NOTA: Hola esto no es un capitulo, pero pensé que les gustaría leer las notas de producción de la ultima película. Espero que entiendan ingles esta bastante interesante :)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
UK Production Notes
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Rating: 12A
Running Time: 137 minutes
UK Release Date: November 19, 2015
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Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Natalie Dormer, with Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: Peter Craig and Danny Strong
Based upon: The novel "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Produced by: Nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik
SYNOPSIS
The blockbuster Hunger Games franchise has taken audiences by storm around the world, grossing more than $2.2 billion at the global box office. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 now brings the franchise to its powerful final chapter in which Katniss Everdeen [Jennifer Lawrence] realizes the stakes are no longer just for survival – they are for the future.
With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow [Donald Sutherland] in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends – including Gale [Liam Hemsworth], Finnick [Sam Claflin] and Peeta [Josh Hutcherson] – Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as they risk their lives to liberate the citizens of Panem, and stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong and features an acclaimed cast including Academy Award®-winner Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Academy Award®-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone with Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland reprising their original roles from The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The impressive lineup is joined by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 co-stars Academy Award®-winner Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali, Natalie Dormer, Wes Chatham, Elden Henson and Evan Ross.
Lionsgate presents a Color Force / Lionsgate production.
The Revolution is About All of Us
"Real. Because that's what you and I do – protect each other."
- Katniss
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 brings the global motion picture phenomenon to its thrilling and emotionally powerful last chapter as the stakes for Katniss Everdeen escalate from surviving the most deadly games ever devised to setting the course of the future.
The story picks up with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) back in the bunkers of District 13, still unable to emotionally reach a brainwashed Peeta as she watches the nation of Panem sliding into full-scale apocalyptic war. Though Katniss has warily accepted her role as the Mockingjay symbol of the rebellion, she can see that it is going take more than symbolism to turn the tide against the Capitol. Truly on fire now, she resolves to take action. Joining with Gale (Liam Hemsworth), an unpredictable Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and the so-called "Squad 451," she sets out for the once-glittering Capitol – transformed into a city of mayhem under attack by both rebels and peacekeepers – with a covert mission to assassinate President Snow. Snow still believes he's playing an obsessive game to outwit and destroy Katniss, but Katniss is no longer anyone's pawn, and to her, this is no contest. It is a battle for everything she has come to believe in and the people she loves. It is a battle for the final hope of a life of peace.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 builds on the momentum of each previous chapter in the blockbuster series to reach a fever pitch of both emotion and action, bringing Katniss full circle from the dismayed girl caught in a dystopian nightmare to leading the charge to remake her nation.
The first film, The Hunger Games, introduced audiences to Katniss, an independent-minded but anonymous 16 year-old girl living in District 12, one of Panem's enslaved districts, with little future of which to dream. Her life changes instantaneously when she volunteers in her younger sister's place for the annual Hunger Games, an intense gladiatorial competition of sheer survival between 24 adolescent warriors known as Tributes, broadcast live on national TV. Katniss and District 12's male Tribute, Peeta Mellark, are soon whisked to the Capitol, the center of tyrannical power, where a glammed-out populace feeds off lurid spectacles. There, separated from her family and best friend Gale, she is thrown into a glitzy makeover and grueling training, before entering the arena as an underdog in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Forced to make harrowing decisions spanning life, death, friendship and love, Katniss discovers reserves of strength and willpower she never knew she had, and attains an unsettling new fame as "The Girl on Fire" … but the costs to her spirit are high.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, rejoins Katniss as a victor of the Hunger Games, but one who is given zero chance to enjoy her promised rewards or to recover from the physical and mental toll of the arena. Instead, haunted by memories and craving her independence, she is compelled into a deceptive "Victor's Tour" and a public engagement to Peeta. Then she's told she must do the unthinkable: re-
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enter the Hunger Games arena in the lauded Quarter Quell games, which President Snow declares will be the ultimate battle between former victors – a move aimed directly at Katniss. The stakes grow higher as Katniss now fights as much for the lives of her friends and family as her own survival. In the jungle-themed arena, Katniss makes vital new alliances, even as she becomes the unwitting idol of a rapidly spreading rebellion against the Capitol.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, begins as Katniss, extracted from the Quarter Quell games while unconscious, awakens in never-before-seen District 13, the dark, regimented underground realm where a plot to take over the Capitol is forming. Here, she is a legend. Yet Katniss feels more alone and uncertain of who to trust than ever. District 12 has been turned to rubble. Peeta is being held and forcibly indoctrinated by President Snow. Under pressure from District 13's steely leader, President Coin (Julianne Moore), Katniss must embrace a role she never really wanted: to embody the symbol of the Mockingjay, the symbol of hope. Even as she begins to open her wings, her path is unclear, as Peeta is rescued from Snow's grip in a hate-filled trance, the people of the Districts grow increasingly desperate, and Snow remains as despotically in control as ever.
Now, in the final chapter of The Hunger Games, with all the Districts united against the Capitol for the first time, tomorrow itself is on the line. For Katniss to truly be herself, she realizes she must now fully take on the indomitable Mockingjay spirit in a last stand to set things right.
Says director Francis Lawrence: "In this film, Katniss takes the action back into her own hands and goes after Snow personally. The movie really opens up as we go deep into the streets of the Capitol, coming full circle from Katniss's journey there in the first film. There's more action, more scope, more emotion and most of all, this film brings the story to its moving conclusion."
A Mockingjay's Last Hope
In four increasingly complex film performances, Academy Award® winner Jennifer Lawrence has taken Katniss Everdeen through a pendulum's worth of changes. She has metamorphosed from a disarmed girl trying to save herself and then her family to a deeply reluctant rebel hero and now finally, to a sharply-honed, fiercely determined leader determined to shatter a ruthless society for the good of all. Lawrence says she has enjoyed growing with the ever-evolving yet steadfastly true-to-herself character and is thrilled to bring Katniss to her apex in Mockingjay – Part 2.
