Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 to be Shot Together

Some more Mockingjay news! The LA times recently came out with an article about Lionsgate foreseeing a bigger loss financially with Catching Fire, but to improve with the Mockingjay movies. In the article they reveal that Mockingjay will be shot back to back:

Lions Gate expects to make slightly less money on next year's "Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire" than it did on the original due to higher costs, but hopes to improve its bottom line on the final two films in the franchise by shooting them back-to-back.

On a conference call with analysts discussing the company's financial results for its fiscal first quarter, Lions Gate motion picture group Co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger said, "The profitability of 'Catching Fire' might decline slightly due to the scope of the film." That's a reference to higher costs for production and bringing back the movie's actors, which will apparently outweigh improvements the studio is receiving in its production tax credit as well as the terms of sales to foreign distributors.

"The Hunger Games"cost nearly $100 million to make, though tax credits brought that total down to a little more than $80 million. Lions Gate executives did not specify the planned budget for "Catching Fire" on the conference call.

 Analysts estimated soon after the March release of "The Hunger Games" that the movie would bring in about $300 million in profit to Lions Gate.

"Catching Fire" begins production in September with new director Francis Lawrence and will be released in November 2013.
Although no director has been selected for the two planned films to be adapted from “Mockingjay,” the third book in the "Hunger Games" trilogy, Wachsberger said that the two movies, to be released in November 2014 and 2015, will be shot together.

Meanwhile, fans twiddle their thumbs saying, "Well, DUH."

Source: LA Times

Rumor: Catching Fire Director will be either Lawrence or Miller

Rumor is, as reported by LA Times' 24 Frames, that the Catching Fire director job will go to either Miller or Lawrence and we'll find out by the end of the week.

The hunt for the new director on "Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire" is reaching its conclusion, with Lionsgate expected to offer the job to either Francis Lawrence ("Water for Elephants"; "I Am Legend") or Bennett Miller ("Moneyball"; "Capote") by the end of the week, according to knowledgeable sources not authorized to speak publicly. 

The studio has narrowed in on the two directors after considering a broader group that also included Tomas Alfredson ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), Tony Scott ("Unstoppable"), and Stephen Daldry ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"). 

Lawrence (no relation to "Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence) may be the easier option because his schedule is open. One source said he has met with top executives at the studio and appears eager to take on the job. 

Miller, meanwhile, would have to delay his plans to direct the movie "Foxcatcher" about John du Pont, the heir to the famous family's fortune who shot and killed an Olympic gold-medal-winning wrestler. The film, which recently added Mark Ruffalo to a cast that already includes Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, is supposed to start filming late this year.
The Austrian-born Lawrence got his start helming music videos for Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Green Day. While last year's  "Water for Elephants" starring Reese Witherspoon did only modest business, he had great success with the 2007 "I Am Legend" with Will Smith. He's also quite proficient in special effects and knows his way around large film sets, two attributes crucial for directing the action-heavy "Catching Fire." 

Miller has never directed a big-budget movie with special effects but was widely praised for his work on  "Moneyball" and "Capote" and was nominated for an Oscar for the latter picture. 

With production set to begin in August, whoever takes the position that Gary Ross abandoned last week will be working furiously with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire") and producers Nina Jacobson and John Kilik to get the production ready in the next few months. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2013. 

LA Times Talks Fashion of The Hunger Games with Costume Designer Judianna Makovsky

The Los Angeles Times got a chance to talk to the Costume Designer for The Hunger Games, Judianna Makovsky. She explains some of her choices on styling this movie.

"The Hunger Games" is a visual smorgasbord of a movie, a cast of hundreds dressed in everything from utilitarian garb with Depression-era grit to glam-gone-grotesque Gaga get-ups inspired by the latest haute couture. Then there's that dress worn by the young heroine Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) that goes up in flames. 

It may seem as if it doesn't get much better than this for a costume designer. But the pressure is on to please fans of author Suzanne Collins' YA trilogy, who have purchased millions of copies of the books and have already broken the record previously held by "Twilight Saga: Eclipse"for advance ticket sales for the film, which opens March 23. 

"I tried to stay as close to the descriptions in the book as I could," says costume designer Judianna Makovsky. "When I was doing 'Harry Potter,' I changed to an unlisted phone number because I was so terrified I was going to disappoint people." 

