Photo by Williams + HirakawaJennifer Lawrence, Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson are featured on the cover of the latest Variety, along with a great article and NEW PHOTOS!
photo by Williams + Hirakawa
Photo by Murray Close
Photos by Tim Palen/Lionsgate
In the upcoming Catching Fire, Katniss returns for another fight to the death after her Hunger Games victory has sparked a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
“She really is the reluctant hero,” Lawrence says of her character. “She’s brave, but she’s also scared, and she knows that things may wind up being far worse.”
On the set, the actress is anything but reluctant about returning to the role, despite the pressure of portraying a screen personality that’s become iconic. “I love being here,” she allows. “It’s like going back to school where it’s a really fun school.”
Jacobson, whose producing endeavors also include the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” films and the underperformer “One Day,” starring Anne Hathaway, appreciates the “just-folks” side of Lawrence — and Jacobson has worked with a lot of A-list stars during her years as a studio executive.
“She’s not a diva — she’s the anti-diva,” she says of Lawrence. “One of my favorite moments is where she has the wedding dress on for the interview (scene) in ‘Catching Fire.’ It’s a big cumbersome dress, and she fell down, so we played that over and over on the monitors. There’s such a lack of pretense with Jen; she’s more than happy to laugh at herself.”
Jacobson recalls that one of the keys in choosing Lawrence was finding an actress who had not yet broken through in the public’s mind.
“We knew that we had to cast someone who wasn’t already strongly identified with another role,” she notes. “ ‘Winter’s Bone’ was an incredible audition. We wanted someone who was nurturing, with a sort of feminine ferocity.”
Francis Lawrence, who succeeded Ross as director for the franchise starting with “Catching Fire,” is equally effusive about his leading lady.
“Jen inherited me as a director, and was great about it,” he recalls. “I called her when she was in Prague, and gave her my pitch, and I was stunned at how easy that part of it was. She’s the most consistent person on the set.”
Production on the “Mockingjay” films began Sept. 29, with a break to come in November so that the stars can properly promote “Catching Fire” — which will compete with other widely anticipated holiday sequels, such as December’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”
Lionsgate will debut the “Mockingjay” films on the same November weekends in 2014 and 2015. Francis Lawrence admits it’s going to be a challenge to get three tentpole films out of the gate in three years.
“There’s something to be said for working with a gun to your head as opposed to working to develop something without a start date,” he muses. “It’s a different set of muscles. You think about it harder.”
Read more at Variety.com