New 'Mockingjay Part 2' Still of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss + Interview

The New York Times just released a brand new still from Mockingjay Part 2 alongside a great interview with Jennifer Lawrence. Seeing this new image makes me realize how badly we are starved for STILLS! We want more!!

Here's the full interview by Brooks Barnes:

"I picture myself drowning.”

Jennifer Lawrence swallowed hard and continued. “I picture myself drowning. Outwardly, I look like I’m having a blast, and I am, at least on some levels. There I was — burp, burp, burp — just a little gal from Kentucky getting discovered by big ol’ Hollywood. But inside I’m terrified. In an instant — boom — everyone’s listening, everyone’s looking.”

Ms. Lawrence, 25, was trying to remember the even younger woman she was in the fall of 2011, as the promotional campaign for the first “Hunger Games” movie began. The attention was not entirely new; she attended the 2011 Academy Awards as a best actress nominee, for the gritty indie “Winter’s Bone.” But that experience was nothing compared with the scrutiny that arrived when she signed on to play Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant fighter at the center of the “Hunger Games” series.

And now? How does Ms. Lawrence assess herself as she prepares to say goodbye to Katniss? “Mockingjay Part 2,” the fourth and final “Hunger Games” movie (at least for now), arrives from Lionsgate on Nov. 20.

The answer — along with Ms. Lawrence’s take on Kris Jenner, being too young to play roles for David O. Russell but doing it anyway, and her dreamy connections to her “Hunger Games” cast mates — emerged last month during an hourlong conversation in a suite at the Four Seasons hotel here. She arrived for the afternoon interview fully primped for a photo shoot (black stilettos, white micro-miniskirt with zippers on the side) and took command: efficient handshake, can we please turn off the air conditioning, let’s get on with this. Before long, though, she had her feet on the sofa and was unwrapping candy while laughing and showing signs of being a fun gossip. Here are excerpts:

Q. At this point, Katniss has been through the mill. She’s had to hunt children for sport against her will. She’s been bedeviled more than once by that godforsaken cat.

A. If Katniss was scared in the last movie, then she is almost numb in the next one. She’s been through so much.

Q. Does the same description apply to you? You’ve been through a lot, too, over these last few years. Your private photos stolen and published online. Your pay for “American Hustle” dumped on the Internet as part of the Sony hack. Falling down at the Oscars.

Could you maybe rattle off a few more mortifying things about me? [Laughs.]

Sorry. How have you personally changed since the first “Hunger Games”?

I don’t feel like I’m being dragged by anything anymore. I feel more in control. I’m calmer. I know that there’s no point to feeling anxious all day, so I try not to. I’m still scared, but it’s about different things. Now, I worry about — [Trails off and shifts a bit uncomfortably on the sofa.] O.K., get ahold of yourself, Jennifer. This is not therapy.

Click to read more ...

Jennifer Lawrence - New Images & Video for The Be Dior Winter 2015 Handbag Campaign

Dior has released some new images and a behind the scenes video of the lovely Jennifer Lawrence for their Winter 2015 Be Dior Handbag campaign. 

 

My handbag is noisy too, Jen.

What do you think of Jennifer's latest Dior campaign? You can check out photos from her Shine Don't Be Shy Dior Addict lipstick campaign here. 

A Tribute to The Hunger Games Trilogy - The Books

Our 100 days of Mockingjay celebration burns on! This week we're honoring the place where it all began: Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games book trilogy.

 
Suzanne Collins created The Hunger Games from an idea born of late night channel surfing between real war coverage and reality television. Suzanne, the daughter of a career military man and Vietnam Veteran, has said that she wanted to write an age-appropriate war story for every age group. The Hunger Games is her war story for young adults. The trilogy's themes of poverty, socio-economic disparity, government corruption, propaganda, revolution, redemption, and the consequences of war mirror events in our current society.

The Hunger Games means different things to different people. For some, Katniss Everdeen is a strong and inspiring female role model, and for some she inspires as a survivor of poverty and PTSD. She's complicated, imperfect, damaged and an incredibly compelling lead character.

Some people adore the love stories. Suzanne wrote interesting, complex relationships without a typical fairytale ending in the lot: Katniss and Peeta, Katniss and Gale, Finnick and Annie, even Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen.

As we've seen throughout this 100 Days of MJ project, The Hunger Games means much more to people than a series of novels or a movie franchise. Seven of the ten most highlighted Kindle passages ever are from The Hunger Games trilogy, and The Hunger Games is the third most highlighted book OF ALL TIME, eclipsed only by The Bible and Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. 

How You Can Participate This Week:


Suzanne's words are compelling and powerful, meaningful and resonant. We want to honor those words this week by asking you to share your favorite Hunger Games book quote or passage in a visual way. Take a quote that has made an impact on you and make an edit, write it out, take a photo – the possibilities are endless. Let your imagination run wild. Just feature the words of THG in a visual way and use the hashtag #THGTrilogy to share it on social media. 

