Comic Con 2015 Mockingjay Part 2 Panel

As with most (all?) Hall H Panel stories, ours starts the day before.

The Mockingjay Part 2 Panel is on a Thursday around noon. It’s late morning Wednesday when Courtney and Tiffany arrive in San Diego and camp out at the Hall H Line. They hang out there for a while, making friends, making sure Denise and I get there on time, taking pictures...

Denise and I are still stuck in traffic at this point so that’s not exciting. Tiffany and Courtney then head to the Lionsgate mixer to hang out with our Lionsgate and other fansite friends somewhere on a hotel rooftop. Willow Shields (who plays Prim in the movies, in case you might have missed that. We love her.) heard about the mixer and decided to join everyone!

She stayed for about 40 minutes where everyone discussed Dancing With the Stars, Jennifer Lawrence, and theme parks among other things.

Denise and I got to the mixer just in time to take this site picture with Willow!

Then it was time to head back to the Hall H line and get ready for bed

Thursday!

In line to be let in to Hall H !

And then we were in.

(HQ pictures from the panel are in the gallery below, so this recap won't have a lot of pictures.)

Mockingjay Part 2 was the second panel of the day. From the time we noticed the drums they set up on the stage, we knew it was going to be awesome.

The panel started off with the Stand With Us Propo, with the live drummers on stage and in the aisles (behind where we were sitting) accompanying the drumming onscreen. It definitely upped the intensity and made the whole thing more moving.  Check out this video we took of the drums onstage:

The drummers on the stage! #Mockingjay #mockingjaysdcc #unite #sdcc

A video posted by Welcome to district 12 (@welcometodistrict12) on Jul 9, 2015 at 1:22pm PDT

After the propo, Conan O’Brien, who was moderating introduced Francis, Nina, Willow, Liam, Josh and Jennifer. With a quick comment about the movie from Francis (“Katniss is back into action and she’s coming after Snow with Squad 451”) and a short intro, we were shown the newest trailer (which will be out IN A WEEK! We’re all excited to see it again!).

It’s kind of hard to describe the trailer without giving away any spoilers, which we don’t want to do since when we saw it for the first time not knowing what was going to be in it was very emotional and moving for all of us and we want you to experience it the same way. We will tell you though that it was amazing and that we cried both times they showed it to us!

And then it was time for the panel! We livetweeted it, so you can check out our twitter for it. Everyone was funny and adorable as usual, and we learned quite a bit about the movie. Some highlights include:

• “He couldn’t stay away. He couldn’t resist. This.” – Jen commenting on Peeta being back with the rebels after being captured by Snow.
• Jen deciding her favorite Katniss moment was “I volunteer as tribute,” (thanks to Willow’s suggestion) when she was asked.
• The cast talking about how emotio
• nal the end of filming was, and how they “held each other and slept like puppies” after they wrapped filming. Jen saying that if she could keep any prop or costume from the movies, she would keep the orange backpack (which, if you listen to the Hunger Games Fireside Chat, would be extra funny to you).
• [SPOILER] While talking about filming the epilogue, Josh talks about playing in the field with Jen’s nephew!
• Jen was asked if there was anything she did to say goodbye to Katniss and she had said that it hasn’t happened yet, and that she probably would not say goodbye completely because of how playing Katniss has changed her life.
• When Conan was trying to end the Q&As, Jen made sure that a girl who cosplayed as Katniss got to ask her question.
• The Q&A in general was great, but obviously our favorite part was when COURTNEY GOT TO ASK A QUESTION!

Video: Courtney asks Nina and Francis a question! #hallh #mockingjaysdcc #sdcc

A video posted by Welcome to district 12 (@welcometodistrict12) on Jul 9, 2015 at 1:40pm PDT

In Mockingjay, there was a lot of material between the climax of the book and before the epilogue. What were the challenges you faced in adapting that section of the book? Which Nina Jacobson answered with: Finding the balance between taking time for emotion and propulsion towards the end was a challenge.

In case you were wondering what Nina thought of the question:

They showed us the trailer again at the end of the panel and right before they got up to leave, Josh took a second to thank the fans and tell us they love us.

This was my first ever Comic Con and Mockingjay Part 2 was the first big panel I saw and I was definitely blown away not only by the stuff they showed us but also at how fun and informative and IRL adorable the whole thing was! Kind of bittersweet that this will be their last Comic Con panel ever, but what a way to go! Check out our Mockingjay Part 2 @ Comic Con 2015 Gallery:

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And here's the FULL Mockingjay Part 2 Panel video

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(video source)

Mockingjay Part 2 at Comic-Con 2015

San Diego Comic-Con was last week and the whole Welcome to District 12 team was there to soak up all of the Mockingjay goodness!! We camped out every night, and captured all we could of Mockingjay's last presence at the con. If you haven't already, make sure you check out our post about the Mockingjay Part 2 panel complete with photo gallery, which has lots of adorable cast moments.