She needn't worry with this film, which depicts a dystopian universe of haves and have-nots, with a glittering Capitol that is the seat of "let them eat cake" power and the outlying districts, including the drab, impoverished District 12 that is Katniss and Peeta's home. The annual Hunger Games require 24 participants, a boy and a girl from each district who fight to the death until only one is left. And the "show" is broadcast live, watched by everyone in the land with the same fervor real-life viewers have for reality TV. 

The costumes in the film are wonderful to look at, but they are also an interesting study because of how they reflect today's fashion world. 

The simple beauty of the clothes in District 12, for example, recalls fashion's never-ending fascination with vintage work wear, authenticity and Americana, which is seen in "heritage" brands such as RRL and L.L. Bean. And the outrageous clothing in the Capitol brings to mind the see-and-be-photographed blogger culture that thrives on peacockish personal style and celebrates the kookiest among us, from Nicki Minaj to Bryan Boy.
There's also the legion of "Hunger Games" stylists — led by Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) — who help the Tributes, as the Hunger Games contestants are known, dress to impress. In the last decade, styling has become an industry unto itself. 

Makovsky put as much thought and consideration into the low-key costumes for District 12 as she did for those in the Capitol. 

She started her research by looking at photographs of working-class people from the turn-of-the-19th century to the 1960s in Appalachia and other places in America, particularly images by Lewis Hine and Mike Disfarmer. "We took the basics from that, the simple shapes of the clothes and the colors." 

A pair of striped pants Katniss wears to hunt were made from an 1870s Levi Strauss pattern. Her caramel-colored leather jacket was modeled after 1940s styles plucked from costume houses for inspiration. It's not oversized, as specified in the book, where it is described as a hand-me-down from her father. 

"We tried that, but it didn't look good, and she couldn't move her arms to shoot," Makovsky explains. 

The Sunday-best blue dress that Katniss wears at the Reaping, as the lottery for the Hunger Games is known, was also difficult to get right. 

"We made dozens of different versions, some sheer, some not. Originally we thought it would be cotton, but rayon looked better. We found the fabric at the Western Costume fabric shop. And we bleached and dyed it to get just the right blue, and put some smocking at the top. It's supposed to be her mother's dress." 

For inspiration for the Capitol costumes, Makovsky looked at Italian Fascist architecture and the work of 1930s and '40s fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli for her "sense of elegance and amusement." 

Filmgoers get their first taste of the Capitol when Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), the ambassador to the Hunger Games, arrives for the Reaping dressed in a bum-hugging fuchsia dress and a pink wig with a vintage 1930s flower hat stuck on. Her gold booties are from Alexander McQueen, whose work comes to mind when looking at the Capitol dwellers. 

Effie is one part Marie Antoinette and one part Isabella Blow, and she can barely walk in her shoes — which was intentional. "She is a fashion victim," Makovsky says. 

The stylist Cinna, on the other hand, is more understated. "I wanted a simple elegance for him. I found the black Lurex Prada sweater he wears, and we built on that." 

Cinna, whom we meet in the Capitol, conceives of the outfits that Katniss and her partner Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) wear to represent District 12 in the parade that opens the Hunger Games, and help curry the public's favor. Their glossy patent jackets have flames that shoot out of the shoulders (added in postproduction using CG technology). 

For the "girl on fire" dress Katniss wears when she's interviewed on TV on the eve of the games, Makovsky was inspired by Orry-Kelly's transformative gowns in the 1962 film "Gypsy," starring Natalie Wood as an awkward tomboy who transforms into legendary burlesque stage performer Gypsy Rose Lee. 

"I wanted the dress to be red, but not so covered in stones that it would look like something out of'Dancing With the Stars,'" Makovsky says. The silk taffeta and organza dress has vertical pleats, so that it moves when Katniss twirls, and flame-like crystal embroidery. The dress is not really "engulfed" in flames, as the book describes, but the skirt does ignite (with the help of CG). 

"I didn't want the clothes to overwhelm Katniss," Makovsky says. "We all wanted to go crazy with the costumes, but sometimes it was better to be subtle. It was important to be able to see the characters through the clothes."

