Sam Claflin on Finnick Odair and 'Catching Fire'

Sam Claflin spoke with Future Radio 107.8 and discussed portraying Finnick and his experience filming 'Catching Fire.'

Image by peetapockets.tumblr

From Norwich Future Radio:

On The Books:

“Before I got the part? No, no. Funnily enough, when I first went to see the first The Hunger Games, the original, I had no idea that it was a trilogy. I had no idea it was based on books. I just knew there was a big hype around – you know it was being called the new Twilight. And what have you. So I think I was curious as to what this big thing, this… You know, I was very curious. And kind of got the audition for this part of Finnick Odair. I was in Los Angeles. I remember saying ‘Who the hell is this Finnick?’

On Finding Finnick:

“And I tried to go on Wikipedia and do as much research as possible prior to my first audition, and luckily I was kind of steered in the right direction by the casting director and the director himself. Between the moment that I was sort of offered the part and I was kind of trying to work out the smaller details as the contracts and what have you, I read the books and I read them in five days. Couldn’t quite help but turn the page and keep reading, you know, you can’t just put it down.”

On Fan Reaction:

“I mean, I’m a member of Twitter and, you know, specially when it was first announced there was a huge backlash. Some positive and some very negative, you know, people were like saying they want to kill themselves, that I wasn’t anywhere near a good looking Finnick. Everyone has their own perception of what a good-looking person is. And basically, all I can do is do my best and you know it’s – you have to kinda try not reading the bad press or whatever, you know?”

On Being Accident-Prone:

"This is actually questionable how much I can talk about ’cause I was specifically asked not to mention some of the accidents that happened there. Let’s just say I’m a very, very clumsy person. There was fall after fall after fall – I mean we basically, me and Francis, the director, we were laughing that there will be a whole DVD extra, you know, a whole DVD on its own for the blooper reel just for me. Because every time he’d say ‘Action’, you know just before he’d light the fire, I’d slip over or I’d fall – even when I’m standing still, I’d manage to fall over so um, there were plenty of accidents. My dad would probably tell you on the private.

We highly recommend listening to the entire 17-ish minute podcast HERE. Sam is charming, self-effacing and lovely. Shame on you, Twitterverse!

Francis Lawrence Talks Taking On 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

Francis Lawrence spoke with MTV News as part of their preview of the hottest films of 2013. He talked about taking the reigns from Gary Ross, the massive responsibility of casting Finnick, and the challenges of filming in paradise.

From MTV:

On Taking Over For Gary Ross:

"I liked what Gary did a lot, but I have a different style than he does," Lawrence explained. "So it was very easy for me to come in the room and sit down with the people involved in the movie and sort of say, 'Here's what I like about what Gary did that I would latch on to and hold onto and embrace, and here's the way I would do it differently.' The trickier thing, honestly for me, was sort of stepping into a world, and there's crew members that were on the first movie, obviously an entire cast, all the people that are returning that I inherited. I was nervous about what they were going to feel... I think everybody in general was really gracious and worked really hard and ended up being really fun to work with. I think there were a couple of people that were really bummed that Gary wasn't doing it, and it had less to do with the choice of me coming on than just Gary not doing it. They signed on with Gary; they're friends with Gary; they like Gary. And I think there was definitely some sadness there."

On Finding Finnick:

"[Claflin] is very athletic, which is great. He's in great shape. He's very charismatic," Lawrence said. "But I was also looking in the long term. There's kind of a rouge-like quality to him in this book. And long term, he's actually an emotional character and a very loyal character and a character who's in love; a character who experienced quite a lot of sadness. And he was really able to tap into that, as well as being really charming and sexy and handsome as hell."

On Shooting The Arena Scenes:

"The arena stuff is pretty tricky... just because the sort of center of the arena where the cornucopia exists and the water and the spokes. The circular beach with the jungle around it doesn't exist, so we have to sort of piece it all together," he explained. "And you know even though shooting in Hawaii sounds like a lot of fun, it's pretty tricky when you're in the beach and waves and tides. Our set got washed away one day by the tide, and then... shooting in the jungle where there's bugs and mud and rain. The days are short, so you don't have much time, and you're starting to lug around 100-pound IMAX cameras."

Francis also has some great insight into Haymitch's character and talks about the editing process. Read the article in it's entirety HERE.

PHOTOS: Jennifer Lawrence Bumper Photos From SNL

Jennifer Lawrence looked gorgeous on last night's Saturday Night Live, and she looked equally stunning in the bumper photos shot by photographer Mary Ellen Matthews. Have a look:

Jennifer Lawrence Hosts Saturday Night Live

The videos are here! Jennifer Lawrence was the host of last night's Saturday Night Live. She teased throughout the week that she had "retired her bow" and wouldn't be doing any Hunger Games related sketches on SNL so I think we were all excited to see this sketch:

Check out the individual sketches and musical performances by The Lumineers. The FULL EPISODE is at the end of this post. More at NBC.com

The Opening Monologue:

The Sassy Waitress :

Girlfriend Talk Show:

More Hobbit:

Top Dog Chef:

B108 Morning Show:

Danielle: A Free European Woman:

Love Letters:

The Lumineers:

Ho Hey

Stubborn Love:

Full Episode:

Very special thanks to Simona KA for the first videos we posted last night. Check out her YouTube channel here.

Jennifer Lawrence on Katniss and Being a Positive Role Model

Jennifer Lawrence sat down with Glenn Whipp from the LA Times and talked about the importance of making Katniss a positive role model for young women.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Photo credit: Kirk McCoy/LA TimesShe's acutely aware of the influence she has on young women, particularly now that she's playing the strong, self-possessed heroine Katniss Everdeen in the movies adapted from Suzanne Collins' young adult trilogy that began with "The Hunger Games."

"I was a teenager too — hard to believe, right? — and remember reading magazines and tabloids," Lawrence says. "I don't think the media realizes how much they glorify anorexia. You have an actress who loses a bunch of weight for a role and she's explaining how she lost it. 'I ate one grape a day and I lost 25 pounds and I was dangerously underweight and now I get awards.'

"With Katniss, I never meant to make a big deal about it. It was just important she was strong and a warrior instead of being wasted away, especially when, without a doubt, she's going to be a role model for a lot of young girls. I thought it would be better for them to say, 'I could look like Katniss' rather than 'I'll never be able to look like that if I keep eating.'"

Read more at LATimes.com

Jennifer Lawrence Hosts SNL on Jan 19th!

We've got a date with Jennifer Lawrence on Saturday night. She's hosting Saturday Night Live with musical guests (and Josh Hutcherson's favorite) The Lumineers on NBC 11:30/10:30c. 

From the looks of this promo (and based on her general awesomeness) she's going to totally kill it on SNL. See you then!

Jennifer Lawrence on The Late Show With David Letterman 1/15/2013

Jennifer Lawrence talked to David Letterman last night on The Late Show. She seems like one of the small circle of celebrities that Dave genuinely loves! They talked about the now-infamous "I beat Meryl" quote, how Jen was a "pathological liar" as a child, and set the record straight on her butt. 

@Late_Show tweeted this picture yesterday evening as Jennifer arrived. 

Jennifer Lawrence Talks To E! About Her Golden Globe Win

Jennifer Lawrence stopped by E's Golden Globes After Party where she talked to Giuliana Rancic about her Golden Globe win and turned down a cocktail - poor, sick Jen!