"This is the chapter when Katniss really starts to believe in the impact that she can have," Lawrence comments. "She's always been so reluctant and has always found herself in situations where all she can do is try to survive, but now she's turning the tables. I was excited for her to finally take her place as a leader. At the end of Mockingjay – Part 1, she was kind of numb, and genuinely unsure if she wanted to go on. In Mockingjay – Part 2 she starts seeing the bigger picture. She's looking beyond her own personal losses and gains to focus on making a better future."
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Adds producer Nina Jacobson, who along with producer Jon Kilik, has been there from the start: "For the first three movies, Katniss feels as if someone else is writing the script of her life and she has no choice but to either act or react to that script. In this final film, she makes her decision: that Snow must die and she's going to get him. You see her character fully in control now, fully realized."
Josh Hutcherson, who as Peeta has also gone through dizzying changes from a baker's son to Katniss' closest ally to a tormented instrument of the Capitol, says of Katniss's journey: "What was a story about a girl who wants to protect her family and survive has now become the story of a girl who creates what once seemed an impossible uprising. It's the final push that culminates in a new world."
Yet even as she turns towards the future, the past weighs on Katniss. A constant reminder of the high costs of her journey is there in Peeta's continuing inability to see Katniss for who she really is – and still harboring the relentlessly violent thoughts implanted by the Capitol towards her. Observes Jennifer Lawrence: "Somebody being brainwashed to think that you're an evil mutt is a hell of a strain to put on a relationship. They have to start over."
Nina Jacobson notes that no matter what terrifying things Peeta says or does, Katniss cannot deny her urge to protect him – nor her hope to reconnect with him. "She has her moments with Gale in this film, but even he can see through her," Jacobson muses. "Her heart is stuck on Peeta. She can't let him go, even now, and I think that's pretty poignant."
All her relationships are still shifting, but Katniss has a newfound clarity, including when it comes to Gale. "It becomes clear between them that no matter what they might have, as long as Peeta is in the state he's in, Katniss is never going to be able to let Peeta go," Jennifer Lawrence says.
Katniss also begins to see President Coin in a more illuminating light. "Katniss's relationship with Coin has become a bit more complicated and strained," Jennifer notes. "Katniss is starting to fear that she's seeing a lot of similar traits develop in Coin that she's seen in President Snow."
Now, Katniss's concerns are being channeled directly into action – taking the character for the first time into all-out combat beyond the controlled confines of an arena. Raising the stakes, Katniss's little sister Prim, long her motivation to fight against the Capitol, is now a medic in the battle zone.
"The action scenes in Mockingjay – Part 2 are incredible," Jennifer says. "Some of it was difficult – shooting in wet tunnels, in and out of the water and doing fight choreography with 20 pounds of waterlogged gear – but it was totally worth it because it is going to look fantastically real for audiences."
It all brings Katniss to the denouement of her world-changing tale. Concluding the series is bittersweet for Jennifer Lawrence, but she is intrigued to leave Katniss at the most promising juncture of her life. "She's started to see the beauty in humanity in this film," Jennifer observes. "In the beginning she had a short view of the way things are because of her upbringing. She did not have much hope then, and she felt alone for a lot of her life. During everything that has happened – in the Games, in District 13, in the Capitol at the end of this story – she found herself more and more connected to people."
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Jennifer has tremendous gratitude for being granted the chance to embody Katniss. "I have loved being a part of a film that sparks some really cool conversations," she concludes. "It's been an incredible chapter in my life, and the way the films have resonated with people has been amazing."
For director Francis Lawrence, part of the beauty of Katniss is that no matter how much her world – and her responsibilities – have changed, her fundamental values have never budged. "At her core, a part of Katniss has remained the same," he observes. "Each of the movies has presented a complex character journey, with very different complications, but she is that same very real girl who still just wants to protect her loved ones."
That has come alive through Jennifer's almost supernatural channeling of the character, says the director. "All along, Jennifer has had amazing instincts and on each film, it's been surprising to see what she does. This final journey is no different," he explains. "It is a new kind of emotional journey for Katniss. She is determined to rectify what was done to Peeta, what was done to her personally, and what was done to the people of the Districts – and Jennifer dives into that."
Nina Jacobson sums up: "Jen has always brought a grounded emotional honesty to the role. But now she shifts, turning defiance, grief and rage into action and leadership. She does that extraordinarily well. Her performance in this film shows the complexity of a character who is searching for peace and happiness, but will always carry the scars of what we've seen her experience."
The Cast Speaks About The Closing Moments
The final chapter of The Hunger Games brings the film's expansive cast together one last time, with a team headed by Jennifer Lawrence and including Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Mahershala Ali and Natalie Dormer. The lineup for Mockingjay – Part 2 also includes Wes Chatham (Castor), Elden Henson (Pollux), Patina Miller (Commander Baylor), Evan Ross (Messalla), , Gwendoline Christie (Commander Lyme), and Stef Dawson (Annie Cresta).
Especially bittersweet for the filmmakers was the chance to incorporate Philip Seymour Hoffman's final performance as Plutarch Heavensbee – the Head Gamemaker who appears to be a power player in the Capitol until he proves to be a mastermind behind the rebellion. Says Francis Lawrence: "Collaborating with Phil on the Hunger Games movies was a fantastic experience for all of us – just to have the chance to watch him work and to learn from him – and his portrait of Plutarch is very moving."
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PEETA/JOSH HUTCHERSON:
Mockingjay – Part 2 sees Peeta Mellark – the former victor who was to marry Katniss in a Capitol spectacle – still in a haunting, dangerous fugue state after being brainwashed by President Snow during his captivity. Though his body has been freed, his mind struggles against nightmarish, instilled thoughts to kill Katniss, the very same person he once most trusted in the world.
Francis Lawrence says Josh Hutcherson's willingness to go the edge in this new incarnation of Peeta was impressive. "He really blew me away in this film because he was so incredible at showing how tormented Peeta is in his current state. I know Josh so well, but watching him in these scenes, I didn't recognize any part of him," remarks the director.
