Chapter 25: A Creature as Unquenchable as the Sun

“A creature as unquenchable as the sun.

A fire mutt knows only a single sensation: agony. No sight, no sound, no feeling except the unrelenting burning of flesh. Perhaps there are periods of unconsciousness, but what can it matter if I can't find refuge in them? I am Cinna's bird, ignited, flying frantically to escape something inescapable. The feathers of flame that grow from my body. Beating my wings only fans the blaze. I consume myself, but to no end.”

We continue our Mockingjay Part 2 Countdown with Chapter 25 in which Katniss has a dream in her unconscious and damaged state after the parachutes go off in the City Circle.

I can't even begin to make a decision on whether or not Francis chose to adapt Katniss' dream post parachutes, but I have always gravitated towards the imagery Suzanne created during this dream sequence. It's not exactly a necessary scene, but it is good representation of Katniss letting go of Prim using all the symbolism we've come to be familiar with this far in to the story. As for this showing up in the film, I wouldn't hold my breath but at the same time I would never doubt Francis to make it happen.

Although I chose to spotlight Katniss' dream, this is by no means the most important event in this chapter. Hoooo not by a long shot! When Katniss awakes, she becomes aware of the situation and the precious thing she has lost. She doesn't talk, and relapses back to her old habits of climbing in small spaces, mentally reminding herself of who she is. Then Katniss walks into Snow's rose garden and they proceed to have THAT conversation.

I for one am extremely interested to see how the film will handle this scene and the overall perception of Coin's character given the almost friendly characterization of her in Mockingjay Part 1. There is so much aftermath after the parachutes, the whole event surrounding Coin and her actions is just one of a few important events I hope are dealt with very accurately. I'm not too worried though, Francis Lawrence always has a great handle on what makes these books important and adapting them appropriately.

President Snow's Unity Address

And it is here, President Snow's Unity Address!

There was much speculation over what this was going to be. Johanna was a nice surprise, and it's very satisfying to finally see, after having read it years ago and imagining how the marketing for this movie would be, Beetee interrupting Snow's message.

Update:

Whoa looks like "due to overwhelming demand" CapitolTV is on standby (Here's version 2 of the Unity address).

Also it is confirmed on the official Mockingjay Tumblr that the Unity address will be in front of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

WATCH: New Clip of President Snow and Katniss

Donald Sutherland was on the late show with Craig Ferguson and they showed this clip where President Snow challenges Katniss to convince him:



Thanks THGAustralia

Catching Fire Costume Illustrations!

Really cool article from FrockTalk about Phillip Boutte, a costume illustrator who just so happens to have been doing the illustrations for Catching Fire costumes! If any of you Hunger Games fans out there have a passion for costume concept art, read the in-depth article about Boutte: what he does, how he does it, and how exactly he got to where he is.

Another sketch in this article that was revealed was this President Snow "Victor's Village visit" look:

Now, we have seen this look in stills and know that he wears this at his mansion quite possibly for the Quarter Quell announcement scene. But in this sketch it is labeled as "Victor's Village visit". Either Snow wears this outfit during the big scene in Katniss' house or they changed it to his appearance at his mansion. Quite possibly both? I guess we'll have to wait until November 22nd to find out.

Read the article HERE!

Catching Fire Still #4 Revealed by Hunger Games Explorer!

OOOHWEEE!! This is our first official look at Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch is the fourth Catching Fire image to be released by Hunger Games Explorer. Just one more to be released before the teaser trailer is debuted at the MTV Movie Awards!

Uhh hey... President Snow seems to be sitting in a very familiar chair...

Visit Hunger Games Explorer

Capitol Portraits OFFICIAL HIGH RES round up!

Well, wasn't this week fun? Every day Lionsgate debuted a new character poster, or what they like to call "Capitol Portraits". We've rounded up them all for you and found the highest res versions we could find! We are hoping Lionsgate will be making the high res version available soon so until then, have at these versions:

*All portraits link to OFFICIAL full sizes (4050x6000)! Thanks, Lionsgate!

To Download: Right click on photo and select "Open Link in New Tab" or for Mac users, apple-click. Enjoy!

 

Which Capitol Portrait was your favorite? Did you like this set of character posters better than last year?

Capitol Portrait: President Snow

President Snow's Capitol Portrait has been released courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. Give us your thoughts on these Capitol Portraits. Are they getting you excited for Catching Fire in November?


