It just seems like a lot of actors would try to avoid that and instead concentrate on what they can bring to the role. Do you feel it helped you to know what the fans thought?
SC: It helped push me forward and motivate me to work harder. I was reading so many stories about people being unhappy that I got the role—and don’t get me wrong, I don’t sit here Googling myself 24/7—but I think part of me was eager to learn what I needed to do in order to become the Finnick the fans needed me to be. The negative comments made that easier to know what their expectations of me were.Read the whole interview here. It's an interesting read.
It's funny to think that Sam Claflin didn't realize at first that the role of Finnick was such a big deal and was a part of The Hunger Games. Also it's great to know that he really cares about the fans' opinions, even the negative ones, so much that he took them into account in how he portrayed Finnick.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
COVERGIRL Reveals First Capitol Looks!
Are you looking forward to the new Catching Fire COVERGIRL line? They just released the first looks on their Facebook page:
The Hunger Games #CatchingFire hits theaters in November and we couldn't be more excited. Now, presenting the first two looks from our#CapitolCOVERGIRL campaign.
It's COVERGIRL the way you've never seen us before. Stay tuned for more (plus brand-new products) between now and November.
What products are you hoping for? Whatever they are, we are pretty sure they will be absolutely and totally ABNOSOME*!!!
Source: Facebook
*abnormal in an awesome way
Catching Fire World Premiere to be........in London?
LIONSGATE TO UNVEIL THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE WITH WORLD PREMIERE IN LONDON ON NOVEMBER 11, 2013
Announcement Starts 100-Day Countdown to Film’s Releasein Theatres Around The World on November 22 Santa Monica, CA and London, UK August 13, 2013 – With 100 days and counting until the November 22 worldwide launch of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the second installment of Lionsgate’s global blockbuster Hunger Gamesfranchise, the Company announced today that it will host a Catching Fire world premiere in London on November 11.
Catching Fire will open day-and-date with its domestic release in nearly every major international territory. The firstHunger Games film was the 13th highest-grossing North American release of all time on its way to generating nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office.
This is....sort of weird, right? I know there are Hunger Games fans all over the world, but this is an American franchise set in North America with mostly American actors, so why is the World Premiere in London?
What do you guys think about this?
Friday, August 9, 2013
Coldplay to Release "Atlas" from Catching Fire Soundtrack on August 26!
LIONSGATE AND REPUBLIC RECORDS ANNOUNCE THAT COLDPLAY WILL RELEASE FIRST TRACK TITLED “ATLAS” FROM "THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE" SOUNDTRACK ONAUGUST 26
Deal Marks First Time the Multi-Grammy® Winning Band will Record for a Motion Picture
NEW YORK, NY and SANTA MONICA, CA August 9, 2013 - Multiplatinum recording artist Coldplay will release the first track from the official soundtrack album for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, it was announced today by Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Republic Records, marking the first time Coldplay has ever recorded an original song for a motion picture. The song, titled “Atlas,” is scheduled to be available via iTunes and all digital retailers on August 26, 2013. Republic Records is again teaming up with Lionsgate to release the soundtrack in advance of Lionsgate distributing the film on screens worldwide on November 22, 2013.
"I have great respect and admiration for Coldplay, and we are thrilled with how well they have connected to the themes and ideas within the film," said filmmaker Francis Lawrence. "Their unwavering passion and excitement for the project elevated the collaboration even further, and we can't wait to share this music with audiences around the world."
"We are so honored that Coldplay, one of the iconic rock bands of our generation, will perform the first song out on the new soundtrack," said Tracy McKnight, Lionsgate's Head of Film Music. "Knowing that Chris Martin is a fan of the books makes this even more meaningful. The Coldplay single underscores the stature of recording artists we've assembled for this powerful soundtrack."
Monte Lipman, Chairman & CEO of Republic Records, stated, "The creative alliance between Coldplay and The Hunger Games franchise will create a level of excitement and anticipation of epic proportions."
Coldplay is one of the top recording artists of recent times, selling over 60 million records worldwide and winning seven Grammy Awards and five MTV Video Awards, among other honors. They are signed to Parlophone, the legendary label known for The Beatles, Radiohead, Queen, David Guetta and more.