We are partnering with our friends at Everlarked & Always (who made the beautiful edit above) this week. They'll also be sharing some of your tagged work on their Tumblr blog Everlarked & Always, so be sure to follow.

GIVEAWAY:

We can't have a new theme without a new giveaway. This week (Wed, Sept 9 - Tues, Sept 14th) ONE winner will receive:

A boxed set of The Hunger Games trilogy foil editions 

A set of 5 Mockingjay pins: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, the new Mockingjay Part 2 pin that was given away at Comic-Con and a black Mockingjay pin (5 pins in total).  

Enter the giveaway through the widget below. Sharing a photo on social media is not required to enter, nor does it count as an entry BUT it sure is fun, and we can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

'Mockingjay Part 2' Official Calendars Now Available for Pre-Order!

The official Mockingjay Part 2 2016 calendar is now available for pre-sale on Amazon! This little beauty has a gorgeous cover and rebellion styled interior pages featuring the awesome Faces of The Revolution images. 

Pre-order yours HERE on Amazon for only $8.39 at presstime. They'll be released on Oct 1st. 

'Mockingjay Part 2' and Cast Featured on Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight aired a little featurette on Mockingjay Part 2 and cast members Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth last night. Check it out:

Seeing the old clips makes me a little nostalgic. I can't believe it's the beginning of the end! 

How To Save A (Tribute's) Life: Francesca's Hunger Games Story

Can The Hunger Games save your life? Francesca-Maria certainly thinks so. We were so inspired by her #MyTHGStory a few weeks back, and the tattoos she got to symbolize her journey, that we wanted to share it with all of you.

 

Hello, my name is Francesca, I'm 19. Today I would like to share my Story with you Tributes and tell you how The Hunger Games saved my life. It must sound crazy, I know that. How can a book series and a movie can save somebodies life? But that is what happened.

I want to take you on a little time travel trip back to 2010 early summer. I got diagnosed with an eating disorder. I was starving myself to death and was admitted to our local hospital. One day, my Mom (visiting me) asked me if there is anything she could get me, anything I need or want, and I told her, "Please get me a book." I needed something to do, and she said okay. She asked if there was a certain book I wanted, but I said "No. Just something you think is good. I don't care." 

The book that she brought me happened to be The Hunger Games. When I saw the name on the book, I didn’t want to read it because I figured it was a story about someone also who was struggling with the same problem that I was. I didn’t need to read anything about that. But my Mom said, "Go ahead and read it anyway. You will see that it is not about what you are dealing with."  (She had already read it).

So I started reading and got so engrossed in the story that I couldn’t put the book down. After I had finished all three of the books, I started thinking about Katniss and how she had to fight for her life and the lives of her family. I started thinking that my life with this disorder was like the book. That the disorder was the Capitol and I was Katniss, and I had to fight for my life. Also, the movies were a big help. When the first movie came out, I asked my Mom to take me. She did agree only on one condition that I would eat some popcorn, something I hadn’t eaten in over two years. I wanted to see the movie so badly that I agreed with her. 

So it went on, year after year I fought, I watched the movies re-read the books for inspiration each time I felt bad and thought 'I’m not worth it.'

 

I also got the best role model a girl could ever imagine. I am so, so, so thankful for what our amazing Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss did for me although she doesn’t even know me. She is also a major reason that I am where I am at in my life today and maybe one day I will be able to tell her that in person. 

Now after five years since the diagnosis and treatment of my disorder I can proudly say that I’m back & living my life again.

Suzanne Collins, you are my hero, you wrote the books that saved my life, and Francis Lawrence you made them real for me. There is no way to describe fully what The Hunger Games means to me. It is a huge part of my life and always will be!

Thanks also to The Hunger Games fandom, without you guys I wouldn’t have made it either. You are amazing and like family to me! I want every little boy and girl out there to know that you are perfect as you are and being different than the rest does not mean that you're not worth the same. Be proud of yourself no matter what, you are perfect and awesome just the way you are, and something or somebody will come along to light up your day and be your silver lining. For me, it happened to be a book series and an amazing and talented actress as well as my family and friends.

Just remember as Effie would say, "CHINS UP, SMILES ON!"

I love you ♥  

Say hello to Francesca on twitter @JoultLover.

This week in our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration we're talking about Hunger Games cosplay, tattoos, make-up, hair and nail art. Find out how you can participate on social media and enter our giveaway for a Katniss cowl and black Mockingjay pin HERE.  

The Hunger Games Producer Nina Jacobson Talks About The End of The Franchise, Women in Hollywood & More With FilmInk

Nina, Liam, Jen, Josh and Francis at the Catching Fire premiere in Madrid Nov 2013

FilmInk just posted a great new interview with Nina Jacobson on the end of The Hunger Games films, how Jen Josh and Liam have changed over the course of filming and some of the challenges facing women in the movie industry today. She also reiterates how she feels about more Hunger Games films. Same here, Nina!

