While 2010’s Winter’s Bone heralded the arrival of Jennifer Lawrence, it was her role two years before then in The Burning Plain that showed the promise of the young actress.
Written by celebrated screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, the film received mixed reviews from critics, and was little seen by audiences – earning only $200,000 in the US. It starred Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron, and Empire magazine called it a ‘ponderous artistic jigsaw puzzle’. However, those who did see it couldn’t fail to see the talent that Lawrence had in abundance.
The film’s director Debra Granik recalled: ‘This young woman came with a certain stamina and knowledge. It wasn’t something she promenaded in the audition, but it became clear to me on set. There was nothing green about her. Her family has been a very supportive nexus from which she operates. Her mum and dad are by no means stage parents and they were probably just as surprised as she was about how fast things can change. Her mother has a really sensible quality though, like it is still going to be important for her to bark at Jennifer and tell her to go and clean her room. Just remember all the normalcy is what makes someone feel sane.’
In the film’s production notes, Lawrence said: ‘When you first meet my character she’s been the de facto mother of her siblings for the past four years and hasn’t had a chance to be a kid. It’s that resentment that really drives the story for the rest of the characters.’
Asked about her acting process in the movie, she said: ‘That was one of my first movies, so I had no idea what I was doing. I just memorised my lines and I showed up and was like “Hey, I’m here to shoot a movie!”.
‘Now, when I do movies, I know what I’m doing. When you get there and you get the wardrobe and you’re on set and you start talking to the director, that’s when it really starts developing. I don’t want to be close-minded enough to already have everything set in stone before I even show up to work. I have my thoughts on what I want to do, but it’s also important to be mouldable, to be prepared to try things in a different way, so my character continues to grow through the filming. Before I start filming, I don’t have all of the answers, ever. It’s just developing, adapting and reacting.’
To retain the resentment on screen about her character’s mother, played by Kim Basinger, Lawrence avoided her during the shoot. However, when filming finished they had a big hug.
Following The Hunger Game’s release on the bookshelves, some reviews noted the similarities to the 1999 novel Battle Royale. A Battle Royale film was released the following year, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, and it told the story of a class trip, which sees the pupils gassed on their bus. Upon awakening they find themselves being briefed on a remote island. They are told that they are part of a Government Project entitled Battle Royale, where they have only three days to kill each other until just one remains. Failure to adhere to the rules will see them killed by their explosive collars. It proved understandable controversy, but it was also a huge hit, prompting a sequel to be made, called Battle Royale II: Requiem.
Despite rumours that it was banned in the US, the reason it initially struggled to get a US release was because of distribution worries. There are reports that the makers wanted a wide release of the film, rather than the usual art house style blueprint. However, some distributors worried about the controversy that no doubt would have followed. Distribution Supervisor of American Cinematheque, David Schultz, said: ‘If the next school shooting were to occur while Battle Royale was still playing, there’s a good chance that somebody would get sued.’ It was played at US film festivals, however, and has only just begun to get a theatrical release.
In spite of the controversial subject matter, there was still a desire to film a US remake. But the release of The Hunger Games has seemingly put an end to that. Film producer Roy Lee, who had been attached to adapt the movie for an American audience, told Shock Till You Drop: ‘The Hunger Games took a lot of wind out of the sails of a US version of Battle Royale because of its similar storyline, and I’m not exactly sure any studio – even before The Hunger Games – would have taken the creative risk.’
Despite the similarities, Suzanne Collins insists she had never heard of the book until she sent the manuscript to her publisher. She told the New York Times: ‘I had never heard of that book or that author until my book was turned in. At that point, it was mentioned to me, and I asked my editor if I should read it. He said: “No, I don’t want that world in your head. Just continue with what you’re doing.”’ She also told the newspaper that she has yet to read the book or see the movie. The same newspaper maintains that ‘the parallels are striking enough that Collins’s work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a boldfaced rip-off. But there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic set-up independently.’
Billy Ray is a veteran screenwriter and director, with his film credits including Shattered Glass, State of Play and Breach. He was attached to write the screenplay for the big screen adaptation of hit TV series 24, but the script was ultimately rejected because it was felt it wasn’t compelling enough.
Unluckily for Ray, his script for The Hunger Games was then rejected by director Gary Ross, in favour of a script co-written by Ross and Suzanne Collins.
Lionsgate announced the news on Twitter, stating: ‘The current draft of The Hunger Games script was not written by Billy Ray. It is a collaboration between Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins.’ When asked if he had any thoughts about the new script Ray replied to The Wrap via email that he didn’t have any.
