Francis Lawrence Talks about the Loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay director Francis Lawrence spoke with USA Today about the sudden loss of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman:

The Atlanta cast and crew of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay were devastated when they learned of cast member Phillip Seymour Hoffman's sudden death, says director Francis Lawrence.

"It was obviously very rough for all of us," Lawrence tells USA TODAY. "He was a friend. He was an amazing actor, an iconic actor. He was someone I really looked up to."

On the Atlanta set, filmmakers gave shocked and bereaved cast and crew members time to process their grief. "We shut down for a day to give people time to deal with the sudden shock of it all. And to try and sort of figure things out a little bit," says Lawrence.

After coming back to work, the entire cast and crew gathered for a special moment to pay respects to Hoffman.

"We as a cast and crew definitely honored him," says Lawrence. "We gathered everyone together and had a big moment for him. We still think about him every day. It's hard not to imagine him being here."

"It's something so sudden, so shocking," Lawrence added.

Hoffman starred as head gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The Academy Award winner had been shooting his role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 in Atlanta. A European shoot was to follow.

Hoffman's death is not expected to affect therelease dates of Mockingjay, Part 1 on November 21and Mockingjay, Part 2 on November 20, 2015.

Lawrence said Hoffman was "mostly finished" with his work on the Mockingjay set.

"There was very, very little that was left. Even if (Hoffman) had a number of days left," says Lawrence. "Most of those moments were appearances in other scenes. Most of his dialogue was done."

Clearly, working with the loss of the key character will lead to some continued difficulties.

"We're still figuring some of that out," says Lawrence.