The first installment of The Hunger Games was the 13th highest-grossing North American release of all time on its way to grossing nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office.
This is the first in a series of highly anticipated announcements of the new artists to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
EW: Changes from Book to Film
Check out three changes in Catching Fire that are different than the books:
1) “We made some changes to Peeta’s narrative,” says Lawrence. “We manned him up a little. And by the way it didn’t take a lot, just little choices to make here and there. The story doesn’t really change, his relationship with Katniss doesn’t change, he’s just a different kind of character.” For instance, in the book, the Hunger Games kicks off and Peeta is paralyzed when the other all-star tributes dive into the water. “The option is for either me drowning or sitting there like a cat batting my paw into the water,” says Josh Hutcherson with a laugh. “Either way the visual is horrible.” Easy fix: Let Peeta swim.
2) Goodbye Bonnie and Twill. In the book, Katniss stumbles upon the District 8 refugees in her father’s hunting cabin. There they reveal to a stunned Katniss the existence of District 13 and news of the spreading revolution our hero unintentionally sparked with her act of rebellion at the end of The Hunger Games. So the movie had to find a new way to introduce the news of District 13. “That’s fun,” says Lawrence, “figuring out new ways around things and new ways of doing things.”
3) Darius, we hardly know ye. District 12′s youngest peacekeeper, who pays dearly for intervening during that terrible scene of Gale’s public whipping, didn’t make the jump from page to screen. It’s another instance of storytellers having to drown one of their kittens. “It’s as agonizing for us to lose things from the book as it is for a fan,” says producer Nina Jacobson. “I want every single thing in there. But you know what? If you have to give up something in order to give more time to Katniss and Gale or to Effie as she starts to feel a conscience, you make the sacrifices in order to serve the characters and themes that are more essential.”
Source: EW
Our thoughts? Although some disappointments we admit, yet we cannot say we are surprised. Peeta being "manned up"? Well, Gary Ross made that slight adjustment in the first film and we agree that Peeta shouldn't be totally helpless in the arena. That being said, it's strange that Peeta knows how to swim when he would have absolutely no knowledge of that whatsoever. But then we remember it's a movie so I guess logic flies out the window.
We already knew about Bonnie & Twill, and we always thought they would be cut out of the film. We were, however, crossing our fingers for Darius. It's another tool that Snow uses to unhinge Katniss, and Hunger Games fans have been haunting IMDB to find out if he made the cut. Now that we know for sure Darius won't be in the film, I suppose it was silly to think he'd be in it since Gary Ross never established the Avox storyline. Those story points were never laid down, so I suppose it was very easy to get rid of that character.
What are your thoughts on these changes? Let us know in the comments!
NEW Katniss Still and Scans from EW!
Recently EW released a *BRAND NEW* Catching Fire still, and scans from the article thanks to our buddies over at Panem Propaganda!
Source: EW Facebook and Panem Propaganda
EW Interview with Trish Summerville
Check out this nifty interview with Trish Summerville, the costume designer on Catching Fire. She talks about her inspirations, career, and her take on the Peacekeeper uniforms.
Entertainment Weekly: How have the past 18 months or so been for you?Trish Summerville: [It's] been a little hectic. I guess I kind of went from Dragon, which I was on from start to finish — including the H&M line — almost 18 months, and from that right into doing the pilot for the Showtime show Ray Donovan, which I just got to see. They had a screening and a premiere, and it was a great time. It looks really good. I’m really excited. And I kind of went from that into Catching Fire. It’s been great, it’s been a lot of work but I like to work a lot, so it’s been really nice. It’s been a really great whirlwind and I feel really, really fortunate because the last few projects that I’ve been on, even though they’ve been a bit challenging at times, I feel really fulfilled, and I’ve gotten to work with such a great group of people. Especially when you look at all of the directors and actors involved.
Was there a person or a designer or a look that really got you interested in design?
