Willow Shields with Francis Lawrence and Paula Malcomson on setTo celebrate the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on DVD and Blu-Ray March 7th, Willow Shields spoke with Socialite Life about making the movie, her role as Primrose Everdeen and some of her favorite aspects of the film. Plus we get a new behind the scenes set photo!
What is your favorite thing about Prim’s evolution?
My favorite thing is just how mature she’s getting, and how much she’s kind of there for Katniss now. I think it’s a great evolution from starting as such a young girl who has gone through so much in her life to coming out with strength instead of sadness.
What is your favorite thing about Katniss and Prim’s relationship?
My favorite thing is that we really realize that bond from the beginning. The whole reason Katniss goes into The Hunger Games is to save her sister. I think it’s such a strong bond from the beginning and travels on throughout the whole series. There’s a sort of role reversal where Prim is really there for Katniss, but they always have that strong bond throughout the whole series.
Besides the trailer scene, what was your favorite scene to watch?
I really loved seeing all the scenes in the arena because I’m filming scenes in District 12. But when they to all the scenes in the arena I haven’t really seen any glimpses of what’s going on in the arena, or what they’re filming for the arena scenes. I’m like a fan going to see the movie because I almost don’t know what to expect in the arena scenes.
Was there anything that surprised you about how the arena was depicted?
Not really. I just thought all the new tributes they used in the arena were really great. Everyone who portrayed them, they portrayed them perfectly.
I really enjoyed Finnick. Were there any characters that stood out to you out of the newbies?
I really liked Finnick, too and I thought it was fun to see Sam [Claflin] bring that character to life. I really enjoyed seeing Jena [Malone] play Joanna. It’s such a different character for the series. It was fun to see how different that character is. It’s a good touch to the series because in Catching Fire it almost added comedy. That was really cool.
What were your thoughts on the relationship between Katniss and Joanna?
I think both Jenn [Lawrence] and Jena did a fantastic job at doing that the right way. There is a little bit of that tension. Everyone realizes in the end they are all looking for that same thing. That is freedom and just being with their families — faith, and just being there for each other.
Between the first two stories, which character for you think has evolved the most?
I think Liam [Hemsworth] — Gale — has evolved a lot. I think that he’s such a good actor and it’s so fun to see all the scenes he has. It’s fun to see all the scenes he has because he does really well at it.
Were there any pranks in between scenes?
Not really. There was a lot of goofing off. In one scene – it’s a pretty serious scene and I have that cat with me in Catching Fire. She [Jennifer] is in the corner with cat toys trying to get me to laugh. You know, Jenn has set out to make people laugh in scenes when she’s not on camera. That can make it very challenging. She’s definitely taught me a lot.
Has Jennifer Lawrence given you any advice?
She’s given me advice about being who I am about being who I am and not changing because of Hollywood. That’s good advice and I’m definitely going to remember that. She hasn’t changed at all and that’s great. She’s such a fun person to work with.
Why should fans go get the DVD immediately after its release?
It would be really fun because you get an up close feel about what it’s like on set. A really fun behind-the-scenes and deleted scenes. For fans it’s a great experience because they get to witness what goes on on set and how we make a movie.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Right now my celebrity crush is Ansel Elgort. He’s going to be in The Fault in Our Stars which is my favorite book right now. It’s partially because I love the character he plays in The Fault in Our Stars.