Source

The LA Times Interviews Jennifer Lawrence

The LA Times interviewed Jennifer Lawrence. She talks about the consequences of fame, what school was like for her and her career. No lie, I found myself tearing up a little.

Jennifer Lawrence is relishing her last few weeks of anonymity. The 21-year-old actress understands that her starring turn in"The Hunger Games" is about to change her life. Opening Friday, the highly anticipated film, faithfully adapted from Suzanne Collins' bestselling young adult novels, promises to transform Lawrence into one of the most famous movie stars on the planet. 

Some things already have changed for Lawrence. Just a few weeks ago, paparazzi began hiding in the bushes around her house, and a chauffeured SUV temporarily has replaced her Volkswagen. When she arrives at a Beverly Hills restaurant for an interview, though, it's a tabloid-invented rivalry between herself and "Twilight"star Kristen Stewart that's upset Lawrence far more than the idea that she soon won't be able to go to the grocery store without causing a ruckus. 

"Things like this tabloid war shouldn't stress me out, but it's kind of like being in high school when one friend says you said something bad about your other friend and you know you didn't say anything. It gives you a knot in your stomach," said Lawrence, nibbling at a bread roll. "I'm afraid that's what it's always going to be like."

... 

"I always felt dumber than everybody else," she said, recalling an incident in which a math teacher embarrassed her in a class when she kept asking questions because she didn't understand the material. "I hated it. I hated being inside. I hated being behind a desk. School just kind of killed me." 

Lawrence's perspective changed during a trip to New York with her mother. It's a story that seems impossible today — one that happened only to pretty, young girls in a bygone era, before fame was a top career choice for teenagers. A talent agency photographer snapped Lawrence's picture, and that photo landed her a few auditions and meetings with agents during her short stay. 

"I remember being in New York, reading a script and I completely understood it. I knew I could do it," she said. "They were offering me contracts on the spot and telling my mom I was good. I was finally hearing I was good at something. I didn't want to give up on that."
 

 Read the full article here at the source. It's a really great read.

 

NEW Gary Ross Interview!

 The best Gary Ross interview yet! In it he talks of just how important Jennifer Lawrence was to the film, The Capitol, and more in this LA Times Blog Post:

“I don’t know how I ever could have done this movie without Jennifer,” he said. “I’m not sure I would have done it without her. She’s that important. More important than any other piece — including me. She’s Katniss Everdeen.”

Ross was introduced to the novel by his then 14-year-old twins and became fascinated by the story’s premise and the evolution of its main character — from stoic survivor to moral linchpin for an oppressed nation. He flew to London to meet with the film’s producer Nina Jacobson and aggressively pursued the job.

“I thought the idea that the way we amuse ourselves could devolve into this hideous spectacle was really fascinating,” Ross said. “Plus it has all the things I love in the movies: technical challenges, size, spectacle, amazing narrative drive. And it has a lot on its mind about where we are and where we may be headed as a culture.”

Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and Gale Hawthorne, played by Liam Hemsworth, are shown in a scene from "The Hunger Games." (Murray Close/Lionsgate)

Ross worked closely with “Hunger Games” author Collins on the final draft of the script and then spent four months in the mountains of North Carolina filming the dystopian action movie from every angle he could. “We were hanging off trees, hiking up mountains, shooting in rivers,” he said.

Beyond Ross’ attention to his young cast, which also includes Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale, Katniss’ hunting pal and closest friend, the director spent a great deal of time examining what first-person experience looks like on film, studying such movies as “Saving Private Ryan,” and “All the President’s Men.” Ross was intent on not giving audiences more information than what’s been given to Katniss.

“If you look at the opening of ‘Private Ryan,’ you are so in the point of view of those guys and there is a whole world swirling all around them,” Ross said. “You are learning that geography as they are learning it.”

Ross also spent many hours refining his vision for the Capitol. The home of the dogmatic central government that organizes the brutal games and oppresses its countrymen by forcing them to live in impoverished, dangerous conditions, the city and its architecture should be rendered without a trace of joy, Ross said.

Read it all HERE!

We've been thinking just how amazing this film could be for awhile, and with every Gary Ross interview, the more our suspicions are confirmed. So grateful we have Gary Ross as the director!