New Peeta Portrait & Lionsgate CMO Tim Palen Talks 'Catching Fire' Marketing

Peeta Mellark Photographed by Tim Palen

Check out this very interesting interview with Tim Palen, Chief Marketing Officer for Lionsgate. Tim spoke with RIPPmag's Jaqueline Miro about the marketing for Catching Fire. Palen sounds like a true renaissance man, photographing the marketing campaign HIMSELF and taking a completely hands-on approach to all aspects of the campaign. And yes, he DOES care what you guys think! I love this man. Read on:

By all accounts, Tim Palen is one of the catalysts of Lionsgate’s continuous growth at a critical time when film -- once deemed “spectacle for the masses” -- is becoming increasingly splintered into diverse audiences.

During his eleven-year tenure, Lionsgate Entertainment has experienced both a redefining of its mission, and a recrudescence in its audience. Lionsgate’s films have earned more than 40 Academy Award nominations and 10 Oscar wins, and Palen’s campaigns have received dozens of Key Art awards and other honors. Tim Palen does not feel comfortable claiming ownership of the title auteur, yet he is one of the most hands-on marketing execs in the business, conceptualizing campaigns, writing copy and even taking the photos that are used in the print campaigns for the movies he markets. The decisive moment of whether a movie works or not depends on the skill and intelligence with which all these elements are put together. And where a director has ninety minutes to tell a story, Tim has two and a half minutes max to flirt and seduce an audience.

From RIPPmag:

JM: HOW CHALLENGING WAS IT TO APPEAL TO A WIDE AUDIENCE IN A MOVIE LIKE THE HUNGER GAMES?

Tim Palen: There were a lot of challenges in marketing a beloved book especially knowing that it was the first of four films in a series. The best decision we made was to take our queues from the book – and we consider the words of Suzanne Collins to be our bible in marketing the film. The Hunger Games is a story about a reluctant hero who is forced into a world of violence and how institutionalized violence (i.e. war) changes everyone. One of the biggest  challenges fundamentally was how to handle the notion of kids killing kids. The books do not glorify violence and Katniss is not a killer. Sensationalizing that aspect of the story would be contrary to the core message of the books and we believed that it would be alienating to a huge part of the audience that love the books and that would love the movie.

JM: WHAT WAS THE FIRST CAMPAIGN YOU SHOT? CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A RECENT SHOOT AND HOW YOUR PROCESS WORKS?

Tim Palen: Most recently I shot the campaign for HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE. Because I also shot the campaign for the first HUNGER GAMES I have gotten to know the talent and there’s a certain level of trust and familiarity that has added a level of magic to the campaigns.

As a general rule, a photographer has a short window of time to connect with an actor and make them feel comfortable and safe and taken care of – most times it’s a matter of hours from the time they show up at the studio for hair/makeup before you have to dive right in. I think that’s one of the advantages of my job – I get to connect with the people I’m working with on a more intimate level than most marketing executives. It’s something I’m grateful for and something I never take for granted.

JM: WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC QUALIFIERS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WITH YOUR NEXT MARKETING CAMPAIGN…YOU JUST RELEASED THE FIRST TEASER FOR CATCHING FIRE(WHICH GOT OVER 28M VIEWS IN A LITTLE OVER A WEEK) BUT I’M SURE THERE WERE MANY CHALLENGES.

Tim Palen: The launch of the teaser trailer for CATCHING FIRE was a hugely pivotal moment in the ongoing HUNGER GAMES campaign. Because we have a franchise across four films, each piece is just part of the larger puzzle, and this step was even more crucial because we had such great success on the first film. At the same time we have a new director (Francis Lawrence), a new editor, a new cinematographer and a new costume designer. So I really needed this first glimpse of the second film to work hard to reassure the fan base that the characters they know and love are back and that the integrity we showed with the first movie is still intact. But almost equally important for me was to show that the stakes are higher, the drama  will be greater and that CATCHING FIRE will be taking the story of our reluctant hero Katniss Everdeen to a whole other level. I’m grateful that Francis Lawrence has delivered a gigantic movie that has so many rich and amazing pieces for me to play with. He’s really made my job a fun and easy one.

