Some of the best lines in Catching Fire are uttered by the incredible Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. She provides much needed comic relief in the film, and some of the most heart-wrenching emotional moments as well. So we were thrilled to hear that Elizabeth actually improvised most of those hilarious one-liners, and fought for them to be included in the movie for the sake of the fans. Read her interview with MTV for more:
While the wild wigs, costume and makeup that make Banks nearly unrecognizable go a long way to building the memorable character, it turns out that the actress herself came up with several shout-outs and lines that will undoubtedly further cement Effie's place as a fan favorite.
For example, remember the best line of the first movie? Of course you do:
In Catching Fire, Banks managed a sly wink at the infamous quote while offering a running commentary on the Capitol landmarks she's walking Katniss and Peeta through: "The library, all mahogany."
"I brought that back, I threw it in there," she said of the line, which was unscripted. "I did it, and Francis called cut, and I went over to him, and said, 'You have to keep that in the movie, because the fans will go bananas.' " (We DID!)
Lawrence left it in and the fans did indeed go bananas, if exclamation point-filled Tumblr reactions are any evidence. Banks didn't just put her own spin on hardwood references though. She also revealed that the "Ooh, curtains" comment about a fellow Capitol citizen's choice of accessory, as well as the memorably snapped "chins up, smiles on" tossed in the glum Katniss' direction were her ideas.
"I get to improv a lot with Effie, which is fun," she said. "There were really very few words scripted so I got to have fun with that sequence."