Oh, well, I don’t know. That’s so long ago! I think from junior high up I knew I wanted to do something kind of in fashion, but I wasn’t really sure what it would be. I think then, it’s like, I really followed, if I was thinking like clothing lines, it would have been a lot like Blondie. I was really into Blondie, and Billy Idol, and I think it was a lot of being creatively driven by a lot of musicians. At that time I didn’t even know I would work with musicians, like I didn’t even know if [people] really did that. I thought, “Oh, you know, they probably just get a lot of their own clothes.”
Between Blondie and just looking at anything that Jean Paul Gaultier did, that’s when I realized, “Oh my God, there’s such a big world out there of so many creative looks, and opinions, and what is considered fashion.” Because, you know, I’m from New Orleans, so it’s like, we have our own kind of crazy characters that live there, but there was nothing like that. And I was in the punk scene when I was young. I kind of went from mod to a bit punk. I think it was just part of the trends, of Blondie and Gaultier, seeing those people and what they did made me realize. And Vivienne Westwood, because at that time I didn’t know Vivienne Westwood, who was responsible for a lot of the Sex Pistols’ fashion. I think that just kind of prompted me into thinking outside of the box, what was considered the norm and what was considered fashion, what was more like street fashion. I was into it, and musicians.
Who are your inspirations these days?
There are some designers that I really, really love and am inspired by, and aren’t always applicable for things. For the last, I guess it’s almost two years, I’ve been really obsessed with Iris van Herpen. The stuff she does is so groundbreaking and technical, and architectural, that she really just blows my mind. And she’s so young. The techniques she comes up with and all this 3-D fabrication she’s doing, and holograms, and just the materials that she’s using, and the structure that she does, the applications, and the shoes. I just think she’s really phenomenal. She did a pair of shoes she called the Fang Shoe, which I was obsessed with. I know she just did a water dress, but there was quite a bit before that.
Was there one look you created that you would say changed everything for you?
One of the funny ones, I guess, that got talked about was the David LaChapelle video for Christina Aguilera’s ”Dirty.” [The chaps] got a lot of attention. And it was just so funny because everyone kept calling them “ass-less chaps,” but in general, chaps don’t have a bum. Good or for bad, that definitely got a lot of attention. When I look at what I think was kind of pivotal, it’s Lisbeth Salander’s look from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I wanted it to be really authentic and it was very genuine, as opposed to when you do a lot of music stuff it has a lot of flash, it has to make a statement and be bold. Whereas what I really enjoy about film is that you have this character development. It’s about those authenticities of what that character would really do and how they function every day in life. It’s not just about fashion. Like with Lisbeth, we went fully for function, the function of her clothes and what she could find, and how she would really wear it in her life. You know, the drop-crotch pants with the tight-fitted leather jacket, the fingerless gloves, and the taped-up combat boots. I think was a really iconic look.
What was the last look that you designed?
The last thing I designed would have been, I guess in Catching Fire, some of the looks in that are pretty intense, very colorful, so that was great fun because it took me completely into another world that’s not particularly my aesthetic. I like a lot of muted tones and unsaturated, washed out… and that was great because it propelled my mind to think in a really different manner because it is quite over the top. It’s kind of futuristic, but it’s not sci-fi on any level. It’s really bold and really colorful and quite campy at times, then it gets really serious. I tried to bring a little bit of darkness to it, you’re seeing a world that was already created in a book. You want to try to be really respectful to the writers, and you want to be respectful to the fan base, but then you also have to figure out what works visually and what you can bring to it as well. [And] I did the second installation so there’s certain things you want to be respectful about for the characters from the first one, but then also show a period of growth and transition.
I love the Peacekeepers that I did. I wanted to make them look a little more menacing, kind of insect-like. I draw a lot in my inspiration boards from different projects, a lot from nature, and animals, and insects. I just think that there’s so much there, in silhouettes and colors. The colors, they’re amazing, when you look in the insect world, and at in animals and nature. I wanted to make these Peacekeepers… after the first film, I felt like they needed to be bumped up a bit, because of what was going on in the second film with the rebellion that’s starting. I felt that we needed to show a transition, that the Capitol is stepping up its forces and making it much more intimidating and fearsome. So I went for this sort of spiny, praying mantis sort of look for them.