Probably the most satisfying thing I saw after the release of the teaser was a fan comment on one of the blogs that posted the trailer. I tend to be overly obsessive about reading and monitoring real fan reaction to the materials. This one comment did the most to reassure me that we had hit the mark with the new teaser trailer: “Shit’s getting real.” It doesn’t get better than that.

Tim Palen, Lionsgate CMO and all around renaissance man. Photo by Jack Pierson

“Tim is amazing. A true artist. The work he does reflects his impeccable taste and a truly singular point of view that only the strongest and surest of artists could present.”
— Francis Lawrence

Special thanks to Josholatras for discovering this article and photo! Follow them on twitter @josholatras

Elizabeth Banks Covers September Women's Health Magazine

Our Effie, Elizabeth Banks, is on the (double) cover of the September 2013 issue of Women's Health Magazine. 

Elizabeth Banks swears a lot. OK, maybe not a lot compared with, say, Chris Rock. But she definitely lets F-bombs fly more than most actresses would during an interview at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont. This is not a complaint, by the way. In fact, her potty mouth is pretty awesome. Equally refreshing? How frank Elizabeth is. She'll tell you exactly what she thinks unless she doesn't want to discuss something. If that's the case, she lets you know straight up instead of offering a canned answer.

Then there's her amazing sense of humor—no surprise, considering she's held her own alongside hilarious costars in everything from 30 Rock and Modern Family to the cult indie comedy Wet Hot American Summer.

Her schedule, however, is no joke. The 39-year-old is the mother of two boys (both under 3), runs a production company with her husband, Max Handelman, and in November will once again play Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. She shows up to lunch fresh from one meeting and afterward heads to another to pitch TV execs a show.

REad more at Women's Health

'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Trailer Edit "Stay Alive"

Check out a great an edit of the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer, "Stay Alive." There were reports that this edit is an official TV spot, but it's fan made. It's still a great edit of the trailer. Enjoy!

Amandla Stenberg On The Hunger Games & Race in Hollywood

RookieMag just posted a really interesting interview with Amandla Stenberg. She talks candidly about her experience with some of the (hopefully FEW, come on people!) negative reactions from her casting as Rue in The Hunger Games. Her maturity belies her youth, and is one of the many reasons we love her. 

What has been your favorite role to play so far?

I don’t know if I can pick a favorite, because my experience has been so varied. But what I loved about The Hunger Games is that it had a fantastic cast. It was basically like summer camp. We were all in the woods together for three months. There were a lot of pranks pulled and sleepovers and that kind of thing. It is kind of a rare experience where all the members of a cast like each other. There were no conflicts or anything.

Was it weird to have your Hunger Games character made into an action figure?

[Laughs] It was pretty bizarre. The Hunger Games was one of the very few films I’ve made, and I got an action figure! It was pretty crazy. It’s really cool. I love to play with it with my niece. I like the fact that it is an image of young girl and it is not a weird sexualized action figure like you often see.

Oprah recently interviewed Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad, and Gabrielle Union about the challenges black actresses face in Hollywood. They discussed the lack of quality roles for black women as well as the criticism women of color sometimes receive in a hostile and competitive media landscape. At this point in your acting career, have you experienced anything like this? If so, what is your hope for the future?

With The Hunger Games, there was some drama over the fact that a lot of people didn’t expect my character Rue to be African American. So, I received some negative feedback. I kind of distanced myself from it because it seemed very silly to me. I didn’t really think I needed to focus my energy on it.

I don’t really check my personal mentions that much on Twitter. I think it is best to abstain from looking at them rather than come across one negative comment and have it stick in my mind. This happens to a lot of young people in the industry, and it kind of breaks them down. When [those tweets] happened I really tried not to look at what was going on. It was pretty shocking to see some of the articles that compiled the tweets I received. I remember calling my friend Jackie Emerson and telling her I wouldn’t understand all of the drama even if Rue wasn’t supposed to be black, and she comforted me. She told me I had to realize it was nothing personal, but it was unfortunately how society was reacting to the “shocking” presence of an African American actress. [Laughs] I tried not to let it get to me.

