Thanks to the effort of Carla over at Mockingjay.net - who took the time to translate this entire thing (thank you, Carla!) - we have a great new Catching Fire article from Spanish film magazine, Accion Cine. The article contains new interviews with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and director Francis Lawrence, and some of the new bits are (no surprise) flat out hilarious.
Jennifer Lawrence:
How was it, having a new director for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire?
Gary Ross and Francis Lawrence are very different, but each of them was perfect for their respective movies. Francis is a visionary, and he’s very good with actors. And Gary is too, as well has being very good with the script. I adore Francis, it’s so much fun to work with him and he’s a great man. He’s very nice and completely normal. The environment on set was very good, calm. You don’t need to get nervous about anything. The only thing he does is twirl a pencil, when he does that you know he’s stressed. But he’s done a wonderful job, he came in to this project with a great knowledge of the books and the characters. He’s also a good listener. We worked very well together.
Has this second film been easier to make than the first one, or harder?
It’s possible that it was less complicated in some aspects, but more in others. In the first movie we basically had no idea what we were doing. We knew how to make a movie, but it’s stressful to make a movie people have such high expectations of, have preconceived notions of. It’s pretty overwhelming. With the second movie we have the same kind of pressure, but at the same time it’s a relief because it seems like people liked what we did, so we can give them a bit more of the same but at the same time something different. As far as acting goes, it makes things easier because this is a character I’ve played before, so you don’t have to repeat that long initial process of understanding her. But at the same time it’s complicated because you want to preserve the parts people liked, while giving them something new.
I think one of the things you least liked filming was the scene where Katniss and Peeta get attacked by monkeys on the beach…
It was the worst! We were filming in a swamp for days! I’m paranoid in general and Josh Hutcherson wouldn’t stop talking about trench foot and fungi when we were in the swamp. He would say: “That’s what happens to your feet if you keep them wet for too long.” And we had spent 73 hours with our feet in the water! I was freaking out. And on top of that we were filming a scene where we were fighting and all of a sudden something lashed me in the butt. Everybody kept saying it was probably a cramp. But I know how it feels when you get a cramp and I wasn’t going crazy, I had felt a lash in my butt. It took us ten minutes to figure out that Sam Claflin’s spear had flown off, hitting me in the butt. It was so fast, nobody saw it, and we didn’t realize until we saw the footage we filmed. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to watch that scene. I was so angry about the fungi and the welt in my butt.
What’s one of your favorite scenes?
I think the one I was most eager to film was the scene I have with Donald Sutherland, where Katniss finds President Snow in her house. It was a very intense, incredible, emotional moment. It would’ve been for any actor, but the fact that it was with Donald Sutherland made it amazing for me.
Which actors or actresses do you look up to? Who would you like to emulate? Do you have any role models?
I don’t know if I’d necessarily call her an idol or a role model, but someone I admire, who’s an incredible actress, is Cate Blanchett. I think she’s extraordinary. And Meryl Streep as well, not just because of her acting but because she’s Meryl Streep and I’d like to live my life the way she has lived hers. The way she went away with her kids, we never saw pictures of her babies. I respect that a lot. And it’s not like I’m that way, because generally I want to do tons of things. I want to produce, I want to do this or that, and have a heart attack at 25 (laughs). But she’s only an actress and I like that.
How has the Oscar changed your life?
Thankfully it hasn’t changed my life. I don’t even know where it is. I think it might be in Kentucky. That’s what I hope, at least, because if not then I have no idea (laughs). I don’t have it.
It hasn’t even changed things on a professional level?
On a professional level, yes. But I don’t consider that part of my life, it’s just my job. I’m much more busy in a good way. You get a lot more opportunities. Obviously an Oscar is not something that can ever hurt your career. In fact, it only does wonderful things for it. The only thing that’s really changed is my personal life, being able to go out and stuff like that. It’s a bit more complicated. But besides that, nothing’s changed.
Josh Hutcherson:
In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, you had a new director. What’s different between Francis Lawrence and Gary Ross?
They’re very different and they have very specific directorial styles. They’re both perfect for what we needed. They both brought in very different things in order to make great movies. I think for me Francis’ style is more about discussing things openly and letting things happen freely in the scene, we would chat about it beforehand and then we let things happen as we filmed. And Gary was very involved when things were happening and he was directing. They’re both great and challenge you as an actor. They’re both tough and nice, but very different.