Hutcherson sums up where the film finds Peeta: "Peeta's going through a kind of rehabilitation process, trying to get back to his old self. He's being held in District 13, but he's still violently psychotic and his recovery is clearly going to be a very long, hard road. He has moments of clarity but he kind of goes in and out. With all these memories that were implanted in his mind by the Capitol, he has to constantly try to decipher what is real and what has been fed to him – and he has to rely on his peers to help him find that truth."
Peeta might be constantly asking "real or not real" about things he suddenly remembers and feels, but Nina Jacobson notes that Hutcherson's performance leaves no such doubts. "The humanity that he brings to this role and the realness that he brings is extraordinary," she says. "In this film, on the one hand, Peeta is completely lost in a hypnotic state of rage, but on the other, he starts reconnecting with Katniss, step by tiny step, is, in a way that is very touching. Your heart breaks for him, but you see that he has a chance to return to who he was, even if nothing will ever be the same."
For Hutcherson, the film required a 180 from how he normally approaches the character. "Peeta's always been known as being the down-to-earth, grounded, honest guy. But now he's out of his mind, I had to turn that inside out," he says. "It shows a lot about the real feelings that Katniss has for Peeta that she still fights for him and believes in him even in this state."
When Peeta is sent by President Coin to join Squad 451 – consisting of Katniss, Gale, Finnick, Boggs, Cressida, Messalla, Castor and Pollux – it endangers everyone, but helps Katniss break through to him. "Really, he should not be in this environment," Hutcherson admits. "It has tons of triggers that could cause him to explode and, and lose control again, which actually happens multiple times."
Throughout, Peeta's true feelings for Katniss keep surfacing in ways that keep him bonded to her at an unspoken level. For Hutcherson finding those breakthrough moments with Jennifer Lawrence after the three previous films came organically. "Jennifer has this quiet strength about her," he says. "A lot of people might have tried to play up the rebellious side of Katniss, but Jennifer saw from the start that's not who Katniss is. Jen has played Katniss' reluctance and groundedness so well, it always feels very real to me. It's one of the reasons why I think Peeta connects with her and why so many people have connected with The Hunger Games."
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As for how Peeta has evolved since he first left to represent District 12 in The Hunger Games, Hutcherson concludes, "Peeta always had a very realistic view of what was happening around him. He's more haunted now from having experienced The Hunger Games first-hand, and from witnessing the destruction that Snow's dictatorship can cause. But deep within, his mentality has always been you have to not let yourself be a piece in the game; you have to try to be yourself even as you fight to survive. That's still what he would say to this day."
Like Jennifer Lawrence, Hutcherson says he will miss his character, but he will take a lot from the long and rich experience of playing Peeta. "I definitely will take away great friendships and memories from The Hunger Games," he says. "I also hope I take away some of Peeta's values. When you do a project like this, people can get certain ideas about who you should be – and Peeta is a reminder that it's best to kind of break those expectations and simply be true to yourself."
GALE/LIAM HEMSWORTH:
While Peeta is lost, Gale Hawthorne has found himself in the beginning of Mockingjay – Part 2 – and become one of Panem's most uncompromising warriors. Says Liam Hemsworth, who has taken his character from Katniss's boyish best friend and hunting partner in District 12 to a rebellious coal miner to a major force in the rebellion: "Gale is more part of the action in this film and really gets his chance to make a difference to Panem. He has built up so much anger at President Snow and at the Capitol that he is ready to go to war at any cost."
The more Gale solidifies his philosophy that the ends justify the means in war, the more he finds a wall between himself and Katniss. "Gale has a very different view from Katniss about what's acceptable in war and how far to go. Katniss cannot accept the risk of killing innocent people. Gale is prepared to have casualties if it means winning. He just wants to end all of this, whatever it takes," Hemsworth explains.
At the same time, Gale's personal feelings for Katniss, kept under wraps since she was first whisked to the Capitol, remain unresolved…and perhaps forever unresolvable given the circumstances. Hemsworth says no matter what is in Gale's soul, everything seems to be conspiring to keep them apart. "This chapter is where you really see that Gale and Katniss have developed very different ideas about the world. Gale has come to the conclusion at this point that Katniss truly loves Peeta, and the more Peeta needs her, the more Gale can feel her slipping away day by day," Hemsworth says, adding, "And yet, Gale still deeply loves Katniss and he is still driven to look after her and protect her. That's what he's always been about."
Unexpectedly, Peeta's confusion and uncontrollable impulses even draw Gale's empathy. "Gale knows that Peeta's not in control of himself," Hemsworth observes. "Gale's still wary of him, but for the first time in this film, we actually get to see Gale and Peeta have a friendly conversation with each other – and connect around their mutual feelings for Katniss."
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For now, however, it is Gale taking the lead in the action, and Hemsworth relished the chance to explore his character's pent-up physicality. He especially enjoyed leading the battle against the mutant "lizard mutts" in the sewer tunnels of the Capitol. "It was very physical, tough work, hunching through these dark tunnels, in freezing cold water. It's such a great fight scene and I love doing stunts so that was a true highlight for me."
Hemsworth, too, finds it difficult to believe the story is coming to a close and even more unsettling that he won't be returning to work with Jennifer Lawrence in the indelible role of Katniss.
"Working with Jennifer on this is something wonderful I'll always carry," he says. "She's an incredible actress, but also so much fun. I'll miss her and all the cast and crew."
For Nina Jacobson, Hemsworth's rapport with Lawrence has been at the core of a star-crossed relationship that might have been, but never had a chance in the world Katniss, Gale and Peeta live in.
"Liam does a great job of representing Gale's revolutionary spirit, his belief in fighting fire-with-fire, in a very relatable way," she sums up. "He reveals Gale as someone who has become comfortable with the costs of war in a way that Katniss nor Peeta never could, and he brings real depth to that. When it comes to Katniss, you really feel for him. You can tell he's in love with her, and may always be in love with her, but he knows there's no way now to win her back."
