Jennifer Lawrence is pretty recognizable these days. After a start on the TBS sitcom THE BILL ENGVALL SHOW, Lawrence made the transition to films, beginning with a small role in THE GARDEN PARTY before a run of critically acclaimed leading roles in THE BROKEN PLAIN and THE POKER HOUSE. It was in 2010 that she burst onto the national scene for her role as Ree Dolly in WINTER'S BONE, a part that landed her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The following year, Lawrence had two strong supporting showings in the long-delayed Mel Gibson film THE BEAVER and LIKE CRAZY. She was then thrust into the world of comic book movies, following in the footsteps of Rebecca Romjin as Mystique in Matthew Vaughn's mutant prequel X-MEN: FIRST CLASS.
Alexander Ludwig has been in the acting game a little longer, starting off his career at the age of nine when he landed a role in a Harry Potter toy commercial. From there, he bounced around with some supporting roles in fare such as MXP: MOST EXTREME PRIMATE and THE SANDLOT: HEADING HOME. He landed his first leading role in THE SEEKER at the age of 15 before moving onto his most notable part as one-half of the alien brother-sister duo in Disney's remake RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN.
Amandla Stenberg had been a Disney catalog model before landing her first acting job, playing a young Zoe Saldana in the 2011 actioner COLOMBIANA. Three acting talents with three larely different backgrounds, but, when you bring them together, they comprise a hefty chunk of the cast of one of 2012's biggest films, the adaptation of the Suzanne Collins young adult novel THE HUNGER GAMES. With Lawrence at the center of that universe as Katniss Everdeen, Ludwig and Stenberg both hold key roles as fellow tributes Cato and Rue in this fight to the death that takes place inside the arena constructed by the nation of Panem. Different character traits, different strategies all with the same goal of survival in mind.
I was able to sit down with the tribute trio as they swung through South Florida as part of THE HUNGER GAMES mall tour. Before they took the stage for a Q&A with the series' rabid fan base, I talked with them about their approach to the magnitude of it all among other things, which got into some spoiler territory about the fate of a few characters and the direction of the next films... so beware if you want to stay fresh. Otherwise, enjoy...
The Infamous Billy The Kidd: It’s nice to meet you guys.
Jennifer Lawrence: It’s nice to meet you.
Alexander Ludwig: It’s nice to meet you, too.
The Kidd: With the popularity of the trilogy of novels and with it kind of being this highly sought after property… There were reports, at least for Katniss, of thirty something actresses who were brought in to read for the role or meet for the role. When you were finally offered it, did you kind of understand and grasp the enormity that was coming with taking on something as big as this?
Jennifer Lawrence: Yeah, I mean it was no secret that these books had a gigantic fanbase and that’s exciting and terrifying, but it was clear by the time we were cast with how many people were involved and who was cast and just the fanbase was huge by then.
The Kidd: And you, Alex, were actually up for Peeta at one point, right?
Alexander Ludwig: I was. Yeah, yeah.
The Kidd: It’s a dramatic shift to go from playing this love interest role to kind of this villainous role, which I think is kind of unfair. Between Rue and Cato there is this fine line that’s walked between the characters, because you’re kind of with the Capitol not really being brought in in grand scope in the first film. You are viewed as a villain where as you are kind of this sisterly alliance, but really you are both in it for the same reasons. You are both still fighting for survival as well as Katniss.
Alexander Ludwig: Absolutely.
The Kidd: Was there a different kind of preparation that went in… Initially did you kind of think “All right, I’m in for Peeta” and then it’s a total shift in terms of…
Alexander Ludwig: Well with that, that was actually very sudden. I was auditioning with Gary [Ross] and he just randomly kind of threw that out there and was like “Would you be interested in reading for Cato?” I was like “Yeah, that sounds great. I would love to try something different. I’ve never done that.” So right after that I got brought back in for Peeta, so then I met Jenn on that. When I actually originally got offered that role, it was really out of the blue. I really was overwhelmed with joy, because I really never have experienced traveling to that dark side and experiencing the dark side for another human being and a more twisted side of people, but yeah like you said... Preparation-wise, the way I see it is like Cato doesn’t really see himself as a villain at all. It’s like this is all he knows and once he gets into the games, his whole mentality gets a little twisted and he goes psychotic. I think at the very end it really goes to show that there is a little bit of humanity and hope in everyone and that’s kind of why I really wanted the role.
The Kidd: Can you speak about… It’s kind of this twisted commentary I think along the entire film and at least in the books, because you have people who are picking sides and clearly they are picking Katniss, because you are at the center of it. People will say “Cato is this baddy guy” or “Rue, she’s this really nice, sweet kind of character,” but there’s this women empowerment kind of thing that goes with Katniss as the heart of the story, but people do pick sides as far as who their characters are. Can you kind of just speak to what it is in the book and in the film where everybody goes into the arena as kind of equals. Everybody is still fighting to come out and be the one who wins, but it doesn’t seem to translate that well to the audience, like there’s still this “This one is my favorite” or…
Jennifer Lawrence: Well my interpretation was always it wasn’t the tributes against each other. These are kids, all of them as innocents being forced into this arena to fight for their lives and I always thought that the sides were her, this new revolt of fighting against the game in the first place and making people angry enough that there’s an uprising to fight against it. I don’t think we paid too much attention to the rivalries within the arena, because the bigger scope of it is that this is even happening at all and that’s what sets us up for the next story, hopefully, of it making people mad enough to actually start fighting back for the first time in years.