I believe you get along well with Jennifer Lawrence. Tell us about your relationship with her…
I don’t even know where to begin. It’s so complicated (laughs). She’s completely insane. We have such a great time together. And it’s been like this since the first moment, when we met. We’re both from Kentucky and I think that’s influenced our relationship. As soon as we knew we were both from Kentucky, that gave us the freedom to go crazy with each other. I don’t know why it was like that, but it was. At the same time, besides the craziness, we also have a very authentic friendship. If she needs to talk to me about anything or I need it, we can count on each other. It’s great.
A bit as if you were siblings?
Yes. She has two siblings, and I feel a little bit like part of the family.
Also you seem to like teasing her and did so a lot on the set of this movie…
I love scaring her and making her nervous, because the way she reacts is so funny.
And you made her believe that in one of your scenes, which you shot in a swamp, she was going to catch something in her feet…
She was freaking out. She wouldn’t stop asking me: “Am I going to catch something? How are my feet?”. I love teasing her that way. And I like doing that specifically to her, not to people in general (laughs).
Among the new cast members you have Philip Seymour Hoffman. Was it a little intimidating to work with him?
A little, yes. He has a magnificent presence on set. He’s an incredible actor, someone I’ve always admired. I love all his movies, he’s got a brilliant career. I’ve believed each and every single one of the roles he’s played. So yes, it was a little intimidated to work with him, but I only had a few scenes with him, there wasn’t that much interaction. But the moments we had together were really good.
What do you think this franchise has going for it, that it attracts the talent of people like him, or Woody Harrelson, or Donald Sutherland?
In the first place there’s the book. It’s very well written and it’s a very respected work. All the characters are so rich and interesting. And another thing that attracts people is Jennifer, with her Oscar and everything she does which are so respected. She’s a big incentive for many who just want to work with her. Who wouldn’t want to? She’s incredible. I think she’s one of the biggest reasons why we have actors of this level getting involved in this project.
Catching Fire has a lot of scenes in water, because the Hunger Games happen in an island this time.
It was quite a challenge. Especially because we filmed part of those water scenes in Hawaii, where the water was fantastic and tempered. But we also filmed part of it in Atlanta, where the water was freezing. There were mornings we were filming Cornucopia stuff, we were in the water and I think the water was at about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and the ambient temperature couldn’t be any higher than 2 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit). There were mornings when we went to work and there was ice on the Cornucopia and we had to jump into the water. It was so cold!
But I imagine that the Hawaii part of the shoot must’ve been a lot nicer…
Hawaii is fantastic. It was my second time filming there. The first time was when we shot Journey 2: The Mysterious Island a few years ago, and it was incredible. So this time I felt I was the one member of the team who knew how this Hawaii thing worked (laughs). Actually I had no clue, but it was great to be there. It’s so relaxing. I had a beach house and, after a long day of fighting invisible creatures or whatever it was we were doing, it’s good to be able to come home and feel the sand and water under your feet, and relax. It’s a great feeling. There’s something special about Hawaii, it’s very calm. There’s a very good energy there.
Did you get to play tour guide for the rest of the team?
A little bit, yes. I also invited them to my place a lot because I found a fantastic house. Everybody wanted to live on the other side of the city but I told them: “No, no. You have to come here.” And that’s where I went and everybody agreed that we had found the perfect house. On weekends I organized barbecues or people came over to swim in the pool or the ocean. It was great.
You’ve been in this industry since you were very young. Are you starting to feel the weight of fame?
I think it’s something that comes with this profession. It’s the price you have to pay. But that doesn’t mean it’s something I like, not at all. Despite that, I’ve been lucky. I haven’t had to deal much with it. I like making movies. I think some people act because they like the notoriety and fame it brings them. But for me it would be great to be an actor and not have that fame. It’s not something I like.
I believe you wanted to be an actor since you were just a little kid…
Yes. Ever since I can remember. My parents say I was four or five years old and I would say I wanted to be on TV, but I can’t remember that. I remember wanting to act and how I hated our school plays. I always thought they were cheesy and unrealistic (laughs). I was a bit cynical when it came to school plays.
How do Hunger Games fans behave around you?
They’re amazing. From what I’ve seen, they’re really, really nice people. I don’t often use Twitter or stuff like that because, if I see too many negative criticism, it starts to hurt. It hurts my feelings. So I stay away. I know there’s good things and bad things, but with me they’ve always been really nice. In all our events they’ve shown so much passion, they scream a lot and show us their support for the movie.
Read more from the article and the interview with Francis Lawrence at Mockingjay.net