HAYMITCH/WOODY HARRELSON:
The former victor who became Katniss' savvy mentor remains as fiery as ever, even as the rebellion he's long awaited comes to its climax. For Woody Harrelson, who has taken Haymitch Abernathy from intoxicated cynic to realist to steadfast believer in the Mockingjay, it was a challenge to face up to the story's conclusion. "I really don't want to be done with The Hunger Games," he admits. "I wish it didn't have to end ever. The characters in the film have formed a kind of patchwork family – and that was equally true for us as actors in real life."
He adds: "What's been so exciting is that each installment of The Hunger Games has been equally great. This last chapter, though, is absolutely the biggest in terms of scale and in terms of the lasting consequences for Katniss and everyone around her, including Haymitch."
Harrelson has especially welcomed the chance to get so close to Jennifer Lawrence over the course of the series. "Haymitch comes to care deeply about Katniss in a way that maybe surprises him and shakes him up, and it's easy to get to that place with Jennifer," he says. "She's so much fun to work with, but also so honest and true in her performance. You're always working at a high level with her."
As for Haymitch, Harrelson concludes: "He's known a lot of tragedy and he's struggled with his own vices and addictions. I think he'll always have that sharp attitude towards life, but he also dreams of peace."
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EFFIE/ELIZABETH BANKS:
The outrageously fashionable and flitty social climber who Katniss first met as her 74th Hunger Games escort has undergone her own transformation throughout the series. Tough times have lent Effie Trinket more grit and guile, but she's never lost an ounce of her exuberant spirit or loyalty to Katniss.
Says Elizabeth Banks who has always adored playing the character to the hilt: "Effie has progressed so much over the course of these films, although she was never truly a rebel. As always, she is self-preserving but supports Katniss above anyone else."
In Mockingjay – Part 1, Effie was adjusting to life amid the gray conformity of District 13 but in Part 2, she gets to return to the Capitol in typical style. "She's come to feel more free to express herself in District 13 which has become a 2nd home to her," Banks explains. "But when Effie finally returns to the Capitol, her looks are as eccentric and beautiful as ever … yet more befitting of the official she has become."
After years of donning Effie's glam makeup and architectural gowns, Banks says she will miss not only the fashion but the people who helped bring Effie to life. "I will miss collaborating with Ve Neill, Linda Flowers, Camille Friend, Judianna Makovsky, Trish Summerville and Kurt and Bart. These hair, make-up and costume designers were essential partners to me in creating the iconic Effie Trinket."
She will also miss Jennifer Lawrence and the thrill of being Katniss's confidante. "Jennifer has shown such range across all four of the films. She's our leader and has always made going to work something fun I looked forward to every day," the actress says.
As for Effie's future, Banks sums up: "Effie is a survivor. She will be fine. She's inspired by Katniss who will not only survive but thrive."
PRESIDENT SNOW/DONALD SUTHERLAND:
In Mockingjay – Part 2, the battle between President Snow and Katniss Everdeen approaches a final reckoning. An increasingly cynical tyrant, Snow has become almost madly obsessed with destroying Katniss and, in his obsession, turns the entire Capitol into a Hunger Games arena of dirty tricks. Having been part of the franchise from the start, Donald Sutherland relished exposing Snow's contradictions right up to the very end.
"Snow's an old man and he sees this as a final, thrilling game of chess with a competitor who's up to everything he can handle," Sutherland comments. "He is torn in a way, because he loves Katniss's spirit but of course he doesn't want her to actually succeed. Yet, he doesn't really want to murder her either. It was that complexity that interested me about Snow in the first place and now it comes to its climax. I've loved having a role that I could commit to passionately."
Says Francis Lawrence: "Donald Sutherland brings the story of President Snow to a fitting ending. He has embodied this character with such wit and power throughout, and here you get to see Katniss gain the upper hand on him."
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FINNICK/SAM CLAFLIN:
After facing the darkest moments of his life, in Mockingjay – Part 2 Finnick O'Dair is reunited with his one true love – Annie Cresta – but remains committed to the rebellion, joining with Katniss, Peeta and Gale in Squad 451's perilous trip to the Capitol. Sam Claflin, who has taken the sly but emotional character to heart, says of where the final chapters finds him: "Finnick is really a new person after he reunites with Annie. He has a new lease on life and a newfound freedom. He sees their engagement as a chance to allow their love to be a powerful new symbol for the rebellion."
Love also leads Claflin back into war. "This newfound passion drives Finnick to get back out there and do what's right for Panem," says Claflin. "This is a different chapter for everyone. The stakes are a lot higher, the characters have more than ever to lose and it's much more real. It isn't a game anymore, even if the games were deadly. This is the future and they all have a lot to fight for."
For Finnick, helping to forge the future also means helping Katniss reconcile with Peeta, no matter how savage his brainwashing might appear. "Finnick knows that Katniss loves Peeta, even if she is still unsure," says Claflin. "That's the beauty of Finnick: he observes things that other people can't, and that comes out of the horrible experiences that he has been through himself."
Claflin had a chance to wield Finnick's famed trident in battle, a skill he has been honing since he first took the role, but that he had to take to the next level against the Capitol's mutant lizard mutts. "I've spent hours and hours with broomsticks," he muses. "I also had an incredible team of people helping me to get adept and I learned that you have to make the trident work as if it was an additional limb."
Although Finnick was a master of the games, this was Claflin's most physically challenging outing. "It felt like we were running marathons every single day – whether it be sprinting away from oil or through hordes of lizard mutts," he recalls. "What was inspiring is that every single actor was raring to go, wanting to make these incredibly well-designed sequences the best they could be."
Still, he says perhaps the biggest challenge of all was having to dance at Finnick's glamorous wedding. "I hate dancing with a passion," Claflin laughingly confesses. "It was tough, maybe even tougher than the sewers! But it was also beautiful and I tried to make the most of it."
That sentiment of making the most of everything was true for Claflin right up to his final scenes. "This whole series has been incredible," he concludes. "I feel so honored and blessed to have been a part of it, as a fan and for the fans."
