'It was game over!' Hunger Games producer reveals no other actress had a chance after Jennifer Lawrence's powerful audition
By COLETTE FAHY
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More than 50 actresses auditioned for the lead role in The Hunger Games franchise with Jennifer Lawrence emerging the ultimate victor.
And now, ahead of the release of Catching Fire, the second movie in the series, producer Nina Jacobson has admitted that once Jennifer, now 23, read for the part, everyone else was forgotten about.
‘I teared up,’ Jacobson told Variety. ‘We had a lot of wonderful actresses at the audition, but it was game over at that point.’
No comparison: Producer Nina Jacobson says despite over 50 actresses vying for the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence blew the competition away
Gary Ross, director of the first movie in the franchise, was equally effusive.
‘I got choked up. You only see that kind of talent once in a generation - that kind of intensity and emotional power,’ he gushed. ‘If you don’t find the right performer, you don’t have the movie. So I felt like, “Now I can make the movie.”’
Girl on Fire: Gary Ross, who directed the first movie, said he knew he could go ahead with it as soon as he saw Jennifer's audition
While Jennifer has gone on to win an Oscar for her role in Silver Linings Playbook since her memorable audition, Jacobson insists she hasn’t changed at all.
‘She’s not a diva - she’s the anti-diva,’ Nina insisted to Variety. ‘One of my favourite moments is where she has the wedding dress on for the interview (scene) in Catching Fire. It’s a big cumbersome dress, and she fell down, so we played that over and over on the monitors. There’s such a lack of pretence with Jen; she’s more than happy to laugh at herself.’
No diva behaviour: Although Jennifer has since gone on to win an Oscar, producer Jacobson says she has remained unaffected by fame
Although Jennifer loves working on the franchise, enthusing, ‘I love being here. It’s like going back to school where it’s a really fun school,’ she admitted being part of something with such a hugely established fan base can be daunting.
‘I’m so grateful [but] It’s weird dealing with this being as big as it is,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve never been on another film where we actually talk about the fan base. It’s sort of like this Big Brother looking over us.’
'It was game over!' Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson (pictured with Jennifer Lawrence and Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence) says no other actress could compete with Jennifer's audition
The Hunger Games movies are based on the book series by Suzanne Collins and tell the story of Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) who lives in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America.
The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death.
Love interest: Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta Mellark, Katniss' fellow competitor and one of her two love interests
Coming up: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will open in UK theatres on November 21 and in the US on November 22
A new and final trailer for Catching Fire made its debut on Sunday night, giving fans of Katniss a small taste of the drama set to unfold in the second instalment of the franchise.
It picks up a few months after the conclusion of the 74th annual Hunger Games, as the victors, Katniss and Peeta Mellark [Josh Hutcherson] now have new challenges, and enemies, to face.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will open in UK theatres on November 21 and in the US on November 22.
She's back! Elizabeth Banks will reprise her role of Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games sequel
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2479240/Jennifer-Lawrences-Hunger-Games-audition-meant-actress-chance-says-producer.html#ixzz2jEpwI3VE
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