Trailer Addict just released a bunch of Catching Fire cast interviews. These look like they were filmed for the DVD extras, and we've also seen some of this footage in the IMAX featurette.
See MUCH more after the jump!
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Sam Claflin
How well does the cast of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" know each other? You’re about to find out when Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson pair up against Jena Malone and Sam Claflin for “Co-Star Connections.” May the odds be ever in their favor!
Full, unedited press conference featuring Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, Stanley Tucci, and Jeffrey Wright - filmed in London on 11/11/2013. This is the full and unedited UK press conference for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The press conference for The Hunger Games 2 was divided into two parts, this is the second part. The first part features Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Willow Shields and director Francis Lawrence and you can watch it here.
It's Catching Fire World Premiere day! The movie has it's World Premiere in London in only a matter of HOURS! Pictures from the first cast photocall for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in London are starting to hit the web. We'll be updating with more photos throughout the day!
The Catching Fire cast continues their whirlwind press tour to promote the movie. These photos are from a press conference at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, CA.
Dan from PanemPropaganda was lucky enough to be able to attend Victory Tour Minneapolis, and even got to do a meet and greet with Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Meta Golding and Bruno Gunn. Every one of them was incredibly sweet and generous in person, just as you'd hope, only better. They are seriously good people. They are so down to earth and warm, that it seemed as though they would have hung out chatting with us all night were it not for a lot of nervous, watch-checking handlers! (I know, I know, they're just doing their job.) They must be exhausted by now, but you wouldn't know it. They were all excited about the Victory Tour and seemed genuinely happy to be there.
Our friends Jolene and Casey from FangirlMoms were also at the event and they took many of these pictures from their VIP perch in the front row. Stay tuned for their report on the Tour. They found out what Sam Claflin's cologne is (he smells heavenly) It's Invictus by Paco Rabanne.
Video thanks to FangirlMoms.com
Video thanks to Mall of America
Photos courtesy fangirlmoms.com
One of the coolest things about being a fansite (ok, THE coolest, without a doubt) is that sometimes you get to have amazing experiences like the one we had yesterday morning. We were invited to an exclusive fansite phone interview with Sam Claflin (Finnick) and Jena Malone (Johanna) from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. We actually got to speak to them ON THE PHONE. And they were just as charming, funny and thoughtful as you would have hoped. These two care deeply about the characters that we love so much. Read on and see what your favorite fansites asked Jena and Sam and, more importantly, their insightful and hilarious answers. (deep lunges)
Oh, and NBD, but Sam and Jena sang Happy Birthday to our own Samantha at the end of the call. Whatever. (FANGIRL EXPLOSION)
PanemPropaganda.com:
When you were working on your roles, did you speak to anyone, or consider for yourself, what kind of background your characters had outside the Games? Things like family or friendships they may have had back in their Districts, and how did that affect the development of your characters?
Jena: Yeah! The book is SO rich, even though it doesn’t go into specifics about what these characters have gone through, you can pick through, and there are sentences that, really, for an actor, are goldmines. It’s like a doorway you go through, and there’s a whole house inside there. Suzanne Collins created stories that, I feel like as an actor, are like candy. There was so much to work with. And Francis was constantly providing us more information. Even just really understanding who these people were, giving us essays on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and all of these different things to research. I feel like we had so much to go in and paint with. It was kind of amazing.
Sam: Lynn Cohen, who plays Mags, and I spent a few weeks during the preparation time discussing our relationship, coming to the decision that she was more of a mother to Finnick. He was kind of an orphan, we decided. She was his mentor when he was in the Games, and everything that happened since, obviously, leading up to Catching Fire, her volunteering for Annie Cresta, etc. Finnick’s past and his history is mentioned in Mockingjay. There is a very, very dark history painted for him, and I got to talk that through, not only with Lynn Cohen, but with Francis, like Jena said, and everyone else as well. It was easy for me to sort of mold ideas.
There is SO much more of this interview after the jump. Please read on....
The third stop on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Victory Tour is on November 5th at Mall of America in Minneapolis, and we now have the who, what, and when details. Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Bruno Gunn, and Meta Golding will be attending the event at 5:30pm and participating in a Q&A and poster signings.