About your inspiration board, can you tell me what kinds of things are on it and how they inspire you?Source: Entertainment Weekly
For each project I do a new inspiration board. For Catching Fire I think we had probably 30, 40, 60 inspiration boards, because I did them for every district and every kind of character we had. On my personal board I have some photographs of native Americans, the Maasai tribe up, which I love, the east Indian painted elephants used for weddings and ceremonies.
Whether it’s for my designs or for my own aesthetic pleasure I’m really drawn to, tribal, native, cultural ways of dress. They’re so interesting and intricate, and generally have beadwork and metalwork. I also like the ideas that there’s this traditional, ceremonial fashion, but also this function. Like, I just recently purchased an image from a water.org benefit and they do this hike up Kilimanjaro to raise consciousness about clean water. There was this image that I just loved, and it was probably 20 Maasai women, in white beading and accessories, and I just loved that they all have on contemporary shoes. People go there and trade things for their jewelry and their cloth and things like that, and so this image is just all these beautiful Maasai women in traditional garb, but then they’re all wearing sneakers and flip flops. I like that. I like that they’ll make bracelets out of Coca-Cola cans. They take what they have and then make it functional and use very interesting forms of adornment.
What else is on your personal board right now?
I have an image of an Iris van Herpen dress.
How does that inspire you?
That one inspires me just because, it looks very insect-like. It’s so modern but it’s really structural, and I love the silhouette of it. It’s very extreme. I have some [pictures of] Haider Ackermann designs. I think he’s really genius and really chic, and his clothes are quite beautiful and really sexy. I have pictures of rocks and stones because I’m interested in doing a jewelry line. I’ve been doing some sketches, and on my table I have a lot of loose stones and rocks. There’s a piece of barbed wire from a bracelet I made. And then, on the funny side of me, there are some inspirational quotes that I put up from time to time. I have a picture of Obama and the Dalai Lama, some family photos.
What are you working on next?
I’m working on a movie, hopefully next year. It’s under wraps still. I’m crossing my fingers it’s shooting in [Los Angeles], which would be amazing. I live in Los Angeles. I hear the talk of Old Hollywood and how everything was shot here, but now so much stuff is shot outside of town.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
TeeFury: Katniss Nouveau
Get this shirt at TeeFury.com! Everyday they release a shirt and so many art nouveau styles have come and gone, but TODAY's is Hunger Games themed!
Moviefone Unscripted: Submit Your Questions
It's that time again. Submit your questions by 11:59PM ET tonight to Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin and Jena Malone!
To help prepare you for the November 22 release of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," we're doing something special. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, and Jena Malone (that's right, all four of them) will be joining Moviefone for a very Capitol-worthy episode of Unscripted, and we're giving you the chance to ask the cast anything you want!
You'll have until Sunday, August 4 at 11:59 p.m. ET to submit questions. Leave them in the comments below, on Moviefone's Facebook wall, or via Twitter using the hashtag #unscriptedHG. Make sure to head back to Moviefone closer to the movie's release date to see if the "Catching Fire" cast answered your question!If you're not familiar with Moviefone's Unscripted interviews, take a gander at the awesome fun times that was the last Unscripted interview with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Banks.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Lionsgate Auctioning Off 5 Poster Packages For Charity
If you want some The Hunger Games: Catching Fire posters and help a good cause at the same time, here's your chance!
From the press release:
LIONSGATE is auctioning off five poster packages from CATCHING FIRE that include a poster signed by Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Willow Shields, Stephanie Leigh Schlund, Meta Golding, and Bruno Gunn from the 2013 San Diego Comic Con benefiting The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation . The winning bidders will receive the studio certified posters with a signed letter verifying their authenticity. Auctions begin today and will end August 7, 2013 . Interested fans and collectors should be aware there are only a limited amount available.
Included In This Package: * CATCHING FIRE Poster signed by Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Willow Shields, Stephanie Leigh Schlund, Meta Golding, and Bruno Gunn* CATCHING FIRE Pin* Comic Con Quarter Quell Posters* Katniss, Peeta, & Finnick Capitol Portrait Posters
To bid on the poster packages, visit these links:
Package #1
Package #2
Package #3
Package #4
Package #5