Catching Fire Movie
Hunger Games Filming
Moviefone: Why Was Director Steven Soderbergh On The Set Of The Hunger Games
Director Steven Soderbergh opened up to Moviefone recently while promoting his new film Contagion on why he was on the set of the Hunger Games in North Carolina last month.
I show up in North Carolina, a crewmember Tweets, “Steven Soderbergh’s here.” And immediately the f*cking firestorm starts. “Why is he here? What’s going on? Is the movie in trouble? Is he directing footage from the second one?” All of this crazy-ass speculation. People just spinning off.
The story is really simple. Back in April, [director] Gary [Ross] — who is a close friend of mine I’ve exchanged creative favors with non-stop over the last 15 years — when he got the boards for the shoot in April called me and said, “Hey, first week of August, I got these two days of second unit. Is there any way you can come down and help me out? Because I’d rather have you do it than hire somebody who I don’t know.” I said, “Actually, that works out.” We’ll just be finishing ‘Contagion’ and prepping ‘Magic Mike’ and, yeah, it could be fun.
Cut to two months later, and I show up to do this thing. Of course the whole design of it and what’s fun about it, for me, is my job is to come in and duplicate exactly what Gary and Tom Stern, the [cinematographer], are doing. To mimic as closely as I can to their aesthetic. And that’s what I attempted to do. But if I’ve done my job properly, I hope I did, by design, you won’t be able to tell what I did. Because it’s supposed to cut seamlessly into what they’re doing. That’s the whole point. That’s why he asked me to come down, because he knew that I would be rigorous about matching what they were doing.
You know, he showed me stuff on either side of the area in which I was going to be shooting stuff and we talked at length. And I thought, OK, I see what you guys are doing. I know what the tool kit is. I know what the rules are. And it’s fun in a way. I found it much more nerve-wracking than when you’re shooting for yourself. Because I was constantly thinking, Oh, I hope that he likes this. I hope he likes that.
Did Soderbergh feel an excitement that he had not felt in some time?
Yeah! Well, first of all it was film, which I totally forgot existed. So that was new. And, yeah, I mean I was really back to that situation of being the person who has to please someone else – as opposed to pleasing myself. And that made me really anxious. You know, I wanted to do a good job… Gary is a friend of mine.
Oh wow! Steven Soderbergh as the second unit director! SCHWEET! I really want to see Contagion too!
[Source: Moviefone]
MTV: Director Gary Ross Gives Exclusive Commentary & Answers The Burning Questions!
MTV has an exclusive interview with Hunger Games director Gary Ross on location filming in North Carolina via Skype!
Katniss Vision
Suzanne Collins’ novel is a first-person tale, and it’s clear from the teaser Ross is striving to capture that same sort of immediate access into Katniss’ head. “I think one of the most important things when you adapt a book like this is to give people the experience they really had when they read it — the same kind of visceral experience they had,” he explained. “I think [the reason] everybody felt so strongly in what Suzanne did was that they were with this character, they understood her, they were in her shoes, they were in her head. It was such an intense first-person experience. My job in making a film is first and foremost to reflect that.“How do we get inside Katniss’ head? How do we feel what she’s feeling? How do we become her?” Ross continued. “The first thing that allows you to do that is Jennifer Lawrence, because she’s such an unbelievable actor. She has so much depth and power and talent and sophistication and sensitivity and subtly that she’s become Katniss Everdeen synonymously. I hope people feel about Jen and Katniss at the end of this three-book cycle the way they feel about Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter — that they’ve become very, synonymous with one another.”
Gale’s Voiceover
That voiceover you hear during the trailer? That’s Katniss’ District 12 pal Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). And Ross has a very specific idea in mind about the importance of making Gale a part of this initial footage (and not Katniss’ Hunger Games companion, Peeta Mellark).“As everyone knows, Gale is an enormous part of Katniss’ life, but he’s not as big a part of the first book as he is the subsequent books,” the director told us. “I think he’s very, very present and he’s tremendously important, but of course we shift into the Capitol and then the arena, where Peeta ends up playing a more prominent role. But he’s in her head, he’s in her life, he’s something that echoes with her throughout the games, as any reader of the book knows, so he plays an obviously prominent role.”