From The Mall of America Website:
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE National Victory Tour makes a stop in Minneapolis on November 5th. The national tour will include stops in Philadelphia, Miami and Houston as well. Cast members appearing at Mall of America will include Jena Malone (Johanna), Sam Claflin (Finnick), Meta Golding (Enobaria) and Bruno Gunn (Brutus). They will participate in special Q&As with fans, signings, and more in support of the worldwide release of the film in theatres on November 22nd. The tour, in partnership with Cover Girl, offers giveaways and exclusive access for fans. At each event, fans are encouraged to bring a canned food donation and support of our non-profit partners Feeding America and World Food Programme. By following #IgniteTheFight and visiting The Hunger Games website, fans can continue to learn more about way to help end hunger.
If you plan to attend, make sure to read the Official Event Guidelines. And say hello to our site founder Dan McCall while you're there! He'll be attending this Victory Tour stop.
It's just a Sam Claflin kind of day! Sam is featured in HERO Magazine #10. The issue is available in HERO's online store here. From the sound of this teaser, we're going to need to buy the issue asap. There's butt branding, people. Jennifer Lawrence butt branding:
Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) walks us through his fear of fish and his fond memories of branding Jennifer Lawrence’s buttocks with a trident on-set.
Thanks to SamClaflinFans for the tip - and all the Sam Claflin goodness they provide.
Sam Claflin will be featured in British portrait and fashion photographer Rankin's new book, More. We can't wait to get our hands on these photos, as Rankin's work is unbelievable and the photos are sure to show Sam in a new and gorgeous light. You can pre-order More HERE. The book is 70.00 GBP and you'll get an emil as soon as it's available.
About More:
Organised by themes, including nudes, portraits (featuring iconic personalities such as Tom Hardy, The Rolling Stones, and Emma Watson), beauty, fashion, and myths (a collaboration with artist Damien Hirst showing a contemporary portrayal of ancient mythical monsters), MORE is a rich, diverse, and revealing collection of photography.
Upon reflection of MORE, Rankin says, “I am aware that my work is often a little bit uncomfortable, a bit strange, a bit challenging. I consider many of my pictures of the more famous people almost as ‘anti-celebrity’—get them off the pedestal, get them face-to-face, see the real person inside.…If you look at that part of my work, it’s levelling.”
Image by Murray Close Jennifer Lawrence and Sam Claflin talk about training, filming Catching Fire in Hawaii, and dealing with fame and paparazzi in a hilarious, extended, online-only interview with Teen Vogue.
Jennifer, what did it feel like to revisit your character for the second time?
Jennifer Lawrence: It was kind of weird to go back because I had this idea when I first signed on to the franchise that it would get boring playing the same character. I've never done that—I've always played a brand new character. Katniss is the same character but in completely new circumstances. She's changed.
Was it important for you to set a certain tone on set as the leading lady?
JL: Yeah, I needed everyone to know I was in charge. (Laughs) I just wanted everyone to be comfortable. When there are new people, it can get awkward, but everyone was so great—including you, Sam.
Sam Claflin: I first bumped into you at stunt training. Your archery put me to shame. I was quite intimidated.
JL: By the sight of my face.
SC: Yea. It really put me off. (Laughs) No, obviously you are a good role model.
How will your characters interact with each other in the movie? You have a ... complicated relationship.
JL: Finnick is the most seductive man in the Capitol. At first Katniss is very put off by him, but the more she learns about him, the more she starts to understand and respect him. They become weird friends.
SC: He has charm and charisma going for him, but deep down he has insecurities, which overshadow his "external beauty."
Sam, Finnick has a very physical role. How did you train?
SC: I had quite the journey. If you read the description of Finnick in the book, then pin my face next to that, there's quite a long way to go.
JL: He was drastically overweight.
SC: I was definitely not in shape. There was a lot of training involved. Months and months of eating the same meals every day. Omelet in the morning, protein shake in the afternoon. The same routine of gym and stunt training. I'm happy with the end result. I did the best I could.
JL: You can't diet on these movies. It's impossible.
SC: It's pretty tough.
You shot most of the movie in Atlanta but the arena scenes took place in Oahu. How was Hawaii? JL: Oh, it was like a different movie. Try being stressed in Hawaii, I dare you.
SC: There's something about Hawaii where you step off the plane and you feel really chill. Spiritually, it was like a different film. The crew and cast were downsized and it felt more like a small family unit.
