Jennifer, Josh, Liam, Francis and Nina Talk Mockingjay Part 2 in Total Film Magazine
Molly Fri, October 23, 2015 ;)
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Francis Lawrence and Nina Jacobson talk about the end of the game changing franchise in the December issue of Total Film.
In the article, producer Nina Jacobson talks about the bond the three leads Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth share:
The most heartening thing is to see how close they’ve become with each other. They became a family. They became incredibly close. They grew up together in the way that other people of that age are going to college. Instead they had this experience."
Jacobson says Mockingjay Part 2 is the film "where Katniss takes control of the narrative, where she sets the agenda for the movie. I think for Jen to step into the role as the leader, as the one calling the shots for a good part of the movie, and the attendant burden of that, was something that she was very ready to play."
On recognizing Jennifer Lawrence's star power in the Katniss casting process Jacobson says:
It’s crazy to imagine that yes, there was a moment when Jen Lawrence had to audition for a role, and that’s unimaginable now – and that was not that long ago. But then she came in to audition and the audition was ridiculously moving and made the casting director cry. Nobody was ever going to get that part besides her. Star quality? Yes, of course. She felt like a movie star from the second I saw her in Winter's Bone."
On the possibility of a Hunger Games sequel or prequel, the story is over for Nina Jacobson. For now. "I don't have any idea for how to extend it and I don't have any plans right now. If Suzanne Collins called me up one day and said, 'I have an idea.' I'd be there in a second. But, I would always follow her lead and right now there are no plans. I wouldn't know how to do it myself and I wouldn't want to do it if she didn't. If it didn't come from her."
On the possibility of the inevitable Hunger Games reboot in 20 years, director Francis Lawrence laughs, "The way the business is going now it seems like they would! It's like you would be doing it in less than 20 years."
Jennifer Lawrence says, "Of course they will. I don’t think it’s surreal at all. I think it’s a totally realistic possibility. Good luck to them!"
"I want to play Haymitch, " jokes Josh Hutcherson, "You can be Effie." He turns to Hemsworth, "You can be Snow. The son we didn't know about." Hemsworth grins, running with it, "I'm really bitter towards you guys because of what happened."
"It's great." enthuses Hutcherson, "We're going to write it. Jen and Amy Schumer!" Adds Jen, nodding, "It'll be the most dramatic thing you've ever seen."
Reader Comments (1)
I always get excited hearing about the sequel and prequel possibilities because there's so much more of Panem to be explored--and so many ways to do it, even though everybody is all about the big epic blockbusters and tends to assume that that's the only option. But the recent replacement of "The Hunger Games" with "The World of the Hunger Games" is no coincidence; they're definitely opening the door for expansion. Nina's words reassure me, however, because I wouldn't want to see a beautiful thing get messed up by greedy arrogance. "Anything with 'Hunger Games' on it is guaranteed to rake in millions; let's get on the next one right now!" You can't break away from the person who started this thing, certainly; that's often the point at which a franchise begins losing control and going down the tubes. You want to leave the door open, but only to the right ideas at the right time. I'm sure Lionsgate will respect the need to have patience and maintain THG's integrity.
OMG--Joshifer graduating from playing Everlark to playing Hayffie? XDD That'd be the most hilarious thing. In all seriousness, though...I wouldn't be too interested in a reboot. The whole reboot frenzy seems to just be code for "All the good ideas have been used up." x-p What DOES interest me? A sequel about the future, and a prequel about the history of Panem (establishment of the Games? Haymitch's, Finnick's, Johanna's?) I don't mind if we need to center around someone other than Katniss; as a matter of fact, it would be fascinating to see things from someone else's perspective. I mean, when something's good enough for fans to get THIS invested in it, when it means THIS much to people...I'm sure most of us would devour the simplest "slice of life" sequels that could exist. ;p
This whole stage show thing is curious to me; are they using that extremely limiting format to "test out" sequels/expansions/reenactments of major films before moving full-steam ahead with new material, or something? Because apparently--and inexplicably, if it's true--there's going to be another play in London focusing on Harry Potter and one of his sons. o_O I'm hugely stoked about Fantastic Beasts, but how one can even conceive of sequelizing HP in any form but writing or film is pretty baffling. I'm all for "next generation" stuff, but all I can say is, the scripts and recordings of these performances had better be made available worldwide! D8 (Is the HG stage show supposed to be just a reenactment of the first film/book, or what? Dang.)