Francis Lawrence talked to Aint It Cool News about Catching Fire, and a lot of really interesting information is included in this interview. One of the key takeaways: A short rooftop scene was shot for the movie and cut out. Let's cross our fingers for the DVD/Blu-ray extras! Read on:

Mr. Beaks: The political intrigue leading up to the games is much more interesting this time. You definitely take your time getting us into the arena. Were you worried about pacing at all in letting it play out somewhat deliberately? I'm thinking specifically of the scenes with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman). 

Francis Lawrence: What's interesting is that stuff that was added. In the books it's one point-of-view; you're with Katniss 100 percent of the time. But CATCHING FIRE is totally an antagonist-driven story. Everything that's happening is happening because Snow is deciding some event is going to happen, and Katniss is acting because of that; then something changes, and Snow reacts to that. It was important to see those scenes and sequences we always thought were happening behind the scenes with Snow and Plutarch. Those were backwards engineered, where you know certain events are happening in District 12 or within the games, and then you have to think about "If the two of them are working together trying to figure out what to do with Katniss Everdeen, where are those scenes taking place? How are they coming to those decisions?" It was really fun stuff to develop because it wasn't in the book.

Beaks: That chess match continues into the games. There's another level to the games this time. In adapting the story, did you feel you had to simplify or clarify these machinations?

Lawrence: No, but you have to be super careful. Without giving too much away, there's a lot going on and a lot of plans that you're unsure of for a while. It's making sure that you're threading that story through in a way that you can look back and go, "Okay, I can see how that would happen under my nose" - as it all happens under Katniss's nose. We had to make sure that the story was working on those fronts, but we didn't want to be too obvious with anything. Then it becomes expository and boring and too on-the-nose. It loses its mystery.

MORE after the jump!