PRESIDENT COIN/JULIANNE MOORE:
With the Capitol's citizens under fire and President Snow on the defensive, it seems that District 13's rebel leader, President Coin, is getting everything she wanted. Coin also remains suspicious of Katniss's growing power, and prefers that the Mockingjay stay more passive symbol than active
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participant in the battle. Returning for a second time in the role, Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore says: "Coin wants to keep Katniss as a powerless figurehead, as the emotional, intellectual momentum behind the revolution. This is also the point where Coin starts to see Katniss as a serious potential threat to her own leadership."
Coin's personal agenda as a rebel leader has always been slippery, but Moore's aim was to keep the character balanced on that razor-thin line between savior and villain. "I tried to give her a kind of evolution," she explains. "She's very inscrutable in the book, but I saw her as being a political animal. She's someone who thought she was one thing in the beginning, fighting for the people, but became something else, as the war progressed, something not necessarily positive. Despite having seen all the destruction Snow has set in motion, Coin herself becomes infatuated with the possibility of authoritarian power and might. As they say, power corrupts … and we've seen throughout history that bold leaders can often later become despots."
She continues: "I also always saw the story of The Hunger Games as being about growing up; about Katniss figuring out what her own moral responsibilities are and making her own choices. So one of the things that happens as you grow up is disillusionment with the people who you once believed were doing the right thing. Coin plays that role in Katniss's life."
After seeing an early cut of Mockingjay – Part 2, Moore was deeply moved. "I think the whole series is amazing," she concludes. "It's a wonderful entertainment, with great young actors, and it's been something everyone can relate to. This last film is very much about the costs of warfare – what it does to families and communities and ordinary people. That is something voiced in the books and it comes across very powerfully in this film. I've found all of the movies to have emotional endings, but this one might be the most touching."
JOHANNA/JENA MALONE:
In the final moments of Mockingjay – Part 1, Gale and Boggs lead a siege in the Capitol, rescuing former victors Johanna and Annie Cresta, who have been held by Snow since the Quarter Quell games. In Mockingjay – Part 2, Johanna, scarred by her experiences, scarcely resembles the woman who brazenly removed her clothes in front of Peeta and Katniss in Catching Fire.
Jena Malone explains that Johanna is now in the throes of a post-traumatic confusion, and learning to embrace her unexpected freedom. "This is the first time in her entire life that she hasn't been asked to be something that she's not," points out Malone. "Johanna was forced to be a Tribute and learned to use her sexuality, but now she's been stripped of all of those devices of manipulation. She's a little bit deranged by this lack of awareness of what she should be doing, so she's barely holding on. She's reaching out to dangerous outlets and anything that might make her emotions disappear."
For Malone the challenges of portraying this broken version of Johanna were also physical – requiring 3 hours daily in the makeup chair. "It was a feat," she recalls. "We had these genius prosthetic
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artists doing their thing. They would bring down my hair, then put the bald cap on and then do all of the flesh toning and prosthetic work around the neck, adding cuts and bruises."
The effect was staggering for Malone. "I really think this is the first time in her life that Johanna isn't about looking pretty," Malone points out. "That was kind of liberating as an actress, but it's definitely a whole different side to Johanna."
Though Johanna is going through a dark time, Malone notes that her light has not gone out. "The Capitol wanted to break our spirits, really turn us over, and make us mutts", Malone summarizes. "They did a hell of a job on Peeta, and they tried on Johanna, but I think it was impossible."
Malone is also thrilled to see Katniss coming full circle in Mockingjay – Part 2. "I believe that all Katniss ever wanted was to go back to District 12, and live her own life in her own way – and I think her journey is really beautiful in this film. She learns to listen to her own voice."
PRIMROSE/WILLOW SHIELDS:
From the opening moments of The Hunger Games franchise Katniss Everdeen has been driven by her deep love for and desire to protect her younger sister, Primrose. It was Prim who was originally meant to compete in the 74th Hunger Games until Katniss volunteered to take her place. Since then, young Prim has grown into a strong, compassionate young woman. She and Katniss are quite different, but as sisters so often are, they are connected so deeply that one is in trouble, the other knows it. As Mockingjay – Part 2 kicks off Prim has become a full-fledge wartime medic, but Katniss knows the danger for her sister is growing and would do anything she could to keep her safe, even if might be impossible.
Willow Shields has played the role since she was 12, and has literally grown up with the character. She says that in this precarious moment of Prim's life, she feels that Prim has at least become who she wanted to be. "Prim has grown up immensely by Part 2," Shields observes. "She is training to become a doctor, fulfilling her destiny. As a medic, she can finally contribute to the rebellion herself. This is her role in the fight, one that she is good at, and one that shows what a brave young person she has become. She sees the consequences of war all around her, but she believes in the fight, what its value is, and she believes in her sister as a leader."
She also enjoys that she has slowly but surely earned something beyond Katniss's love: her admiration. "In the first Hunger Games Katniss protects Prim from their harsh world – but now the relationship has shifted," Shields points out. "Katniss is still protective of Prim, but now she has come to respect Prim's abilities, awareness and wisdom. They are much more equal in Mockingjay – Part 2."
Katniss will always be inspired by Primrose says Shields. "They have really had little else they could count on but each other. It's no wonder they were so close," she notes. "Katniss saw qualities in Prim that help propel her forward. Prim has an inner strength that is used to heal and nurture others – and these qualities help Katniss aspire to a future that is kinder and more nurturing for everyone."
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The future for Shields is wide open, but she is grateful for the extraordinary experience of portraying Prim. "I have spent a third of my life making these films," she muses. "It has been a very personal experience, going so far beyond the job of making films. I am thrilled to have been a part of Suzanne Collins' amazing creation – and part of a fanbase that is so inspiring and loving. I was also a part of a cast that has all of Prim's greatest traits: loving, kind, nurturing and supportive. In other words: The Hunger Games Family. It's been an amazing family to be a part of and I will never forget any of it."
