Mockingjay: Part 2 - First Teaser

We have our first look at the war moving into the Capitol in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2... and it looks pretty awesome.

Lionsgate exploring Hunger Games prequels and sequels

More proof that studios need to beat every living ounce of something great.

Lionsgate announced earlier that Mockingjay - Part 2 will be released in IMAX 3D, but we also got a bit of information from CEO John Feltheimer regarding the future of The Hunger Games franchise. Apparently the studio is exploring options for expansion not limited to sequels and/or prequels to the original trilogy.

The Hunger Games has earned over $2 billion at the box office so far, but it's very unlikely that our main stars would continue doing Hunger Games films even after the second half of Mockingjay is released this November. Depending on how close they stayed to the end of the book, Katniss and Peeta would be long gone by the time any sequels came to be.
This is obviously a get rich scheme and it's disgusting. The focus shifted off Twilight so now they're trying to push forward The Hunger Games. I don't approve.

New trailer for Mockingjay - Part 1

I think after this trailer I'm done, but we shall see.

New poster for Mockingjay - Part 1

I like this one a lot more than the previous one. It's much better than the Catching Fire posters, too.

Lorde to curate the Mockingjay - Part 1 soundtrack

Apparently Lionsgate has settled with the teenage Grammy-winner, Lorde, to helm the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. She has also written the first single for the film and had appeared on the soundtrack for Catching Fire.
The New Zealand teen posted this statement via Tumblr:

"To be at the helm of a project like this is easily the most responsibility I’ve ever had, and to me, that says something kind of amazing about the way the world is changing - a globally successful film franchise is allowing a teenager to run their shit. we are opening doors, we are moving walls. this makes me so insanely happy."

I personally don't like her and I have heard "Royals" way too many times, but I can understand why she was chosen. As curator of the album she will be hand picking the artists featured and will also pick the songs. Lorde's close friend Taylor Swift appeared on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games where she won a Grammy for "Safe and Sound" alongside The Civil Wars.

SDCC: First teaser for Mockingjay - Part 1

I guess I expected more.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 trailer to premiere at SDCC

We finally have confirmation that the first full trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 will premiere at San Diego Comic-Con next weekend. The trailer will air on the Galaxy Tab S as part of the Samsung Galaxy Experience on Friday, July 25th at 12pm. The trailer will be introduced by the cast despite there being no Hunger Games panel this year. The main reason the trailer is premiering this way and not in Hall H is because there is no panel.

Now... actually seeing this trailer right away is going to be a bit tricky if you're not at Comic-Con or don't own a Samsung device. If you are not at SDCC, you can see a short preview of the trailer at participating Best Buy locations. They will also be handing out a limited supply of complimentary tickets for Mockingjay - Part 1 if you watch the preview.
Another way to participate is to download the Hunger Games Movie Pack app. The app will be a free download on capable Samsung devices beginning July 28th and will give Galaxy owners access to exclusive Hunger Games content.

In other words, if you're not at SDCC or don't own a Samsung device you're pretty much screwed on seeing the trailer right away. There isn't any information on when the trailer will be available for everyone to watch, but I am pretty sure something will leak online before the weekend is up. Stuff from SDCC always finds its way out before it should. I also agree with the guys over at Collider in saying that this marketing campaign seems to be more of a Samsung advertisement than one for The Hunger Games. It's a bit of an odd choice.

Second address for Mockingjay - Part 1. The Mockingjay lives!

I got some hefty goosebumps at the end of this one.

First look at The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

It is about freaking time we got something for this movie.



Above we have the motion poster. I apologize if you just got blasted with sound like I did.

Here we have first look pictures featuring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Jeffrey Wright, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. We also have one featuring director Francis Lawrence.

And one more... here is a video clip with Julianne Moore.



Enjoy!

Michelle Forbes joins Mockingjay - Part 2

We have yet another casting announcement for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.

Michelle Forbes, most often known for her portrayal of Maryann Forrester in True Blood, has been cast as Lieutenant Jackson in the second part of the Hunger Games finale. You also might recognize Forbes from the short-lived series The Killing and Battlestar Galactica.
Mockingjay has apparently wrapped filming already and many are speculating that we will be getting a teaser for Mockingjay - Part 1 before too long. At this time last year we already had one for Catching Fire, so the marketing is a bit behind schedule.

