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Assouline, US Weekly, People, New York Daily News, Time, Refinery 29 and W Magazine have released some never-before-seen images and quotes from the upcoming book Tim Palen: Photographs From The Hunger Games. Tim Palen, Lionsgate's recently promoted chief brand officer and president of worldwide marketing, is also the fine-art photographer behind The Hunger Games' viral marketing campaigns.
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The striking shot of the Everdeen sisters (formally titled "The Sister Portrait") marks the only time that Palen has ever photographed Willow Shields. The photographer was only set to shoot Jennifer Lawrence on the set of Mockingjay – Part 1 in Atlanta, but when he found out that Shields was filming that day, Palen felt he needed to get a shot of them together. "In Suzanne Collins's books, their relationship is really the heartbeat of the book series and movies," he said. "It really tracks back to this reluctant hero who makes the biggest sacrifice for her sister. It was prophetic that we would happen to get them together on the day Jennifer Lawrence became the Mockingjay.
"Photographing Natalie Dormer is like shooting a wild, feral animal. She just looks badass. Sometimes, you’re shooting 18 people in one day, some of whom are actors who don’t like being photographed. But she knows how to move and to have her picture taken.” - Tim Palen
“We shot this in Hawaii, after Catching Fire wrapped. We had Jen for the whole day; it was the most time we ever got with her. She glows for real. Like, she’s dewy all the time. You could shoot her with a camera from Walgreens, and she would look stunning.”
"Incredible. She gives such levity and light to the series. And when you get deeper into the movies, she gets more crucial because of that fact," Palen explained about this portrait of Elizabeth Banks. "Suzanne Collins called Catching Fire the book of color: 'Don't be afraid to use color in the campaign for this because it might be your last chance.' It was so great to have Effie really make that strategy really come to life." Banks wore an original by costume designer Trish Summerville, which Palen called one of his favorites. "Every time Elizabeth showed up on set, it was [like] Tinker Bell had shown up."
Like Banks, Palen praised Woody Harrelson's ability to inhabit his character in every way, as he did for this Catching Fire-era portrait. "He was always very Haymitch. When Lenny Kravitz shows up, he's the coolest man on the planet, and he's full of style and reeks sex appeal, [and] Elizabeth Banks is this crazy cartoon character," he said. "Woody Harrelson always showed up as Haymitch, in a good way. It made everything really easy and really efficient."
"Trish Summerville made every costume have something directly related to the district they were from, and her neckline is made out of cork because she's from the lumber district. And her bracelets and maybe earrings were made of nails."
Shooting Sam Claflin for the Hunger Games publicity campaigns is apparently a breeze (surprise, surprise). Palen called the actor "a natural. He never wanted playback. He'd say, 'I know what I look like.'" But then again, he admitted, "It's impossible to take a bad picture of Sam Claflin."
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“Elizabeth Banks during the making of the second movie, Catching Fire. From Suzanne Collins’ point of view, this was the book of color—so we had Effie Trinket in this pink carnation dress, which I think was Alexander McQueen. That’s our brilliant costume designer, Trish Summerville, with her back to the camera.”
Lenny Kravitz also praised Palen's understanding of the series and its characters: "I recognized what Tim's influences were when I first met him. We understood each other, and when I saw what he had shot, I realized who he was. I was like, 'Okay, this guy knows exactly what he is doing and is so on-point.'"
If you want to be the first to get your hands on the book, it will be available from June 29th through Assouline for $75.00 (you can pre-order it now) and July 1st at The Hunger Games Exhibition.
If you don't mind waiting until July 29th, you can also purchase the book on Amazon. Current list price there is $50.09.
See the rest of the images we've seen from the book so far here, here and here.
Thanks to QuarterQuell.org for the tip!