Jennifer Lawrence Reveals Bizarre Horse Bet At Hunger Games: Mockingjay Premiere

The stars of ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' were out in force at the world premiere in Leicester Square, and as you’d expect Jennifer Lawrence was on fine form.

Talking to host Edith Bowman, she revealed that the cast had only one more scene to film for the series finale ‘Mockingjay – Part 2’… and it involves a horse.

She said: “Francis Lawrence [the director] owes me a horse to ride in that scene. It’s a present for behaving and not shouting ‘lunch’ at 9 am everyday on set. I’m sure he would hope I would forget about the whole horse thing!”

We really hope that scene makes it into the final film.

After saying how much she enjoyed signing a picture of a Shetland pony and complaining about “bingo wings”, she went into the challenges of playing freedom fighter Katniss Everdeen again.

“In this movie she’s been completely stripped down and has to rehabilitate herself through the film. I love her courage, I could never image being that brave and facing the stuff she has to face everyday without crying everyday.”

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The best quotes from the rest of the cast include:

Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark): “For me when I read the books, in ‘Mockingjay’ when Peeta gets hijacked, that was the bit I was looking forward to play. Those scenes with Stanley [Tucci interrogating him] were great. He’s so good at being Caesar. Francis let us have fun with those scenes and improv and change the lines. It helps you make it more real – your not constrained by the dialogue. Peeta goes a little crazy.”

Nina Jacobson (Producer): “Once we began with Francis Lawrence there was no way we’d use someone else. He understands the material in a meaningful. His vision to imagine Panem and the war itself – he has an incredible imagination.”

Julianne Moore (President Coin): “[My character] was drawn very slightly in the books, and we were interested with developing her into something the fans would like.” 

Jena Malone (Johanna Mason): “My character has been to hell and back. It’s been incredible. I feel absolutely in love with Johanna Mason. It was such a shame to put her to bed. I love her determination, her lust for life, her energy was insane.  She’s way more fierce than me!”

Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman): “It’s a wonderful character for me to play, he’s so over the top. I hope there’s not too much of him in me! [On his scenes with Peeta] We talked about it a bit with Francis as we rehearsed, it’s up to Josh who did brilliantly, and it’s an extraordinary performance. I was very sad when it ended.” 

Donald Sutherland (President Snow): “Young people must try and correct the mess that my generation has left behind, because if they don’t, we’re lost… It’s not very often you get a chance to work with a genius, but Jennifer Lawrence is one.”

Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket): “Effie is a fish out of water in district but she’s still trying to be fabulous. She goes her own way that’s for sure. I love that she’s really devoted to Katniss Everdeen.”

Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne): “Gale finally gets the chance to do some physical stuff in ‘Mockingjay’ - he steps up to the mark after the first 2 films. His deepest motivation is to support Katniss but a big part of him is to take down the Capitol. [The shoot] is just like school. You’ve got Jen and Josh and Woody and when everybody is together it’s hard to keep a straight face.” 

Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair): “He was like a new character. It’s the Marilyn Monroe effect, he puts on a face, he has his charisma, confidence and ego, but he’s actually a tortured soul. It’s the real Finnick.”

Natalie Dormer (Cressida): “My hair is still a bit a fluffy. She looks fierce! Francis and I had a conversation; she’s going to be capitol and funky and edgy if she went half head, but I was prepared to go full head to be part of this.  [These films are] about treating young adults like adults – deep themes, stuff to do with your heart, your love and your losses. That’s’ what I love about the books and the films.”

Francis Lawrence (Director): “We actually knew where we’d cut the book in half very early on in the process… We’ve shot everything (for Mockingjay = Part 2’) and we’re missing one scene. The one scene will be a little like a class reunion.” 

'The Hunger: Mockingjay - Part 1' is out in the UK on 20 November.