However, Ross responded in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: ‘I told Billy when I began that I would have to put this into my own voice. I wanted to get back as close as I could to the essence of the book and the emotional arc, to get inside Katniss’s skin and understand how she grows, largely through her relationship with Peeta. I needed to have fresh clay to do that with. And then, when the draft was done and I got in the room with Suzanne, it was a very, very spontaneous process.’
Suzanne Collins wrote on the film’s Facebook page: ‘Now that the filming of The Hunger Games has begun, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the script, so I thought I might share a little of my experience with you. Back in early 2010, Color Force and Lionsgate began the process of adapting the book to the screen and I wrote the first draft of the script. After that, we brought on veteran screenwriter Billy Ray to further develop the piece. Not only has he written and directed excellent films like Shattered Glass and Breach, he was a complete pleasure to work with. Amazingly talented, collaborative, and always respectful of the book. His adaptation further explored the world of Panem and its inhabitants.
‘As though I wasn’t lucky enough, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gary Ross, known for his wonderful works such as Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, came on board. As part of his creative process, he wrote a subsequent draft which incorporated his incredible directorial vision of the film. And then he very generously invited me in to work with him on it. We had an immediate and exhilarating creative connection that brought the script to the first day of shooting. Of course, the piece will naturally continue to evolve through the filming, as the actors bring the characters to life, as the entire crew bring their significant talents to the piece, as the editors work with Gary to best realise his vision. The final draft will be on the screen next March [2012].’
In another interview, Collins stated she always knew that she wanted a hand in the screenplay, explaining: ‘At the beginning, I attached myself as the first screenwriter. I was writing the third book and there was great secrecy about it and no one could know how it ended. But I knew that if the screenplay got off on the wrong foot, you could end up with something by which you could never reach the events of the third book. And since I couldn’t reveal information to the film team, I wanted to be around to keep an eye on that.’
Collins was actually excited about working on a team, because after years spending time alone writing her books it felt like a collaborative experience, much like her TV work. She said: ‘It was great, because having spent years in TV rooms, I was used to collaborative writing, and if you’re with good people it’s really fun. But then with the books, it’s been just me talking to me. And that gets a little tedious after a while.’
‘There’s this certain period of adjustment where you discover if you’re compatible,’ Collins added. ‘But what happened with Gary, it was almost instantaneous. I think we had maybe 15 minutes of discussion, and then we instantly transitioned into writing together seamlessly.’
The 2007 fantasy drama movie starred a young Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb as couple of 10-year-old neighbours who spend their free time creating a fantasy world. It was based on the successful novel by Katherine Paterson.
It was a hit with critics, and audiences were captivated by the film’s moving ending.
Producer Lauren Levine has stated before that while Josh Hutcherson was not their first choice, his chemistry with AnnaSophia was too good to ignore.
Levine said in the film’s production notes: ‘Looking for Jess was a real tough hunt. We needed someone who could go from an introverted boy in an isolated world to someone who completely taps into his imagination and becomes a brave leader in Terabithia. That’s a heck of a range for such a young actor. And while there are a lot of talented young actors out there, no one else seemed to capture Jess like Josh did. He was able to take the character from the beginning of his journey right through to the end and make you believe in everything he goes through.’
There were several instances in the movie that marked Hutcherson out as one to watch. This was not an overawed young actor, but someone who was confident to try new things to perfect his character. One of his biggest pet peeves as a viewer is when a character is jerked awake suddenly and becomes completely alert within seconds. When he is awakened by his Dad in the movie, he deliberately squinted his eyes to convince audiences he was just awakening.
There was some controversy with the film’s marketing, including a trailer that seemed to strongly suggest this was a movie about a fantasy world, rather than in the children’s imagination. Producer David Patterson tried to tone down the controversy, saying: ‘Although there is a generation that is very familiar with the book, if you’re over 40, then you probably haven’t read it, and we need to reach them. Everyone who read the book and then saw the trailer said: “What is this? This is nothing like the book. What are you doing Dave?” And I’d say: “You know, what you’re seeing is 15 seconds of a 90-minute film. Give me a little leeway and respect. Go see it, and then tell me what you think.”’
Despite finding it hard to initially work on a special effects-filled movie (‘It’s pretty hard when you have to react to a tennis ball on the end of the stick that’s supposed to be a giant or an ogre!’), Hutcherson said about the experience: ‘The thing I like about this movie is that it’s a really cool adventure – but at the same time, it’s about how creativity can change your life and about how kids have a lot of feelings and thoughts they need to express. It’s about time movies like this were made.’
Cinema Blend wrote: ‘Great performances from burgeoning child actors Josh Hutcherson and Keira Knightley lookalike AnnaSophia Robb make Bridge to Terabithia a touching and moving film, but the faux fantasy stuff they’ve shoehorned in around them would have been better left on the cutting room floor.’