Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Mockingjay Part 2 Teaser Trailer in front of The Avengers: Age of Ultron



Thanks to our friends at Jabberjays.net, we've learned that the Mockingjay Part 2 teaser trailer is set to debut with The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The logo teaser that debuted today is set to expire in theaters on April 24th and a trailer will debut at that time. According to the post, it will also be in front of Age of Adaline which comes out then but it is a limited release. Age of Ultron will likely be the wide release of the trailer.

Also, please note that an online debut of the trailer is likely to come earlier, possibly at the MTV Movie Awards as is the usual speculation.

Mockingjay Part 2 Teaser and Poster - "Remember"

Click poster for high res!


This morning, EW posted the official Mockingjay Part 2 poster and teaser to be shown before Insurgent which comes into theatres this Friday. If you live in the U.S., Canada, or the UK you'll be able to see the teaser!


The teaser is, as we expected, the cycle of Mockingjay logos from the beginning. What's different this time around is the array of quotes from past films leading into a brand new one:
"Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol."

Also, if you check out the nice high res poster for the teaser, you'll find a new tagline: "The Fire Will Burn Forever." We're glad that teaser at least has a new quote for the fans to get excited about, but the new tagline is a little curious. Hopefully we will get a little more explanation behind this new tagline in future trailers, but for now we will just enjoy the fact that at long last something Mockingjay Part 2 has been released.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Mockingjay Part 1 Blu-Ray: Easter Egg, Review, and GIVEAWAY


We've got all the information you need to know about the Mockingjay Part 1 Blu-Ray right here, thanks to Lionsgate sending us a few copies as well as some to GIVEAWAY!!! Head down to the end of the post for giveaway details.

It's been a dry spell for us for sure since Mockingjay Part 1 in theaters flew away, and for me (Courtney specifically) I just haven't been in the Hunger Games spirit. I was so jazzed with how Mockingjay Part 1 came out, and I even had prepared to come out with our yearly score analysis (don't worry, it's coming!) and just never finished it. Such a bummer. However, everything has changed since we were able to enjoy the fruits of the Mockingjay Part 1 Blu-Ray. It is so jam-packed with behind-the-scenes, it catapulted me right back into Hunger Games Mania.

Easter egg, review, and giveaway details under the cut...


Friday, March 6, 2015

35 Totally Rad Facts from the Mockingjay Part 1 Special Features



HAPPY MOCKINGJAY PART 1 BLU-RAY RELEASE DAY!!!

We hope you all are already enjoying your Mockingjay Part 1 Blu-Ray/DVDs today and whether you are enjoying it by yourself or with friends, we hope it's a RAD experience. The special features in particular are the best that's ever been released so we really want to encourage you guys to enjoy the Making Of documentary and/or the audio commentary from Francis and Nina.

If you don't plan on buying your own and you live in the US remember you guys can enter our giveaways on Instagram and/or our Blu-Ray review page.

Also, if you DO have the Blu-Ray and want to know how to access the easter egg, you can check that out HERE.

The Special Features on the Blu-Ray are VERY informative and for the lazy, but really because we felt like it, we've compiled a list of the most awesome tidbits of info we learned from watching the documentary and the audio commentary. Enjoy!



1. Julianne Moore read the books and sought out the role of Coin specifically.

2.  Mockingjay Part 1 & 2 were filmed all at once.

3. Julianne Moore is a big reason why Coin will have such a drastic character arc in the films.

4. The machines in the control room and other places in District 13 are NASA inspired.

5. Sets for the most part are 100% real, only the extensions are blue screen.

6. Francis went out of the way to make sure the film did not look digital by using smoke, soft lighting, and old lenses.

7. The Bunker staircase is mostly real and pretty long. They built a whole structure to hold it outside the studio, and only the very bottom of it is green screen to extend the effect further.

8. The Bunker set had 100+ real beds installed to add depth to the bombing scene.

9. The Art Department grew 8,000-10,000 plants for the District 13 Hydroponics Department, which isn’t even in the final cut of the film.

10. Wes Chatham and Elden Henson created their own form of sign language, which can be seen in the background of certain scenes.

11. Robert Knepper who plays Antonius is Production Designer Phil Messina’s neighbor.

12. Kurt & Bart wanted to steer away from a superhero look and more of a soldier look for the Mockingjay outfit.

13. The Mockingjay outfit breastplate is actually an iridescent blue referencing a Mockingjay’s wings.

14. The Mockingjay outfit inspiration stems from Japanese archers.

15. The Mockingjay outfit wings were modeled like armor and hold the quiver in place.

16. Cinna’s sketchbook is actually the Kurt & Bart's conceptual design for the Mockingjay outfit.

17. 80-90 prosthetic charred corpses were made for the District 12 scenes.