CRESSIDA/NATALIE DORMER:
The guerrilla filmmaker Cressida faces the biggest challenge of her offbeat career in Mockingjay – Part 2: returning to the Capitol with Squad 451 to advance the rebellion, and realizing that Katniss aims to go far beyond her symbolic role and assassinate President Snow. For Natalie Dormer, who first took on the indelibly defiant character in Mockingjay – Part 1, it was a thrilling chance to show her character's mettle. "Mockingjay – Part 1 introduced Cressida and her camera team. But in Part 2 we get to see her and her team really push Katniss because the revolution is in process and it's time to consolidate the message to the masses," says Dormer. "Of course, Katniss has no intention of simply being a poster girl, and Cressida and everyone else on the Squad gets drawn into her mission."
That mission meant Dormer finding herself at the forefront of major action sequences. "Me and my camera crew really become warriors with the Star Squad down in the sewers," she explains. "It was very physically demanding work. But we all kept each other going morale-wise and it was rewarding, too, because the payoff was being part of this very exciting climax to the story."
The film's atmospheric European sets further inspired Dormer. "The level of detail in the art design on this movie is so incredible," she muses. "Whether it's massive architecture or the pitch black of the sewers, the audience will be fully absorbed into it."
Dormer also loved watching Jennifer Lawrence up her game again. "Jennifer brings a new layer to Katniss every time she plays her. In this movie she goes to even deeper psychological depths. You see Katniss acting on the idea that it is time to finish this story and time to end the violence in Panem."
Endings are never easy, but Dormer was thrilled to be in on bringing The Hunger Games saga full circle. "This is what we've all been waiting for," she sums up. "This film is the culmination of everything that has happened so far, and it lives up to that scale. It has everything that the books were about: the galvanized passion of people fighting against tyranny along with the fine-tuned details of the personal relationships that mean so much to Katniss. I'm proud of the way the film has found that balance."
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BOGGS/MAHERSHALA ALI:
As the action picks up in Mockingjay – Part 2, Katniss, Peeta and Gale are under the command of President Coin's right-hand man, Boggs. Though he is the head of Squad 451, he is not fully aware of the secret plan to subvert the propaganda operation into an assassination. Returning to take the role to its conclusion is Mahershala Ali who sees Boggs as torn in his shifting relationship with Katniss.
"On the one hand, Boggs feels a kind of paternal connection to her where he wants to protect her and make sure she's OK," Ali explains. "But now he also is developing a new respect for her. He sees how selfless she has become, how willing she is to put herself on the line for other people. It makes him want to look out for her even more – but maybe also to trust her more."
As the war against the Capitol escalates, Boggs can't help but think of Katniss's future. "He's become loyal to her to the point that he truly wants to see her accomplish her task. Ultimately, he realizes taking down Snow is something she has to do on a personal level," Ali observes.
For Ali, the spirit of Squad 451 is built on the close connection forged between the actors. "We were able to bring that great camaraderie that is part of the spirit of The Hunger Games – one that starts with Jennifer and Francis, who bring so much passion to it," he says. "All of us on Squad 451 spent a lot of time together so that made it feel completely real to us. We laughed a lot but we also were motivated by how big and important this final chapter will be to the audience."
Ali especially enjoyed the all-out action in the film. "This was different because we were dealing a lot more with weapons, tactical armor, gas masks… even rappelling down a building. There was a lot of training to learn to move in a coordinated manner and that stuff is really fun," he comments.
Yet, there was also a sense of authentic change come to Panem. "This chapter is completely unique," Ali concludes. "There's always been oppression in The Hunger Games but Mockingjay – Part 2 is a true story of war. Freedom is right there on the cusp and they can taste it. It's really exciting to not just bring these characters to an end but to also see how that leads up to a new beginning."
The Capitol On Fire
Mockingjay – Part 2 unveils the Capitol as it has never been seen before in The Hunger Games franchise – entering the city's once lavishly glittering streets amid the erupting chaos of wartime. The whole metropolis transforms into an arena more real than any before as Snow attacks Katniss and the Squad 451 in some of his most epic and creative ways yet.
The result as Jennifer Lawrence says is "sets that are absolutely insane. The spectacle of this film is really incredible."
Nina Jacobson observes: "In this final movie, you get the epic scale of Katniss's return to the streets of the Capitol, which has great power to it. Francis has brought to life the Capitol sequences in a way that is truly something, and will be incredibly exciting in the immersive experience of IMAX®. It's
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everything that you hope to accomplish on a big screen – something that is emotionally and thematically powerful, but also cinematically enormous. "
Adds Sam Claflin: "On a film set in another world you might expect to have to do a lot of imagining as an actor. Yet the team managed to find these incredible locations and build amazing sets that literally transport you and take your breath away. That really adds to the flavor of the piece."
For Julianne Moore, the new Capitol sets were an eye-opening change. "After being in District 13's gloomy, claustrophobic underground, it was so fun to come up into the grand scope of the Capitol."
To fully bring the Capitol to life in a new way, Francis Lawrence and production designer Philip Messina knew they would have to look beyond Atlanta, home to much of the production. They took advantage of historic and futurist locations in France and Germany that could be found nowhere else.
"We really wanted to capture the feel of being on the ground in the Capitol and we needed the kind of backdrops that lend themselves to pretty epic action scenes," says the director. "Phil and I wanted to keep the idea of the Brutalist/Classical architecture that makes the Capitol so imposing but shooting at real locations allowed us to do that in a more immersive way. Phil found some amazing places in Paris and Berlin that were a phenomenal match with the story," says the director.
Adds producer Jon Kilik: "Shooting the Capitol scenes in Europe allowed us all the size and scale that we envisioned. The team was able to create a look that is both very layered and gigantic."
Just outside Paris, near Versailles, the production set up camp at Château de Voisins, a stunningly aristocratic 1903 estate, which stands in for portions of President Snow's mansion. The Chateau served as home to some of the film's most vital scenes, including a major turning point involving a meeting of former Hunger Games' victors.
Messina envisioned a spare but power-laden set for President Snow's office. "For the office, we used a mausoleum-style room clad in stone. Phil was very inspired by that room because it was so cold, harsh and dictatorial," says set decorator Larry Dias. "I had a 45-foot long rug loomed in China that had the Capitol on it and we used this crazy desk at the end of the room. It's a really bold, amazing set."