I’ve also been told “We’re going in another direction” when I’ve auditioned for roles, and the “other direction” turns out to be a girl with blue eyes and blonde hair. I do agree that perhaps it is more competitive when you’re an African American actress. But at the same time, I can almost use it to demonstrate my ability, because since there are fewer roles for African American women, I can make a deeper impression. I can feel more special about my roles because I know I’ve worked hard to get where I am and I know that I’m one of the people who have made it.

In the future, I think there will be a lot more roles in this kind of new wave of African American actresses like Kerry Washington. Kerry Washington is really revolutionizing the industry. She’s a great role model for me

Be sure to check out the rest of RookieMag's article, and find out about Amandla's charity work and much more HERE. 

Wes Bentley on Jennifer Lawrence and 'The Hunger Games' Frenzy

Wes Bentley (Seneca Crane) recently spoke to NextMovie while promoting his film, The Time Being (in limited release today) and he talked a little about The Hunger Games fan frenzy, and the advice he gave to a certain newcomer on her rise to stardom (yes, it's Jennifer Lawrence). 

It must be nice to get away from all of the "Hunger Games" craziness, especially now that you have a family.
Oh yeah, I enjoy it. You know, actually the beard helped with that too. Now I can walk through a pack of teenage girls and not one of them would know who I am, since I don’t have that beard.

Do people ever recognize you on the street now?
Yeah.

What do they say? Do you have a celebrity doppelganger?
Yeah, I did for a long time — Tobey Maguire. I remember I was in Mexico in some random town, and someone yelled out "Spider-Man!" (Laughs) So I get that sometimes, or when I think someone's recognized me for me, it's actually Tobey. That's happened less and less, though, and it doesn't happen a bunch. Oddly enough, it happens more when I'm not in L.A. or New York. It happens in smaller towns a lot.

Looking back on "The Hunger Games" a year later, do you still have a most memorable fan interaction?
I was, one time, working out at a gym in Albuquerque and I felt some people staring at me, and suddenly I felt uncomfortable. I didn't know why they were staring at me. And then, this girl came up to me and held out a racquetball to me. And I was just looking at the racquetball, and then she handed me a pen. She wanted me to sign her racquetball. I thought that was strange.

You got to work with Jennifer Lawrence before she became such a huge star. What was your relationship with her during filming? Because you also started acting at a young age, did you give her any advice as a newcomer?
You know, I didn't want to overstep my bounds and just give advice without asking. But we clicked, and I love Jen, like everybody does. She's just hilarious, and we got along great and had moments. And I just said to her, "Look, I know a little bit about what you might be feeling or what's about to happen, and if you ever just want to talk to somebody about it, then call me." Of course, it's way bigger than anything I ever had to deal with. And we text sometimes and joke, and she deals with it well, it seems like. But I'll always be there if she wants to give a call or if she's feeling like it's too much.

What are you geeking out over right now?
I'm a "Game of Thrones" fan, so I geeked out hard about that. I can't believe we have to wait a whole year for [Season Four].

How are you on social media? Do you tweet?
I just started. I just opened a Twitter account: @RealWesBentley. But that's all.

'Catching Fire' Trailer to Debut In Theaters Ahead of 'The Wolverine'

Would you like to see the Catching Fire trailer on the big screen? Go see The Wolverine this weekend! The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman opens today, and the brand new Catching Fire theatrical trailer will be featured as one of it's previews. If you do go check it out, be sure to leave us a comment and tell us how it felt to see it on the big screen! 

Update on Sun, July 28, 2013 by PanemPropaganda

We're also hearing that the Catching Fire trailer will be shown ahead of The Conjuring in some cities. Let us know if you see it before any other films!

VIDEO: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz, Jena Malone & Francis LAwrence Talk to Empire

Still the interviews roll in from Catching Fire's big appearance at Comic Con in San Diego. This new video features Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz, Jena Malone and Francis Lawrence speaking with with Empire Magazine about the movie.

Beware, there's a 30 second ad before the video will play, but it's worth the wait. 

VIDEO: Lenny Kravitz on Cinna's Style

We all know that Lenny Kravitz is one stylish man. The singer and actor opened up about his costumes for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as he returns to the role of Cinna. And it sounds like Cinna is a lot more like Lenny Kravitz, as far as the "look" goes.

"The clothing this time was more in line with how I dress," he told HitFix during Comic-Con. "I felt like I was wearing my own things throughout the film."