Full Scans of the Empire Magazine ‘Hunger Games’ Feature

1/28/2012Hunger Games MovieFlo

Thanks to our reader @hgfanatic, we now have full scans from the Hunger Games article in the March 2012 issue of Empire Magazine to add to the tribute bios  and new stills we previously posted. Right click and open these up in a new window to see the full-size version.

The article is amazing and you’ll find quote excerpts below the gallery.

Gary Ross on the Film’s Rating;

“I don’t think it has to be violent in order to be urgent.  For the majority of the movie Katniss is being pursued and it’s a violent universe she’s in.  But that doesn’t mean the violence has to be depicted gruesomely or exploited in any way.”

Jennifer says that the day she filming the opening of the Games it was 115 degree and 10% humidity with no rain:

“It was awful. I had to spring across this field with long grass – sprint sprint sprint – and then get into this fight. And then start over. I was running every day. Physically it was just non-stop. It was insane.”

Jennifer On Gary Ross’ direction:

“I used to tell Gary I was going to make a coffee-table book of his directions because they were always so funny…not to think like an orang-utan.” It was during a scene where her spring through the forest is suddenly interrupted by a fireball exploding into a tree nearby. She was thrown back, and didn’t realize that at the time she’d raised her arms into a perfect circle above her head. “I watched it on playback and I did look exactly like an orang-utan….”

Gary talking about Katniss:

“In this very harsh universe where these kids are literally forced to fight for their own survival, Katniss fights for her own humanity. At first she’s just fighting to live and in the end she finds something she is willing to die for.”

Ross on the story and his approach to the film:

“If you looked at the story from the outside it would be the most forbidding story in the world. But Suzanne was wise enough to write it from the inside so you have all of these human yearnings from a well drawn protagonist. I tried to make the movie the same way.  You’re walking in Katniss’ shoes. You don’t give the viewer information that the protagonist doesn’t have, and you shoot in a very subjective style, so we’re following this serpentine path with Katniss.  There is a certain roughness in the way I shot this compared to other movies, because it demanded that.”

Gary on Jennifer Lawrence:

“If she hadn’t been born I don’t know what I would have done. I work with a lot of great actors, but in my life I don’t think I’ve ever worked with anyone more talented. She just has this strong vitality; she knows her own strength and doesn’t hide it in any way. She’s a modern day heroine. When she came in and read for me I was knocked speechless.”

Jennifer on her initial hesitation at taking the role:

“If this is as big as it’s anticipated to be there will have to be some changes to my life – security systems and all that stuff. Now I’m living on the beach without a care in the world. It’s a hard thing to think about, your life being completely different. But I didn’t want to miss out on something because I was scared.”

Jennifer on the similarities between Katniss and Ree from Winter’s Bone

“I do see similarities. They’re both young adults who have to deal with responsibility far bigger than themselves and have to bring out a warrior side to care for their family. They’re incredibly alike in that way.”

Josh Hutcherson talking about how the movie will look:

“The contrast Gary created with the set designers was incredible. You cut back and forth between the Games, where you see this battle unfold, and the Capitol, where people are sipping cocktails and watching it on TV.”

Gary on Panem and the Capitol:

“It’s set in the future, but it needs its own past. So the Capitol had to have a sense of history. So we went for architecture that was massive, concrete, monumental.  We took inspiration from mid-20th century Brutalism–and as I was looking at this I realized that the power is expressed through open spaces, so that was the first reference point. We looked at great seats of power, like Red Square and went from there.”

Ross on the Battle Royale Comparisons;

“I think that is something that is something glimpsed from the outside, just from the premise. This is something that proceeds inside out, from inside Katniss’ shoes. This is also about the structure of this society–the way Suzanne created this relationship between the Capitol and the Districts and the way they use the Games to segregate people and as an the ultimate extension of this kind of entertainment. So yeah have there been premises like this? Sure. But it’s the interpretation of that [which marks The Hunger Games out.]”

Josh on Katniss and Peeta’s Game Strategies:

“Peeta knows that if it ever comes down to a head to head with Katniss, he’s in love with her so it’s an obvious choice what he’d do. But Katniss has to survive for her family , so it’s very different for her and she doesn’t have that certainty.”

Liam Hemsworth on Gale:

“Gale’s very similar to Katniss: he’s constantly trying to figure out a way to fight back against the system, but he’s really powerless, he’s on his own.”

Liam on the suggestion of a Love Triangle:

“These are not love stories. They’re not presented in a sexy way. It’s not about relationships for Katniss, but survival.”

Elizabeth Banks on Effie:

“I think she’s really complicated. She understands that everything she has built up can be taken away from her at any moment; in this world every character knows that any minute they could have their tongue lopped off. So there are moments, where Effie is truly behind her mentees, and moments where she is great comic relief, because she takes everything so seriously and is inappropriately optimistic about things where the outcome is literally predetermined.”

Jennifer on reality TV:

We all can’t wait to tune into the new season of the Kardashians to watch a marriage be destroyed. That’s such a heartbreaking, terrible thing to happen to anybody, and we tune in and watch it. We’re becoming more and more desensitized to the things we see on TV.  That’s our entertainment: people suffering.”

Empire is a UK publication and is the March issue is on newstands now.  You can also purchase an iPad edition, for details click here.  Unfortunately the iPad application necessary to view the issue is not available currently in the US, and is also not available in Australia.

Note from Admin T: Many are asking how US readers might get a hold of a copy, I do recall purchasing a copy of The Harry Potter collector’s edition of Empire at Barnes & Noble, so that might be a good place to check.  I cannot say for sure that they will have it, but they did carry it once before.  The price was around $10, but I’m not sure if that was due to the collector’s nature of the magazine or if that was regular US price.

Thank you again to @hgfanatic for sending us these scans!