JL: We went swimming in between takes. We would go paddle boarding at lunch. It was amazing. But the scenes got a lot more intense. Things get terrifying.
There was a lot of paparazzi following you guys on this journey. Did that make it hard while you were filming intense scenes?
SC: They weren't around when we were doing scenes so much. It was worse during our downtime.
JL: I mean, paparazzi suck all the time. When you're working, it's distracting and when you're not working, it's annoying. I don't feel like anyone is entitled to know what we're doing on our weekends and for some reason, the world thinks they are. That's just how I feel.
SC: I was lucky. I didn't have to deal with it as much as her and Josh—partly because no one knows who I am. I'm lucky.
Jennifer, have you given Sam any advice?
JL: I told him that everything's going to change really fast. I haven't really stopped working, which has been exhausting, but also a blessing because I don't have time to think about it.
SC: I've had a very busy year thus far and when this film comes out, we'll be in the middle of shooting the next one! It's going to be another busy year.
Total Film has ANOTHER feature on Catching Fire in their December issue! Last month Francis Lawrence talked about the movie (check it out here) and in the December issue, Francis, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, and Jena Malone open up about the movie and their characters.
Check out the excerpts from the issue below, and be sure to pick up Total Film on your newsstand!
Jennifer Lawrence:
"I've been working ever since, so I don’t feel anything has changed. Well, I definitely get more death threats." (on her life post Oscar win)
"In my opinion, it's such an important statement in these movies, what one voice can do. I mean, all of these people, they only need one person to do something different and then they can say, 'OK, we're not alone, we have a leader.' Also, what I like about her is that she never set out to be this Joan of Arc. She got into the games in the first place to save her sister, and then made it through just to save herself, and that turned into saving Peeta, and now, in the second book, she's got a much larger body of people that are depending on her."
Josh Hutcherson:
"'Catching Fire' is about the slow tension building beneath the surface, with the relationships as well as the rebellion. In this movie you see more of Peeta and Katniss together than you ever did in the first one. It intensifies, the feelings become stronger.
"He's got a fire inside of him in this movie, different to the first. As the Victory Tour goes on, Peeta sees how horrible it is, and when he's put back into the games, he has an anger. This time he's a much more active person in the physicality of the arena." (on Peeta)
"We took the p--- out of each other all day long, just f---ed around," Hutcherson says, before adding, promptly, that everyone was professional and "focused on making the best movie possible for the fans."
In this movie, you see more of Peeta and Katniss together than you ever did in the first one. It intensifies, the feelings become stronger."
"We're so comfortable with each other, such good friends, that there's really not that much romanticism to it. But yeah, she's beautiful and it's a passionate moment and you want to feel real in that moment, so..." (on Jennifer Lawrence)
Sam Claflin:
“My character specifically spends the majority of the film carrying an old woman on his back, in the jungles of Hawaii. When we were in Atlanta doing the cornucopia stuff, all the fighting erupted. I’d been training for months, learning these different fights, and then all of a sudden I was kicking someone really hard into the water! You’re like, ‘Yes! I did that!’ Not that I’m a violent person…”
"Jennifer's very generous and kind, a great role model." (on Jennifer Lawrence)
Sci Fi Now Issue 86 has arrived on newsstands in the UK featuring The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and thanks to ThePeacekeeper's keen eyes, we have some of the article for you! The issue includes interviews with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin , and Francis Lawrence and a really cool guide to the layout of the Quarter Quell arena and a Hunger Games survival guide. We'll update with HQ scans when available.
Here are excerpts from the interviews. Read Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, and Francis Lawrence's interviews after the jump:
Jennifer Lawrence on signing on as Katniss:
"When I first signed on to it, I expected to have a lot of regrets," admits the 23-year-old on her decision to break out of independent movies for a big studio spectacular. "But fortunately I haven't. I am happy I did take the role. [If I hadn't] I would still probably be able to go to restaurants without becoming a nervous wreck or go to Starbucks and get my own coffee - that would be different. That would be lovely."
"Originally it was just reading scripts, talking to directors and making movies," she recalls, "and then all of a sudden it was like, 'Oh yeah, you have to wear high heels and make people like you.' So when I read the book, I was laughing at that, going 'Yeah, I know how that feels.'"
