Liam Hemsworth Talks About His Hunger Games Castmates With Nylon Guys

Liam Hemsworth is the cover star of the Oct/Nov issue of Nylon Guys (out today). Inside the issue, besides the lovely pics, Liam talks about the close bond he shares with his Hunger Games castmates. Francis Lawrence and Woody Harrelson also chime in about the cast's relationship. 

From Nylon Guys:

Of his Hunger Games castmates, Hemsworth says:  “I’ve been friends with all these people for so many years now….  I’m so lucky to have Jennifer [Lawrence] and Josh [Hutcherson] and Woody [Harrelson] and all these other great people. We’ve created really strong bonds.”  And of the fun on the set:  “It’s like high school because we’ll mess around for half the day and then we’ll do a little bit of work. Everyone’s goofing around and trying to mess each other up.”

Adds The Hunger Games: Mockingjay –Part 1 director, Francis Lawrence, “Jen was hands down the biggest joker, but any time you had Liam in a scene with some combination of Jen, Josh, or Woody, there were going to be a lot of laughs.”  And says Harrelson, “My rapport with Jen and Josh: We got on like a house fire. It was a longer process to get to know Liam. But it was only a matter of time before we were cracking each other up in scenes. We had to not look at each other or we’d mess up the shot.”

Hemsworth, 24, has already worked with an enviable group of A-list vets, telling NYLON Guys:

“Woody’s [Harrelson] like a little kid.  “Me and Jen [Lawrence] always call him a Labrador because you throw something and he’ll fetch it. When he does turn it on, he’s got the most intense, crazy look in his eyes. He’s such a great actor, yet he can be so free and just have fun with the whole thing.”

The Story Behind Katniss' Hunting Jacket From 'The Hunger Games' Costume Designer Judianna Makovsky

The Hunger Games Costume Designer Judianna Makovsky has some of her work on display at the Hollywood Costume Exhibition, opening October 2 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, which puts 150 legendary costumes on display. Makovsky sat down with Fast Company to talk about some of her work. She talked about something every superfan of The Hunger Games has probably wondered at some point: Why does Katniss' hunting jacket - supposedly a hand-me-down from her father - actually fit her perfectly? I admit it, I've wondered! 

When we started designing Katniss’s hunting costume, we tried to follow the description in the book exactly. The book describes her jacket as her father’s old hunting jacket. We drew inspiration from American mining work clothes, and also looked at leather jackets from the ‘30s through the ‘50s. But the first jacket we made, from leather, really didn’t look good. Because it was meant to be her father’s, it was oversized, and way too big and bulky. It impeded her from shooting the arrow. So finally, after testing it out, I said, “I think we should make a jacket that actually fits her.” I knew superfans might be disappointed, but in a filmic, realistic sense, the oversized jacket just didn’t work.

Willow Shields on Jennifer Lawrence, "She really is like a sister to me."

Willow Shields spoke with InStyle.com about her Hunger Games on-screen sister and real-life friend and confidant, Jennifer Lawrence.

“She’s done a great job of supporting me in a way that helps to keep my life balanced while staying grounded like she is,” Shields says. “Jen has an Oscar and she’s one of the most famous people in the world, but she’s still super humble and down to earth. She’s really taught me to stay that way.”

Jen has also set an example for Willow with her focused work ethic. “People always talk about how Jen’s so funny, and she is. She lightens the serious on-set mood in a great way,” Shields says. “But they don’t see the fact that when they say ‘action,’ she’s serious about her work and portraying her character the right way. I love that about her—it’s inspiring that she can balance having fun on set while also being serious.”

Their already close bond strengthened during Mockingjay filming “She really is like a sister to me, and when my mom’s not traveling with me, she’s like a mom to me,” Shields says. “She’s so protective over me, and somehow we’ve become even closer while filming Mockingjay, which I didn’t know was possible!”

Willow also found out that there are LOTS of Hunger Games fans in New York, “I was walking around Lincoln Center, and people started yelling, ‘I volunteer as tribute!’"

TNT Secures Television Rights to 'The Hunger Games' Franchise

TNT recently secured the television rights to The Hunger Games and Divergent movie franchises in a deal with Lionsgate. Confused? Me too. We announced recently that ABC Family was to air The Hunger Games on network TV this October and had also secured the rights to air Catching Fire. 

The new deal with TNT gives them the right to air the movies after ABC Family's window. The Hunger Games will air on TNT in winter 2015, with Catching Fire following in winter 2016, Mockingjay Part 1 airing in 2017, and Part 2 in 2018.

The deal also includes network premiere windows for Divergent and sequel Insurgent, which hits theaters in March 2015, plus two additional follow-up films.

This deal comes into effect after the pay TV window for both franchises and ABC Family's airings. EPIX has first-run pay TV rights to The Hunger Games franchise, with the first film and Catching Fire currently available through Epix's cable channel, On Demand service, website and apps. HBO has first-run pay TV rights for the Divergent franchise.

So, basically, The Hunger Games franchise is popular enought that networks are buying and re-buying the rights to the franchise and it will be on television forever. 

The Hunger Games airs on ABC Family October 10th, 11th and 12th at 8pm ET/PT.

Network TV Premiere of 'The Hunger Games' on ABC Family Oct 10th

Some of you may remember reading about ABC Family acquiring the rights to The Hunger Games and its sequels back in 2012, after the success of the first film. According to a press release, they're finally set to air The Hunger Games in its network television premiere on October 10th at 8pm ET/PT.

The movie will repeat on Saturday, October 11^th and Sunday, October 12^th at 8pm ET/PT. 

Jena Malone Talks 'Mockingjay' Cast & Fans on Windy City Live

Jena Malone made an appearance on Windy City Live in Chicago ahead of her performance with The Shoe at the Thompson Chicago on July 7th. 

Jena spoke a little about The Hunger Games films, the cast and the fandom at the tail end of the video (about 6 min in).

The host asked her, "Are you still pinching yourself about how big this movie is and the craze surrounding it?"

Jena replied,

"It's always hard to conceive that amount of people and that amount of, you know, all of that. But it's so easy to work on this film because the people are so amazing. And we formed such an incredible family. And for me, like, the fanbase has been SO beautiful, and just, like, honest and supportive. And to just have this army of teenage girls and boys that are so passionate about something, for me, that's really inspiring."

Jena and Lem Jay Ignacio also performed on the show:

'Mockingjay Part 1' Teaser Trailer #2 Likely This Week

We could have a new Mockingjay teaser trailer by Thursday, tributes!!

Our friends at Quarter Quell say a 59 second long NEW teaser will be in US cinemas this week, to be shown with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes starting with Thursday previews. Hopefully, that means we'll see it online on CapitolTV (and The Hunger Games official YouTube channel) before the debut in theaters on Thursday.

This hasn't been confirmed by Lionsgate so please be advised. AND be sure to check with your local theater before heading out. Some theaters opted not to show the first Mockingjay teaser as expected before Transformers: Age of Extinction and many tributes were very disappointed. 

Read the details at QuarterQuell.org.

'Catching Fire' Nominated in the Young Hollywood Awards

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is nominated for several Young Hollywood Awards. You can only vote in two of the categories: Fan Favorite Actor Male and Female. Vote HERE through July 18th.

Fan Favorite Actor – Male
Liam Hemsworth
Josh Hutcherson

Fan Favorite Actor – Female
Jennifer Lawrence

Breakthrough Actor
Sam Claflin

Best Threesome
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson)

Best Cast Chemistry – Film
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Favorite Flick
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The 2014 Young Hollywood Awards air on the CW on July 28 at 8/7C.