The Difficulty of the Shoot
Though Ross and his team didn’t have to contend with giant fireballs in the woods, as Katniss does in the first look, the filmmaker revealed that the set in the North Carolina forest posed quite a challenge to the production. “This was like shooting in Vietnam,” he said. “I felt like I was making ‘Apocalypse Now.’ The thing was so rigorous. We spent something like six weeks outside in the jungle every day, hiking up and down mountains with cameras and in the mud and in driving rain storms. We all felt it, but nobody felt it as much as Jen did. It’s been an intense physical experience for her.”Just Getting Started
While Ross was proud to show off this initial footage, he told us this is only the beginning and that there are a few scenes and characters in particular that he can’t wait for people to see in the future. “We’re still shooting, so unfortunately, it’s just a teaser,” he said. “We could only give you a little bit, because we’re still down here making the movie. I’ve got to leave in half an hour and shoot. But there’s a lot of things to come that I think are going to be hugely epic and very emotional and incredibly powerful. I think that we’ve done wonderful things with the mutts. I think that we’ve done a tremendous job bringing the Capitol to life, and I think that’s going to be really, really exciting for people to see. And all the performances! Wait till you see Stanley Tucci do Caesar Flickerman.”
So, I wonder we’ll hear Gale’s voice when Katniss is in the arena? I can’t wait for Stanley Tucci as Caesar!!
Jennifer has become Katniss!
[Source: MTV]
Access Hollywood: Elizabeth Banks Says The Fans Are Not Going To Be Disappointed With ‘Hunger Games’!
Access Hollywood talked to Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket) while promoting her new film Our Idiot Brother. Elizabeth talked a little bit about The Hunger Games, shooting the Capitol scenes with Lenny Kravitz (Cinna) and the fans are not going to be disappointed! YES! Thank you! Plus she’s Team Peeta!
[Source: AccessHollywood]
Hunger Games Filming News: Filming Updates On Filming Capitol Scenes!
Tona B. Dahlquist Casting has provided some pretty awesome details surrounding the filming of the scenes from the Capitol for the Hunger Games movie -
- Those with an unusual and/or unique look.
- Extreme characters of all shapes and sizes.
- Those willing to allow anything needed to be done to their hair.
- High Fashion Models –Males & Females.
- “The Beautiful People” Adults of all ages.
- All Capitol scenes will be shot in the Charlotte and Concord areas (as suspected, and likely on sound stages)
- Filming with extras will take place on or around Aug. 1-3, 9-12, 15 and 22 (could change due to scheduling and/or weather since it’s still a month away)
- Approximately 50 of the extras will give up total control of their hair, which could result in an extreme color, cut, and/or style
- Hair colors could be as extreme as silver, blue, pink, orange, etc.
- A top stylist will be flown in from LA to oversee the hair transformations, described as “beautiful and will look amazing!”
Eeeek! So excited!! I cannot wait to see the unique people from the Capitol!
[via The Hob]
Hunger Games Filming News: Update on Filming At The North Fork Reservoir
The Citizen-Times has a new article giving some details surrounding filming of the Hunger Games at the prestigious North Fork Reservoir in North Carolina -
Question: Perhaps I missed it somewhere, but has anyone asked how “The Hunger Games” movie crew is getting permission to film at the North Fork Reservoir? I thought that place was off-limits to everyone. In fact, there may even be rumors of offenders being sent off to prisons in Romania. Seriously, I thought no one was allowed to go there, yet, apparently, the movie crew will even set off fireworks/pyrotechnics there. Won’t that mess up our water?