Inside this edition, we will go over what the Lionsgate booth had to offer and take a look at some totally rad cosplay we found around the convention!

Lionsgate Booth

It seems as if Lionsgate has finally got the hang of their booth design in terms of crowd control. A couple years ago, the booth had to get shut down several times due to Mockingjay pin mobs. That didn't seem to be the case this year, at least in our experience. Whenever there was a freebie line happening it could get long (sometimes wrapping around the whole booth more than once), but you could always get to the back of the line and the wait was reasonable.

Freebies

Lionsgate gave a lot of mini posters for their various films coming out soon, including the war paint portraits for Mockingjay Part 2. Every freebie giveaway was different in terms of which war paint mini poster they gave out, but the most coveted item was the newest ringless Mockingjay pin. 

Mockingjay Part 2 PIN!!

Lionsgate poster freebies 

We managed to pick up some extras so hopefully, we will have a giveaway soon?

Mockingjay Photo Booth

Tiffany sending the rebellion her information!

The photo booth allowed SDCC goers to get their Mockingjay war paint and send it to their socials. Using XBOX Kinect, fans used the three finger salute to select their affiliation and pose for the camera. After this step, fans entered their information to be emailed their photo and chose whether or not they wanted their photo to be included in a massive fan poster. Here's how ours turned out:

Courtney

Tiffany

Denise

Janine

Lionsgate did an excellent job with their booth for the last Hunger Games installment. It was well designed for large crowds, Mockingjays everywhere, and with rebel soldiers stationed at all times:

Lastly, Lionsgate added one last small touch that might have gone unnoticed by some convention goers. If you waited in line for the photo booth, the overflow line went along the convention center wall. When you got towards the front of the line, the staff had to communicate to each other when to send a few people from the wall into the normal line amidst the busy foot traffic. The staff used THE THREE FINGER SALUTE to signal when to send more people over to the photo booth line. I was just beside myself when I witnessed this, and I give Lionsgate major props for being so creative and faithful in terms of how the booth was run. It's too bad that Mockingjay won't have a presence at SDCC next year. 

COSPLAYERS

We only managed to spot a few dedicated hard core cosplayers at the convention, but that doesn't mean that there weren't tons there! We saw hordes of fans sporting Hunger Games gear, but here are a few that really caught our eye:

Meet Caroline, Katie, and Brandon and their EPIC cosplay! These guys camped out with all the other fans for the MJ panel in Hall H!

We caught these guys when we were in a rush so we didn't get their names, but DANG look at that Mockingjay dress!

Comic Con 2015 was a blast, and we're sad we will no longer be celebrating the movies at the con, but there will always be cosplayers representing for years to come!

More from SDCC:

Mockingjay Part 2 Panel in Hall H

Comic-Con 2014: Samsung Experience + Trailer Reaction!

The line for the experience has been going around the corner every day so far, so get there EARLY!

*UPDATE: Unfortunately, we are sad to report that the Samsung Experience has already been taken down. :(
Comic-Con is almost over, BUT THERE IS STILL TIME to enjoy all the bells and whistles of Lionsgate's presentation of Mockingjay Part 1 at Comic-Con.

The Sneak Peek

Before the big event on Friday, we got a special opportunity to have a meet and greet with some of the cast members from Mockingjay Part 1! This included: Mahershala Ali (Boggs), Elden Henson (Pollux), Wes Chatham (Castor), and Evan Ross (Messalla). All four were quite easy to talk to, but I have to say that Wes was pretty hilarious and just really stoked about the fan reaction to The Hunger Games in general.

Hunger Games fan sites (with some Divergent mixed in too!) photo op with MJ cast

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY EXPERIENCE

Lionsgate provided fans with an interactive experience for Mockingjay with so much to do and see. This is the only place at the Con you can get Mockingjay pins, but you're gonna have to work for it! Fans can get their Mockingjay pin coupon punched for every event in the experience in order to get the pin achievement at the end of the experience. Check out our photos to get an idea of what you can do:

Get your holographic photo with Peeta and Johanna.
Obviously, it's not holographic when printed,
but when you sit down, look up.
TRIPPY!!

Using Galaxy tablets, you order from Peeta's Bakery and Haymitch's Elixers

For example, a Capitol Cronut!

Delicious Elixers

Opposite the counter lies the T-Shirt design center.
Get a free shirt with your district on it!

These are just a few of the activities you can do at the experience. I've seen lines around the block the whole con, so make sure you get in line ASAP if you have not done so already!

On Friday, the cast members came into the experience to talk to the fans along with Natalie Dormer:

MADNESS.

Natalie Dormer! CRESSIDA! MARGAERY TYRELL!!

Epic photo with Natalie Dormer with epic photobomb guy IS EPIC.

