Jennifer Lawrence Returns as Katniss in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’

John Scura

In the latest offering of “The Hunger Games” franchise, “Mockingjay, Part I,” Katniss Everdeen returns to District 13. After shattering the Games forever, she has become a reluctant hero and the symbol of hope for the nation of Panem. That is about all we are allowed to know about this, the third installment of “The Hunger Games,” except that it will be visually more stunning than the previous entries.

“So much money went into it,” says Jennifer Lawrence of her third turn as Katniss. “The scale and the visuals in this movie are insane. You’ll see a lot more of the capitol.”

Lawrence claims that she cried when she read this third script, penned by Peter Craig and Danny Strong from the novel “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins, because it delves much more deeply into the soul of Katniss. “Different directors gave their personal view to Katniss’ story,” she explains. “Gary Ross” began the work and Francis Lawrence carried it on. Francis gave a dark turn to the series as he focused on the characters’ psychology. There are emotional and charged-up sequences which alternate with an in-depth analysis of the characters’ behavior. The movie is a lot darker. It’s all gray, even in color. Katniss and her companions are suffering from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]. After ‘Catching Fire’ they have to find themselves again and regain their strength.”

This episode of the saga was shot back-to-back with the final film, “Mockingjay, Part II,” which will be seen in November 2015. The sandwiching of the two films allowed Lawrence to understand Katniss much better. “It’s the same character that keeps constantly evolving,” she says, “and I’m growing and changing with her, so I never really feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve got it down,’ because she’s always changing to something else.”

Jennifer confesses that her favorite scenes in this film were those she shared with Julianne Moore, who plays President Alma Coin. “She and Katniss are two strong and determined women. They have a similar vision of the world, but their ideas about the way to change it are completely different. Katniss is, with no self-consciousness, a threat to President Coin. I think that their relationship is very interesting and intense.”

One thing Jennifer was thankful about is that she had minimal archery scenes this time around. In the previous film, “Catching Fire,” she had a comical mishap. “We were running and I whacked myself in the face so hard that I flew backwards,” she recalls. “I fall down a lot. Maybe we should make a falling reel.”

However, the Oscar-winning actress actually has become very proficient with the bow and arrow. “I wouldn’t say [I am] professional, but don’t try to break into my house,” she jokes about her training at the hands of Kathuna Lorig, who won a bronze medal in archery at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. “I don’t have much time to train, except for when I train for the movies. But learning how to shoot better is always a goal.”

The career of Jennifer Lawrence, though still just beginning, has been nothing short of phenomenal. In just five years she’s received an Oscar and Golden Globe Award as Best Actress (for “Silver Linings Playbook”), many additional nominations, and her films have earned two billion dollars. Yet she’s is so unspoiled by her success that she once admitted she didn’t know where her Oscar statue was. Now she does. “It’s at my mom’s,” she says. “I wanted to hide it, but she said we have to show it off, keep it in plain sight. I didn’t agree because every time somebody came over, it just seemed like I wanted them to see it. So we compromised. The Oscar is at my parents’ house. They keep it on the piano.”

No doubt, there will be other Oscars joining it.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I” arrives in theaters on Nov. 21.