18. Extensive prosthetic makeup for all the extras in the District 8 hospital scene was such a large scale that it required an exorbitant amount of organization.

19. The Make-Up department worried about the rating of the film due to some prosthetic pieces being so gory.

20. The Hanging Tree scene was shot in an actual Quarry to reflect it taking place in District 12.

21. Half of the District 8 action sequence was shot in Atlanta, half in Germany. The shots inside the factory take place in Germany.

22. 28 giant loom machines were flown in from India for the District 8 factory scenes in Germany.

23. In order to achieve a realistic hovercraft physical effect, a craft was built and suspended by a crane with the actors inside. This part of the documentary is actually really fascinating and a little suspenseful. We HIGHLY recommend seeing it for yourself.

24. For the Tribute Center rescue scene, stuntmen repelled down the entire 500 feet of the Marriot hotel. Mahershala and Liam repelled down the last 100 feet to achieve the full effect.

25. Jennifer’s take of The Hanging Tree on set is the actual version they used.

26. A quote from Alfred Hitchcock inspired Francis Lawrence to move the split to one with some sort of resolution.

27. The beginning of Mockingjay Part 1 originally started with Katniss’ walk through District 12 like the book

28. The research for District 13 came from past contained civilizations.

29. It was only 10 degrees in the first Hangar scene with Jennifer, Mahershala, and Liam.

30. There were 2 Buttercups: One that was good for holding and one for action such as the crazy cat scene.

31. A blooper reel of Part 1 exists…. somewhere.

32. The first Peeta interview scene originally took place in Coin's office.

33. The VFX team responsible for making Chris Evans skinny in Captain America is the same they used for Peeta and Johanna’s tortured looks.

34. Katniss intervening the broadcast to lure in President Snow was Suzanne Collins' idea.

35. Before the split moved, Katniss in the hospital with the neck brace was to be the first scene in Mockingjay Part 2.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Mockingjay Part 1 Nominated for 4 MTV Movie Awards

The MTV Movie Awards are coming up, so that means voting is now open!

Vote for Mockingjay Part 1 in these categories for the MTV Movie Awards which air on April 12 at 8/7c.












Kurt and Bart Go In Depth With Cinna's Sketchbook

We've loved the scene where Katniss receives Cinna's sketchbook since we read Mockingjay, and seeing it in the movie dazzled us. In an article with Time, costume designers for the film Kurt and Bart go in depth with the sketches they contributed to make Cinna's sketchbook a reality.
Revolutions often come with a uniform, from the pantalons of the French sans-culottes to Che Guevara’s military fatigues. So when Katniss Everdeen joins the uprising in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1, she has to dress the part.
Mockingjay is already on digital HD and comes out on DVD/Blu-ray on Friday, and to mark the occasion, the movie’s costume directors have shared their drawings of Katniss’s battle outfit (six of which are being released here for the first time). Design team Kurt and Bart say they took inspiration from the armor collection at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as historical depictions of Joan of Arc. The result is this sketchbook, depicted in the film as belonging to Katniss’s stylist, Cinna.
The designers say creating the outfit through that character’s eyes was a helpful approach to the process. “He knew [Katniss] was to become not only an actual on-the-ground leader of a rebellion,” says Kurt, “but also the symbol of the revolution. Symbol and soldier was our mantra.” 

Kurt: In this drawing you can see one of the earlier versions of the shoulder armor which was a bit more stylized. The asymmetrical breast plate was informed by the gear worn in the Japanese martial art of archery Kyudo. We gave all of these hard armored parts a very subtle sheen of iridescent blue back which referenced the Mockingjay bird. The jacket itself was built almost like a corset with a woven maze of nylon webbing at the waist that when zipped gave Jen an even smaller waist.

More under the cut!

Monday, March 2, 2015

The Geeky Pub: Where Geekiness Comes in Pints!




As The Hunger Games franchise is about to come to an end (NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!), us here at Welcome to District 12 needed a new project to get involved in. When we are not Hunger Games-ing it up in our spare time we are flipping out over TV shows, movies, and video games. We are proud to announce that TheGeekyPub.com is open for business!

The Geeky Pub is a place for people of all walks of geek life to find a "table" and comment away on your favorite episodes of tv shows, movies, video games, books and/or manga. What's even better is that most of the staff you will find are all folks like us that have been in The Hunger Games fan site game.

Check out the LAUNCH POST!

In celebration of the launch, here are three giveaways that The Geeky Pub is holding:

Geeky Sprinkles

Lightsaber Pens

Live Long and Prosper tshirt

We will always be here at Welcome to District 12, but we hope you'll join us in geeking out over our other geeky loves!

The Geeky Pub