These guys had such a blast taking photos with fans :)

Trailer Reactions

Some may disagree with me, but I don't like to see too many things from a movie in a trailer. The less I see the better, but as long as we've been waiting for a trailer I definitely wanted to feel satisfied after viewing it. I believe it comes in at just over a minute, which I think is a very appropriate length for a "teaser".

I don't want to give it all away, but there are just some phenomenal shots chosen for the teaser. It was all I could do to not audibly freak out over my absolute favorite scene in the book being shown. It's a pivotal moment for Katniss' character and I think when you see it, you'll know exactly what I am referring to. All in all, I felt genuine emotion after viewing the teaser and I think fans will be leaving Best Buy very satisfied without having seen too much. As for when the trailer hits the web, the release should be imminent, but of course no official time as of right now. 

THE SHOW FLOOR

Lionsgate's booth is a little more compact this year, but I think the design and function of it is very superior to last year. It is definitely more open and clear as to what they are promoting when they are promoting due to their changing banner above the booth. 

Expect free posters from time to time, but as mentioned before there will be no Mockingjay pins on the floor this year. On the upside, you can totally have a photo op with a Peacekeeper behind the booth!

For those still going to Comic-Con on Sunday -- Don't forget to hit up the Samsung Galaxy Experience at The Hard Rock Hotel!! It is so worth it! 

OUR SUPER FUN TIME BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!! If you missed our post this morning, we are celebrating our THIRD birthday and frankly....::smug eyes:: it's kind of a big deal.

We are giving away FOUR prize packs including some INCREDIBLE stuff we got from Comic-Con last July. Here's what you guys can win:

One Brutus Quarter Quell poster SIGNED by Bruno Gunn which he wrote: 

"#TheSpark Bruno Gunn D2"

We also threw in one sweet Katniss revolution shirt from Hot Topic

One Enobaria Quarter Quell poster SIGNED by Meta Golding 

and one Quarter Quell shirt from Hot Topic

One Cashmere Quarter Quell poster SIGNED by Stephanie Schlund,

a Catching Fire bookmark and Spark bracelet. (Catching Fire book not included because *HELLO* you totally have one. Plus this one is mine. Sorry. But hey, cool stuff.)

OUR GRAND PRIZE:

One Catching Fire poster SIGNED by Willow Shields

A CATCHING FIRE MOCKINGJAY PIN FROM COMIC-CON

and a Panem Companion Comic-Con district pin set from the Smart Pop booth!

*UPDATED: EACH WINNER WILL RECEIVE A HUNGER GAMES AUCTION CATALOG!!

CLICK 'READ MORE' TO ENTER!!!

Comic-Con Catching Fire Interview ROUNDUP!

Soooo, Comic-Con was amazing. Aside from our experience and possible giveaways (which we will announce soon), TONS of interviews have come out over the past week from the press line. It's almost overwhelming the number of interviews that are out there so we did our best to put them all together.

Click the link below to see all of the videos, but first, please enjoy this video from EXTRA in which Jennifer Lawrence freaks out over Jeff Bridges. We can't blame her because we had the same reaction when witnessing The Seventh Son panel.

"Who was your favorite character? Does it rhyme with 'The Shmooze'?"

Exactly our thoughts, Jen.

Tons of interviews under the cut!

The Catching Fire Trailer!

Here we go! Thoughts on the new trailer? We were there in Hall H at Comic Con to see it in all it's glory as well as the panel with the cast. It was fantastic and we have oodles of pictures which we will be posting in the next few days.

Check out the trailer at Yahoo!Movies




The excitement for Catching Fire is building!

Yahoo! Movies

Comic-Con 2013: Thursday/Friday Report

Check out the Lionsgate/Summit Booth on the floor!

Hunger Games Explorer Screens all over the booth!

That's right! There's a signing on SATURDAY at 3pm with Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, and Willow Shields! You must be on the floor RIGHT when doors open to snag your wristbands for the 3pm signing. 

Also you will need to be there when the floor opens to get new Victor Poster freebies. But what about those Mockingjay pins? We're not sure when they give those out (it's sometime in the morning) and when they do the booth has been so crowded, they've shut it down several times. At least that's what happened on Thursday. Perhaps that won't be the case Saturday and Sunday. You know what they say, may the odds be ever in your favor!

But don't also forget that The Hunger Games panel will be at 1:35 in Hall H on Saturday!

Be sure to try their Gif booth!

VISIT THE SMART POP BOOKS BOOTH!

Tiff poses with Heather at the Smart Pop Books booth!
Get your FREE DISTRICT PINS!

PRIZE WHEEL!

We also attended a special meet & greet Thursday with Bruno Gunn, Stephanie Schlund, and Meta Golding!

YOU might be able to win one of these! 

Who's a BRO?! It's Bruno Gunn!

CAESAR FLICKERMAN!!
Check him out!

We will be giving one of these away too...

Oh, and we found some cool Hunger Games Auction trading cards!!