The Kidd: Is there pressure going into a film like this, because you have this ridiculous fan base, which can be very fickle to a point when the casting goes out or when they start to see shots. I’m sure you heard some of the criticisms when you were first cast that “She’s too old. She doesn’t look like it” and then I think the first shot came out of you in full Katniss garb and they were like “Okay. I can see it.” Is there a pressure that goes into doing a film like this where you have this enormous fan base and are trying to make sure that it is respectful of the books and there be changes... like where the mockingjay pin comes from that I’m sure people are going to jump on... but is there pressure to kind of make sure that things stayed true to where it all came from?
Jennifer Lawrence: We knew that we would. Everybody who was making the film was a fan of the books, but we all understood that to make a good film you have to break away from it. Everything that we loved about the books and everything that touched us about Suzanne’s writing, it’s all in there. We also had to break away from the book and make an amazing script, which is what they did with Suzanne involved and make a great film, so yeah there are going to be changes, but that’s never a good way to watch a movie by going “They’re doing this when they should do that…” You know, it’s not a home video from page to page. It’s a movie and should be seen as such. I had to do the same thing and turn my brain off as a fan of the book.
Alexander Ludwig: And like Jenn said, I think the one thing we all had in common going into that film is that we were all fans of the book. I think not only is there that enormous pressure of the huge fandom, but we are putting if not more pressure on ourselves, because we are just big fans of that. Suzanne had such a big part in the movie, I think the fans are going to be really excited to see how translated onto film, because I think Gary did an excellent job with that.
The Kidd: How difficult was this shoot? Beyond training for survival skills and archery and everything like that, I imagine there’s just a lot of physicality to it with climbing trees and roaming through the forest. I know you [to Jennifer] probably had some stunt training when you did X MEN: FIRST CLASS and I’m sure you [to Amandla] had some stunt training when you did COLOMBIANA, but beyond that did they just kind of throw you out there and beat the hell out of you to ground this in reality?
Amandla Stenberg: No, no.
Jennifer Lawrence: No, our trainers beat the hell out of us.
[Everyone Laughs]
Amandla Stenberg: Yeah, everyone had some training. I know they both had very intense training. I actually got to do some really fun stuff where I had a custom made harness and I got to practice climbing trees as fast as I could and then also for fun I just got to jump up really high and then land like fifty feet away.
Jennifer Lawrence: With a harness on though.
Amandla Stenberg: Yes.
[Everyone Laughs]
Jennifer Lawrence: She’s actually a human grasshopper.
The Kidd: Lionsgate I know has already kind of announced the date for CATCHING FIRE, as November 2013. I’m curious, have they already reached out with a time line as far as when it’s going to get shot? I know Simon Beaufoy has been brought on to do a script and Gary Ross has been brought back to direct. Is there a timeline as far as when this will start to get shot? They aren’t wasting any time. It seems to be like “We are going to get through this trilogy” or four movies if they split one, but is there a timeline?
Alexander Ludwig: (Laughs) “There will be eight movies…”
Jennifer Lawrence: There’s a timeline for my training, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I’m going to start training like early fall, but we’re waiting for this movie to come out and get on its feet before…
The Kidd: I don’t think it’s going to have a problem getting on its feet.
Alexander Ludwig: They are working on incorporating Cato and Rue into the second one. They are trying to find a way to do that, so we’ll see.
(Everyone Laughs)
The Kidd: You look at it and… Spoiler Alert... but you look at it like “Damn! We are missing the boat for these other two movies.”
Jennifer Lawrence: I still can’t get it in my head that you guys are dead and not coming back.
The Kidd: And it’s pretty final. I mean Rue is pretty final. That’s probably the most emotional of them all and that’s a…
Alexander Ludwig: Oh, absolutely.
The Kidd: Unless there are flashbacks, I don’t know how they are going to work that into it.
Jennifer Lawrence: They’ll try to make a lot of flashbacks. I’ll do a lot of running for the whole time.
The Kidd: Before I let you go, I have to ask about X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, because I know that Matthew Vaughn has already said he’s going to come back.
Jennifer Lawrence: You and your sequels… Look at you. (Laughs)
The Kidd: The geeks have to know!
Jennifer Lawrence: I know. I feel bad for you. I want to tell you everything, I just don’t know. I’ve only heard what everybody else has heard, that there are whispers that it’s going to happen, but I have not gotten the official call. As soon as I do...
The Kidd: You'll tell me.
Jennifer Lawrence: I will tell you.
The Kidd: I appreciate that. Well, thank you very much.
Jennifer Lawrence: Thank you.
THE HUNGER GAMES opens this Friday, March 23.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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