Summary
- Jennifer Lawrence missed filming an important moment in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire due to being sick, leaving Jena Malone to film the elevator scene without her.
- Malone revealed this behind-the-scenes tidbit during a red carpet interview while discussing her anticipation for the new Hunger Games prequel.
- Despite Lawrence’s absence, the elevator scene was successfully completed, which Malone says showcases the magic of filmmaking.
Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t on set for one important moment in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The 2013 movie was the first sequel to The Hunger Games, which was adapted from the young adult dystopian novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. In Catching Fire, District 12 Hunger Games tribute Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) has an awkward moment with District 7 tribute Johanna Mason (Jena Malone), who – as a power move – changes out of her costume while sharing an elevator with Katniss and stands in front of her naked.
Variety recently shared a video of a red carpet interview with Jena Malone. Check it out below:
Before discussing her anticipation for the new Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Malone revealed a behind-the-scenes tidbit about her elevator scene. She said that Jennifer Lawrence was “sick that day,” so she “ended up doing it without Jen.” Read her full quote below:
The scenes that are fun are never fun to do. Jen was sick that day, and so I ended up doing it without Jen. There wasn’t a lot of people in the elevator, so I think we were just winging it and trying to get as much as we could get, because it was in a real hotel. That’s the magic of filmmaking… you only need a few seconds to really create something that lasts.
Johanna’s Introduction Was Very Important to The Hunger Games
While it might be surprising to learn that Lawrence wasn’t on set for Johanna’s introduction, it makes sense why the filmmakers worked to make sure the moment was brought to the screen properly. There are multiple reasons that Johanna’s introduction is vital to Catching Fire and the two Hunger Games movies to follow. The first is that it offers a major moment of levity that helped keep the movie entertaining and lively, yet needed to take place early enough so as not to distract from the heavy subject matter that takes up the second half of the movie.
The second half of Catching Fire is fraught with tension and noble sacrifice. It then leads into the Mockingjay duology, which focuses on the uprising to bring down the corrupt Capitol, which is a story that has much less room for comic relief. However, in addition to providing a major moment for balancing the tone of Catching Fire, Johanna’s introduction also set the stage for one of the franchise’s most important supporting character arcs.
The Hunger Games novel Mockingjay was split into two movies, which premiered in 2014 and 2015.
Introducing Johanna’s rebellious personality was important to sowing the seeds of the plan that allowed Katniss and many others to escape the arena during the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ending. As her participation in this scheme was being kept from Katniss, Johanna’s introduction saw her make a bold move to keep the other tribute in the dark about her true intentions. The scene also allows audiences to see how her vivacious personality in Catching Fire changes drastically after she has been tortured during the events of Mockingjay.
Source: Variety/Twitter
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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Release Date:
- 2013-11-01
- Director:
- Francis Lawrence
- Cast:
- Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin
- Rating:
- PG-13
- Runtime:
- 2h 26m
- Genres:
- Action, Sci-Fi
- Writers:
- Francis Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence
- Budget:
- 78 million
- Studio(s):
- Lionsgate
- Distributor(s):
- Lionsgate
- Sequel(s):
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
- prequel(s):
- The Hunger Games
- Franchise(s):
- The Hunger Games