One of the most remarkable sets in France was created from the wildly post-modern apartment buildings in Noisy-Le-Grand known as "L'espace Abraxas." Built in the 50s, 60s and 70s, these massive, square, stone structures surrounded by pillars, plazas and triumphal arches hearken back to the Greek Empire but, at the same time, they also nod to a future of immaculately planned cities. This is where Katniss, Gale, Peeta and Squad 451 are inundated with a deadly, towering tidal wave of "goo" in another twisted attempt by President Snow to stop them.
The cast was in awe of Abraxas. "In IMAX®, it's going to look so crazy 'cause you're going to be able to see up and down these huge structures," says Josh Hutcherson.
Says Liam Hemsworth: "It's very Panem-looking – it's everything you imagine the Capitol to be, and it felt like the perfect place for us to shoot these street scenes."
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For the exterior of Tigris's shop, Messina turned to another French public housing project: Jean Renaudie and Renee Gailhoustet's series of eight concrete, triangular buildings in Ivry sur-Seine.
Moving on to Germany, the production took over an abandoned factory in Rudersdorf, which serves as the backdrop for Katniss and Gale's attack on a Capitol hovercraft. Berlin's locations include a return to Tempelhof Airport, one of the world's oldest surviving airports and the former core of Nazi air power in WWII, also seen in Mockingjay – Part 1.
"Francis and I were drawn to Tempelhof because of the impressive scale of it," Messina explains. "The size of the structure was perfect for many of Mockingjay – Part 2's most exciting locations including the rebel encampment in District 2, Commander Lyme's control center and the train station."
For the cast, Tempelhof was transporting. "Berlin is architecturally one of the most interesting cities in the world," Jeffrey Wright says. "There is a very powerful, complicated history expressed through these buildings – and I found it really inspiring to shape these historical places for the purposes we have for the film. The train station scene reminded me of something out of a Cecil B. De Mille movie. It was operatic even, and wildly exciting and impressive."
From Tempelhof, the production moved to an abandoned Russian military facility in Krampnitz, which was formerly in East Berlin. This was rejiggered into the bombed out Capitol building where Katniss and her Star Squad team are waylaid. Messina recalls the first time he scouted the location, which had was overgrown with greenery. "When we first saw pictures of it, it had been abandoned for a couple of decades. It looked like these buildings were coming out of the forest. Francis and I went and blocked it out and laid out the pieces to turn it into a city street. It was an amazing transformation."
But Messina's biggest challenge of all was constructing Mockingjay – Part 2's most complicated set: the dark, sodden network of tunnels where Squad 451 comes face-to-face with an army of "lizard mutts," mutated reptiles that can take down enemies in a single chomp. Described in the book as "a mix of lizard and human and who knows what else," the mutts are brought to life via a mix of actors and CGI.
"The lizard sequence evolved between Francis, visual effects, stunts and myself coming up with how to lay it all out," Messina describes. "We started out with larger-scaled sewers but Francis said 'No, I want them really small. I want them compact.' So we made all the ceilings about five feet tall. It looks amazing, but I want to write an open letter to the crew formally apologizing for all the bumped heads!"
Last Looks: Hair and Make-Up
Throughout The Hunger Games, the look of the characters has gone through many incarnations, from humble and raw to the most outrageously ostentatious. Now that the Capitol and all of Panem are in the throes of all-out battle, the look is new once again in Mockingjay – Part 2, brought to life by costume designers Kurt and Bart; makeup designer Ve Neill and co-department head Nikoletta Skarlats; along with key team members Glenn Hetrick, who has done the film's prosthetics from the beginning, key
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makeup artist Conor McCullagh and hair designer Camille Friend and co-department head Kim Santantonio.
From the start of the epic series, Academy Award® winning makeup designer Ve Neill has been a major force behind the creative design and evolution of the character's visages. For Mockingjay – Part 2 she kept many of the whimsical elements that have always been part of the Panem universe, but brought them down to earth as reality descends on the Capitol.
"It's not as fantasy-oriented as the earlier films because now we're down to the nitty-gritty," she observes. "Now we're fully into wartime and this is really different for all the characters. You also start to see the people in the Capitol in a way you haven't seen them before. Of course, you always want the look to be very cool, but at the same time to me this chapter is really a tear-jerker."
It's also set amid battles. "In this film, Katniss, Peeta and Gale are now soldiers trying to get to the Capitol and kill Snow so we see them in a new way and we also see the Capitol in a new way," says Neill. "One of the most interesting things about shooting the Capitol scenes in Europe, is that we used German and French makeup artists who bring a whole different style and flavor that really gives the Capitol a fresh look. There is glamour and finery, but in a way we haven't seen before."
Several characters also get a fresh take in Mockingjay – Part 2. To switch-up the ever-changing Effie's appearance, Neill gave her makeup design to partner Nikoletta Skarlatos. "It was a sure way to get something different from the earlier films," Neill explains. "Nikoletta's Effie is still very stylized but she's more down to earth, more mature and elegant – it's really cool to see her in this new styling."
Meanwhile, Neill transformed Julianne Moore's look as the pressures of Coin's ambitions catch up with her. "Her character is really changing in this film so her look also starts to progress. It's very subtle, but it's also very striking. Julianne is so beautiful but you see her with a more fierce look here."
As for Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss, Neill says: "In Mockingjay – Part 1 she was in trauma, but now she has found her own natural strength as a leader. When you see her in this film in the Mockingjay costume you see that she's grown so much, she's really matured emotionally. So the makeup is not really high-fashion but emphasizes the womanly strength to her face. She looks fierce and beautiful yet relatable. Jennifer is so stunning you only need a little bit of makeup to do that."
Neill admits she already misses the close rapport with Jennifer and the rest of the cast. "I feel like I've watched them all grow up over the years," she reflects. "We're all still in touch and good friends, but I miss them so much. This was such a unique series of movies. For me it was a chance to do every kind of makeup – from battle wounds to high glamour to fantasy – but it's also been about friendships."