If you aren't familiar with Jackson, she is a soldier from District 13 who is placed on Squad 451 as a sharpshooter alongside Katniss, Gale, and Finnick. She is also tricked by Katniss on numerous occasions while on District 13 missions. She is described as a middle-aged woman who is capable of seeing and shooting objects others can't see without a scope.

Philip Seymour Hoffman dead at 46

Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman has died at the age of 46 due to a suspected drug overdose. He was found in his apartment in New York City by an unidentified source. No confirmed cause of death has been noted, but the actor has struggled with Heroin addiction throughout his life.

He was currently filming The Hunger Games trilogy with Mockingjay Part 2 and also completed a television series titled Happyish. Hoffman had recently starred in Moneyball, The Master, A Most Wanted Man, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. He previously won an Oscar and a Golden Globe in 2005 for his role as Truman Capote in Capote. He also earned Oscar nominations for his roles in The Master, Doubt, and Charlie Wilson's War.


I find this very sad. He was a great actor and it will be sad to not see him on the big screen anymore. Rest in peace, good sir.

First teaser for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Here it is!

This is a pretty nice change to the mockingjay pin as it shows the wings fully extended as Katniss spreads her wings as the "mockingjay." It is still fairly similar to the Catching Fire poster, though. At first glance you'd probably think it was the Catching Fire poster. There is a similarity between all the posters so far.

Oldboy has the weakest Thanksgiving opening ever

Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy has opened to some (not surprising) bad press and the weakest holiday opening ever. The film grossed only $850,000 over five days.

Now... this isn't very surprising. Even though it starred relatively high name actors such as Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sharlto Copley it was a highly unnecessary remake. Not to mention Spike Lee has been on a lot of people's shit list lately. Add into the fact that Oldboy suffered a schedule change and should have been released on October 25th, I think people just lost interest. It's actually a bit funny that the reason for the delay was the lack of genre competition over the Thanksgiving holiday. Whoever thought a remake of Oldboy would beat Catching Fire and a new Disney movie probably just lost their job.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Review

After their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion across the districts of Panem, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return to the arena to fight against other surviving victors in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.


I just have to start by saying this was a great movie and a pretty decent book to film adaptation. I personally enjoyed it more than The Hunger Games and I found it was a lot closer to the source material. Obviously, there were things left out but a majority of what is in the film was in the book. That was a big breath of fresh air. Especially after The Hunger Games had so much missing and had a lot of new things incorporated into the plot.
Starting off with direction, I think Francis Lawrence did a much better job than Gary Ross. The movie itself had a much better flow and it was a lot smoother than The Hunger Games was. I also think the actors had a lot more purpose than they did before.
As far as acting goes, I thought some people did a better job while some people floundered a bit. I thought Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, and Woody Harrelson were fantastic and much better this time around. I'm not saying they were bad in the first movie, but they were more enjoyable and just better this time around. Jennifer Lawrence was the confusing one for me. She was great in The Hunger Games and had her moments in Catching Fire as well, but I feel like she wasn't really trying during the first half of the movie. I don't know if it was intentional to show how damaged Katniss had become or if she is just one of those actresses that has elements she is good and bad at. It was a bit off. I also want to take the moment to say that I cannot stand Liam Hemsworth. They could have cast a much better actor as Gale. I feel like he was cast based on physical appearance and the fact that his brother is Thor.
Regarding the new characters, I thought a majority of the casting was marvelous. Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, and Lynn Cohen were such great choices, specifically Malone and Wright. I thought Beetee and Johanna were portrayed beautifully. Sam Claflin surprised me a bit, too. I won't say that his portrayal is exactly how I envisioned Finnick Odair when I read the books, but it wasn't necessarily bad. Another newcomer is Philip Seymour Hoffman who I thought did a great job as Plutarch Heavensbee, the new gamemaker. He was very believable as the character.

Now I want to talk about aspects of the movie that have spoilers, so if you haven't seen Catching Fire yet and/or didn't read the books I encourage you to come back once you have. You don't want it ruined for you.

Lionsgate developing a Hunger Games theme park?