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Donald Sutherland talks about President Snow and his motivations and connects HG to the Occupy movement

ComingSoon.net has done a great interview with Donald Sutherland about President Snow and the effect The Hunger Games could have on young people. He references the hope/fear scene that we posted earlier as well!

Q: What kind of roles are you looking for at this stage of your career? 

Donald Sutherland: Whatever strikes my heart, you know? I mean, this script -- it came, I read it. I couldn’t read it actually. I pushed it away. I sat back and I said to my wife, “I think I just read something that can change everything.” I had no idea about "The Hunger Games," anything about the books, the fascination, nothing, nothing. I only discovered that in the dermatologist's office. At my age you get barnacles taken off your head and stuff. I mean, they’re not really barnacles, but my wretched dermatologist calls them that. And she said, “What are you doing?” And I said, “I just finished shooting 'Hunger Games.'” I got maybe the “m” of Hunger Games out and the office was suddenly filled with people jumping up and down in hysteria. And these are adults! So I figured it out. 

This script came and it seemed to me that it was a game changer. That it had the possibility, if it were properly done, to catalyze, motivate, mobilize a generation of young people who were, in my opinion, by and large dormant in the political process. You have Occupy Wall Street and all that, but it has a limited base or it seems to have a limited base. And I hoped and I felt that this could maybe spread out across the country. I don’t care what they do, just so long as they stand up and do something so that they identify the political situation that we’re in. I was thrilled at that possibility. And then when Gary [Ross] asked me to do it, to play the President, it was at that time a very peripheral part. We were in North Carolina and talking about that nature of the oligarchies and the privileged and how to administer them. And he said, “I’m going to write,” – god, he’s brilliant. He’s an amazing man, he really is. You loathe to use the word genius, but he’s quite extraordinary from my point of view. And he went away and he came back with a couple of scenes with such economy of language. Of such specificity. 

He said, “I think what we have to talk about is hope and fear.” And those scenes aren’t in the book. He wrote them and Suzanne Collins loved them. But it so perfectly described what someone -- an administrator, a bureaucrat, not even a leader -- that Coriolanus Snow is and that he has to do. How do you keep that underclass in control? You offer them a little bit of hope. He thinks that Wes Bentley’s character would probably take over his position. He is 76 years old, He was two years old when the Hunger Games started. And he’s looking for a successor. And he tests Wes’ character. “You’ve allowed this girl. This underdog. Do you like underdogs? You’ve allowed her to take some kind of position of power.” ...When you fail, you die. You’re not really of any use. You have your chances. It’s kind of the same in this business these days, you know? You have that one chance and you either succeed or fail.

Read the rest of the interview here! 

New Clip: President Snow and Seneca Crane talk about Hope!

Here's a new clip, and it's one of the new scenes they added for the movie! Gary Ross was inspired by Donald Sutherland's letter about power to give him extra scenes and give insights into who President Snow is and this must be one of them!




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Donald Sutherland Wrote Gary Ross To Play Snow AND Two New Scenes Will Be in the Film!

Woah! Check out this new Entertainment Weekly article about Donald Sutherland and how he actually petitioned Gary Ross to play Snow AND it inspired Gary Ross to write TWO new scenes in the movie!

Donald Sutherland isn’t shy: he wrote to director Gary Ross about why he belonged in the Hunger Games cast.  The formidable actor sent Ross an impassioned email about playing the insidious President Coriolanus Snow, the long-standing ruler of author Suzanne Collins’ futuristic world who forces children to fight to their deaths as a way of keeping the masses in line. ”It was a long thoughtful analysis of the way power is wielded and why,” remembers Ross, “how it controls people and what the use of the Games were and how pernicious they were and the way that they were used as an instrument of political control.”

“It was so eloquent and brilliant,” continues Ross, “that it actually inspired me to write two extra scenes for him that I think are pivotal in the movie and that Suzanne really loves.” Ross was already shooting in Asheville, NC when he received the actor’s missive.  While on break he remembers wandering down to a clearing by the edge of a lake to ruminate over Sutherland’s ideas. “So I sat down in this chair and stared at the lake and came up with these two scenes,” he says. “And I realized that not only were the scenes vital but they actually fit a piece that was missing. That was a gift I got from the actor.”

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! In this first installment of the film trilogy, Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen and Sutherland’s Snow really only have one scene together. But Ross says to prepare for a doozy. “It’s only when she’s crowned that they confront one another and it’s very electric.” The Hunger Games hits theaters on March 23.

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