On Katniss in Catching Fire:
"She's suffering from post-traumatic stress from the first Games, and she's trying to get her life back. She is living in the Victors' Village now, she doesn't have to hunt any more - which makes her feel useless and bored - and there is part of her life that Gale will never understand. Peeta is the only one that truly knows what she went through. And when she has to go back to the Capitol, it's not a foreign world to her anymore. Not that she likes it, but she understands it now and how to work it."
"The wedding dress was incredible because it's stunning, but I'm not good with big dresses - and stairs. I'm so bad"..
On being a role model and body image:
"In the first movie, when it was obviously being talked about, like, 'It's The Hunger Games, you have to lose ten pounds.' I said 'We have control over this role model. Why would we make her something unobtainable and thin?' This is a person that young girls will be looking up to, so why not make her strong? Why not make her beautiful and healthy and fit? I was very adamant about that, because I think that our industry doesn't take enough responsibility for what it does to our society. I remember what it felt like to be 14 years old, looking at a Victoria's Secret model and thinking, 'I'll never look like that.' I don't want to make someone feel like that."
Sam Claflin made a surprise stop at Victory Academy in his home town of Norwich, where his mom, Sue, is a faculty member. They posted a few adorable (why do we always use this word where Sam is concerned?) photos to twitter.
Thanks to Sam Claflin Fans for the photos!
Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair) has made it on People's list of "Ones to Watch" - up and coming stars.
From People's article:
British actor Sam Claflin makes the list with his portrayal of victor Finnick Odair in this fall's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
With the film's anticipated success, "I've been told, 'Beware what's about to happen,' " says Claflin. "But nothing has ever changed. I've witnessed the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart kind of not being able to walk five meters without having like knickers thrown at them. For me, being able to walk down the street and go to the butcher's is a good thing."
On his transformation: "I'm English, so I like beer and burgers, and that had to be cut out completely. It was pretty brutal."
On his career change: After a broken ankle sidelined his dream of becoming a soccer player: "I'm like a farm boy. But I'm happy to be here."
Thanks to Sam Claflin Fans for the scan!
Teen Vogue's latest issue includes an interview with Willow Shields, Jennifer Lawrence, and a small Q&A with both Jennifer and Sam Claflin.
Willow on learning to identify with Prim:
"My sister, Autumn, and I are twins [...], Shooting a dramatic scene like the reaping, I imagine it happening to Autumn in real life. Having a sister is very helpful for this role."
On Mockingjay:
"What Prim has to do in Mockingjay will be a real challenge. But I love a challenge."
The article is definitely worth checking out for the banter between Jen and Sam:
Sam: I first bumped into you at stunt training. Your archery put me to shame. I was quite intimidated.
Jen: By the sight of my face!
Sam: Yeah, it really put me off. 
Image courtesy of QuarterQuell.org
Image courtesy of QuarterQuell.org
Image courtesy of QuarterQuell.org
Some brand spankin' new Catching Fire stills showed up today on the facebook page of The Hunger Games Peru! Check them out!
Thanks to Real or Not Real News for the tip!
Courtesy of Sam Claflin FansThere is an incredibly charming interview with Sam Claflin (okay, I'm biased - MC) in the latest issue of Elle UK. In it, he speaks about his newfound fame, wife Laura Haddock, and, of course, playing Finnick in Catching Fire.
An excerpt:
In the book, Katniss describes Finnick thus: 'An amazing physical specimen. One of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet.' Sam Calflin wiggles awkwardly in his chair. 'Ha, yeah, miscast!' he grins. This was the complaint from certaint sectors of the Hunger Games' fans, who took issue with Claflin's casting; he wasn't manly enough, muscular enough, bronzed enough. 'I saw people's reactions and some were harsh. Not to the point where I'm going to kill myself but I thought "I'm sorry I'm not YOUR Finnick. Trust me, when I read the book, I didn't see me as Finnick either!"' he smiles.
But looks aren't everything and Claflin aced it. 'He's a very complex character and you have to be able to portray the vulnerabilities as well as the charm and charisma. There was something I did with the acting part of it that they liked,' he says, with a shrug.
You can read the rest over here, courtesy of Sam Claflin Fans.
Courtesy of Sam Claflin Fans