My answer: Call me crazy, but I like my drinking water to have that little extra zing to it that only spent gunpowder can provide.
Real answer: “With respect to the North Fork Reservoir, the only production company the city has an agreement with is Ludus Productions for the filming of ‘Artemis,’” said Dawa Hitch, a spokeswoman for the city of Asheville, referring to the working title for “The Hunger Games.”
“The production company must meet the stringent restrictions of the conservation easement that has been placed on the site. The Conservation Trust of NC was involved in all negotiations regarding the city’s granting of use of the North Fork property for film production and granted its approval prior to the city entering into the agreement with Ludus.”
The production company also had “to meet all state, local permitting requirements and they have obtained an operational fire permit, allowing for the use of special effects, from the city,” Hitch said. Those special effects are subject to inspection from city fire department workers.
Sounds like the cast and crew were very lucky to have the opportunity to film at this location!
You can read the rest of the interview here!
Leven Rambin (Glimmer) Shares Her Battle Wounds Via Twitter!
Hunger Games movie Tribute Leven Rambin (aka Glimmer) shared a picture of her very bruised legs recently. Battle wounds from the arena? I think so!
Hunger Games Filming News: Filming Has Wrapped For Willow Shields (Prim)
Hunger Games movie actress Willow Shields (aka Primrose Everdeen) recently shared on her official Facebook Page that her scenes in the Hunger Games movie are completed.
I can’t wait to see Willow in the movie, I think she’ll be fantastic as Prim!
Make sure you follow HungerGamesMovie.org on Facebook and Twitter!
Hunger Games Filming News: More Filming Updates From Russ Bowen!
News anchor Russ Bowen has provided more filming details, and pictures, from the most recent Hunger Games set in North Carolina -
- Filming has moved to Pisgah National Forrest, believed to be a location where the arena/games are being filmed
- Liam Hemsworth was spotted at the Charlotte airport on Friday
Check out more pictures after the break!
Hunger Games Script Rumors: More Steamy Love Triangle?
Gossip magazine Life & Style is reporting they have an exclusive sneak peek at The Hunger Games movie script. Apparently, more scenes were added for Liam Hemsworth (Gale) to create a steamier love triangle. ??
Move over, Twilight — The Hunger Games is ready to take over the pop-culture throne! Life & Style has exclusively obtained the script and can reveal all the juicy details of how the story’s been changed for the big screen!
Like Twilight, the most addictive part of the saga will be the love triangle between its three stars, played by sexy newcomers X-Men: First Class star Jennifer Lawrence, The Kids Are All Right’s Josh Hutcherson and Miley Cyrus’ on-and-off again beau Liam Hemsworth. But in The Hunger Games book, the first in Suzanne Collins’ series, Liam’s character is largely absent since he doesn’t compete in the Hunger Games (an annual staged fight to the death between one teen boy and one teen girl). Life & Style can reveal that in the script, scenes have been added in to give the heartthrob a larger role on-screen and make the love triangle steamier and a bigger aspect early on in the franchise.
And while the book is mainly set inside the Arena, where the characters battle in The Hunger Games, moviegoers will also get to see behind-the-scenes moments set outside the stadium, showcasing the fighters’ mentor Haymitch, played by Woody Harrelson.
Well, it is Life & Style, so let’s take this with a grain of salt.
I was wondering about these rumored ‘added Gale sexy scenes’. Of course Gale can’t be added into the games, BUT what if they added scenes of him watching the games? Longing for Katniss, upset over her and Peeta. Maybe.
What do you think?
[source: life&style via TheHob]
Hunger Games Filming News: Pictures & Details From The Dupont State Forrest!
News anchor Russ Bowen has provided his twitter followers with more filming information, and pictures, surrounding the filming of the Hunger Games. The location that he is currently reporting on is at the Dupont State Forrest!
Here is what he has reported on this specific set:
- Security is extremely tight
- Roads have been closed for filming
Check out more set pictures after the break!