This is some interesting news. Apparently Lionsgate has been approached regarding a theme park concept for The Hunger Games franchise. CEO Jon Feltheimer mentioned that he has been approached in two territories about possible theme parks. There is no telling exactly what these concepts would be about or where they would show up, but it would be awkward for sure. I don't know if many theme park guests would want to ride and attraction that focused on children killing each other. I also don't know what park this would appear at. I would assume Lionsgate would have to sell certain rights to the franchise to get it to appear inside Universal Studios and I doubt Disney would jump on it.

In other theme park news, Disney CEO Bob Iger elaborated on the rumors of a Star Wars takeover of the Disney Parks worldwide. He confirmed that concepts for more Star Wars attractions are in development at Disney Imagineering for Disneyland in California and Disneyworld in Florida, but there is nothing set in stone just yet. He also says once the domestic concepts are completed they will move on to include more Star Wars in the international parks in Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Final Trailer

We now have the final trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I think this movie looks better and better whenever something new comes out. I cannot wait.

[EDIT] Check out my review of Catching Fire here.

Catching Fire soundtrack revealed; includes Coldplay, The Lumineers, and Imagine Dragons

The full tracklist for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has been revealed. It contains some pretty interesting choices, in my opinion. Check it out for yourself!

1. Atlas - Coldplay
2. Silhouettes - Of Monsters and Men
3. Elastic Heart - Sia (feat. The Weeknd & Diplo)
4. Lean - The National
5. We Remain - Christina Aguilera
6. Devil May Cry - The Weeknd
7. Who We Are - Imagine Dragons
8. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde
9. Gale Song - The Lumineers
10. Mirrors - Ellie Goulding
11. Capital Letter - Patti Smith
12. Shooting Arrows at the Sky - Santigold
13. Place for Us - Mikky Ekko
14. Lights - Phantogram
15. Angel on Fire - Antony and the Johnsons

The full soundtrack will be available on November 19th, just a few days ahead of Catching Fire's release on November 22nd.
This album is expected to do very well as the soundtrack for The Hunger Games was the best selling soundtrack for 2012. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA and became the fastest selling soundtrack on iTunes. In addition to a Golden Globe nomination and three Grammy nominations, Taylor Swift's single for the album, "Safe and Sound," won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

[EDIT] Check out my review of Catching Fire here. 

Wes Chatham and Elden Henson join Mockingjay

Wes Chatham and Elden Henson have joined the cast of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2. Chatham will play Castor and Henson will play Pollux.

You have seen Chatham in films such as The Help and W.
Henson looks more familiar as he has been seen back as far as the Mighty Ducks trilogy. Since then you've seen him in Idle Hands, The Butterfly Effect, She's All That, and most recently in Jobs. He has been formerly billed as Elden Ratliff and Elden Ryan Ratliff.

Now to the important stuff... Castor and Pollux aren't huge characters, but they do serve their purpose. The two are brothers and work closely with Cressida (Natalie Dormer) and Messalla (Evan Ross). They are both Capitol cameramen who join the rebellion and film propaganda pieces by following Katniss. Pollux and Castor are each a former Avox*.

*If you don't know what an Avox is, they are basically runaways from the Capitol and have been punished for rebelling. They have their tongues cut out and are Capitol servants who serve the tributes and Capitol citizens.

Julianne Moore confirmed for Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2

I could have sworn this already came out (UPDATE: It did), but we have confirmation that Julianne Moore will play President Alma Coin in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2.

Without giving too much away, Moore will play the President of  District 13 who you will soon find out is a lot more complicated than it seems. Click the jump for some spoilers on Coin.

Evan Ross cast for Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2

The Hunger Games casting seems to be going a bit wild right now. This is the third casting announcement in the past couple of days.

We got word via Twitter today that Evan Ross (CW's 90210) has been cast as Messalla, the video production assistant to Cressida. Messalla is a Capitol native who later joins the rebellion and is part of a television crew who follows Katniss to film short propaganda films. He is valuable to the rebels because he knows the secret hiding spots of supplies within the Capitol.
I don't know anything about this kid, but after a quick Google search I learned he is the son of singer Diana Ross. That's about it.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 hits theaters on November 21, 2014 and Part 2 hits on November 20, 2015.