Nina Jacobson was named one of Forbes most “100 Powerful Women” in 2005, and that was before the savvy producer had even broken out on her own and helped launch a franchise known as The Hunger Games. Jacobson began her career with brief stints at Universal Pictures and Dreamworks before she moved to Walt Disney in 1988 where she worked as studio executive on such blockbuster works as the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, Remember the Titans and the first Chronicles of Narnia film. However, in 2006, Jacobson was one of the causalities in a restructuring at Disney and she was let go from the company. Her termination at Disney, however, pushed Jacobson to start her own production company, Color Force, in 2007. The company secured the rights to Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, which proved a hit franchise. But the next series of novels she would acquire would do ever better. They were The Hunger Games, and with the series coming to an end in November, Jacobson reflected on production, and talked female protagonists and directors and the push for change. 

It’s a good investment that you made…

It turned out ok!

What sparked this for you?

I just found that it was a book where once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It just felt really powerful, really relevant. And I thought that it managed to be provocative and to talk about violence, entertainment, and the gap between the 1% and the 99%, but to do it all through the prism of a character who you felt deeply for. It just felt like something you had never seen before, and something that I wanted to see on screen, and a character that was unforgettable.

In what ways have you seen Jennifer, Liam and Josh change over the course of filming?

I think the most heartening thing has been to see how close they have become with each other. Often times fame divides people and makes people individuate or be competitive with each other. They never turned that way. They became a family, they became incredibly close, they grew up together. Other people of that age are going to college, and they instead had this experience. Certainly their freedom of movement has been impacted, but they have had a good role model in someone like Woody. Everywhere you go people recognise him, and he’s really gracious about it, and really appreciative. It’s not like you appreciate it when people bother you at dinner, but appreciate that success of that kind is nothing to be taken for granted. They all come from good families, of people who have their head on straight, and are surrounded by good people and not yes people.

In terms of franchises and offshoots, is there another life for any of this Hunger Games mania?

I don’t know. Right now it’s hard for me to picture that. Right now it feels complete. If Suzanne Collins has an inspiration I’d be psyched, but at this point I don’t know how to do that.

In your career, you’ve gone through so many incarnations. Would you ever want to step back into the studio reigns again or do you like the independence you have now?

At this point, I love the feeling of being one of the people who makes the thing. That you really feel a sense of connection and being on the team, and being the advocate. At this point it’s hard for me to imagine going back. I loved being an executive and never thought I’d want to be a producer, and now I love being a producer and it’s hard to imagine putting the suit back on. But never say never.

In terms of having female characters as protagonists, and proving that can be successful, how important was The Hunger Games?

I think The Hunger Games is part of a larger story, that thankfully has included some other big titles that have shown it not to be an anomaly. Whether it’s Frozen, Inside Out, Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat… there are so many great, entertaining and successful films that have been made and driven by great actresses. Something like the latest Ghostbusters is something that you wouldn’t have imagined happening five or ten years ago, and now it makes perfect sense. It’s part of a larger story in which some of these strides are being made, and the obvious is becoming apparent – which is that as 50% of the population, and with probably more than 50% of consumer decisions being made by women, we should also be able to star and drive commercially successful films. I think it has been happening for a long time, but people just keep not getting the point. Something like Titanic was driven by Kate Winslet and by female audiences who saw it again and again and again. And people still need to be reminded about the obvious. Hello!

Jennifer Lawrence has her production company. Did she pick your brains about it?

Yeah, we definitely talked about it a bit. I’m really proud and excited to see her take that next step. She actually said one of the nicest things to me that anybody ever said, which was that on set that I don’t say that much, but what I do say she always wants to hear. The idea that it’s better to create an environment in which people can do their best work, and to only speak up when you have something meaningful to say, and not just to impose your presence as a producer. To let other people’s voices emerge instead of your own.

Be sure to check out the full post at FilmInk.

No Surprise To Us! 'Mockingjay Part 2' Is This Fall's Most Anticipated Film

According to Variety, and no surprise to anyone reading this website, Mockingjay Part 2 tops the list of this Fall's most anticipated films. Fandango conducted a survey of 1,000 moviegoers on the films they’re most excited to see between September and November and MJ2 won by a pretty big margin. 

Here are Fandango user’s top autumn picks:

Most anticipated fall movie:
1. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2”: 36%
2. “Spectre”: 21%
3. “The Martian”: 11%
4. “Bridge of Spies”: 10%
5. “Black Mass”: 9%

This list doesn't include expected biggies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Jennifer Lawrence's highly anticipated Joy as those films will be released in December. This is the third consecutive year a Hunger Games film has topped the annual survey.