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Upping The Action To The Very End
With Squad 451 headed to the Capitol determined to stop President Snow for good, Mockingjay – Part 2 brings Katniss into epic, full-scale action on a level beyond the cleverly manufactured sieges of the Hunger Games arenas seen in the first two Hunger Games films or the early rumblings of war in Mockingjay – Part 1.
"In Mockingjay – Part 2, the action is based in reality as Katniss and her team move to the Capitol," stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave says. "Because of the intense action, it required a lot more out of all of our actors. It's chaos, so they had to be really 'on it' physically."
Fortunately, by the time cameras rolled on Mockingjay – Part 2, Jennifer Lawrence had become highly skilled in the ancient art of the bow and arrow, Katniss' iconic weaponry. "This character has become such a part of Jennifer that our training process was much narrower," Hargrave comments. "She knew what was expected of her, and whatever we asked of her she was gung-ho to try it."
Mockingjay – Part 2 also gave Liam Hemsworth more of an opportunity to show off his capabilities as an action star. "Liam is a very talented guy. He kickboxes and trains on his own so he brought in a lot of physical assets before we even began the specific training," Hargraves observes.
Perhaps the most ambitious action sequence of the entire franchise is the film's harrowing battle against the gnashing teeth and the talons of the supernaturally fast lizard mutts in the claustrophobic sewer tunnels.
"The whole scene was very complicated, so we had to storyboard it all and get all the fight choreography established long before we went in," explains Francis Lawrence. "There was a lot of technical difficulty – we were dealing with real fire and real water – and it was quite honestly a miserable set for the actors and crew. But it's a scene I'm really proud of. It's a very cool sequence."
For the cast, the experience was a taste of what their characters are going through as they reach the Capitol at the height of the rebellion. "The sewer tunnels were tough for everyone, being wet and cold all day long," says Josh Hutcherson. "But the results are there in one of the coolest scenes in the whole Hunger Games story."
Yet for all the film's high adrenaline and suspense, the director says it is the emotions of the film's stirring, hard-won final moments that will linger most of all.
"One of the things that I'm most excited about is the film's final scene," says Francis Lawrence. "There was a really strong feeling on the set when we got to the scene – a feeling that all the history of all these characters through the course of these four movies had built up to this singular moment. I hope audiences really feel that history and also a sense of the future. Everything that has happened to Katniss and all the themes of the story have wound together to come down to this final glimpse of her world, so it was very important that we really get to live inside it."
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The ending remains as faithful to Suzanne Collins' phenomenon-creating books as the beginning. As the journey comes to a close, one of the greatest satisfactions for Nina Jacobson is that the film franchise never strayed, the whole way through, from her promise to follow Collins' vision.
"I have such profound respect for Suzanne and I love the books so much and understand how fans feel about them," Jacobson closes. "So from the start, we had a total commitment to do right by the books and deliver cinematic storytelling at the highest level. That was a huge thing to aspire to do, but I never could have forgiven myself if we'd gotten it wrong. We had an obligation to come through for people and it's been an incredible experience. I hope we will continue to talk about all the incredibly relevant things this entire story is about: human society, the costs of war, the exploitation of tragedy for entertainment and the dangers of losing our individual narratives in tyrannical times. It's a story for the ages."
CAST BIOS
A natural talent, with a striking presence and undeniable energy, Academy Award® winner JENNIFER LAWRENCE [Katniss Everdeen] is one of Hollywood's most gifted actresses.
Lawrence recently wrapped production on David O. Russell's biopic, Joy; Joy is based on the life of a struggling Long Island single mom who became one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs with her invention of the Miracle Mop. Lawrence will co-star alongside Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro, and Twentieth Century Fox is set to release the film December 25, 2015.
Last year, Lawrence was seen in Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past, reprising her role as 'Raven' and 'Mystique,' opposite Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, and Nicholas Hoult. She will also appear in Singer's next chapter of the franchise, X-Men: Apocalypse, set to be released May 27, 2016. Lawrence made her X-Men debut in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, opposite Jackman, Fassbender and McAvoy, as well as Rose Byrne, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz and Kevin Bacon.
In 2016, Lawrence will be seen as 'Aurora' in Sony Pictures' Passengers opposite Chris Pratt and Michael Sheen. The film is about a spacecraft travelling to a distant colony planet that is transporting thousands of people which suffers a malfunction in one of its sleep chambers. As a result, a single passenger is awakened 60 years early. Faced with the prospect of growing old and dying alone, he eventually decides to wake up a second passenger.
Also upcoming, Lawrence will soon begin production on an adaptation of Graeme Simsion's novel, The Rosie Project as ''Rosie Jarman'. The film is being produced by Sony-based producers Matt Tolmach and Michael Costigan. The Rosie Project is about an unlucky-in-love university professor who creates an elaborate questionnaire in an effort to find a wife, and meets an unconventional woman who doesn't match any of his "requirements", but might be the perfect woman for him.
Lawrence is also attached to star as 'Cathy Ames' in Gary Ross' adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel, East of Eden, for Universal Pictures. The film takes place in the farmlands of the Salinas Valley in California, where successive generations of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, are destined to reenact the fateful story of Cain and Abel.
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Lawrence also recently co-starred alongside Bradley cooper in Magnolia Pictures' Serena, which was released in the spring of 2015; based upon the novel by Ron Rash, the depression-era story focused on a newlywed couple and their timber empire during that time.
Lawrence's critically acclaimed performances include David O. Russell's American Hustle, co-starring opposite Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper in her portrayal of Roslyn, a contentious suburban housewife to a con-artist husband. Her first collaboration with David O. Russell was on Silver Linings Playbook where she starred alongside Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver as Tiffany, a young widow suffering from depression. Her breakthrough performance came in Debra Granik's Winter's Bone in which Lawrence starred as 'Ree', a young girl facing a dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact. To date, those three film credits have garnered Lawrence an Academy Award® for Best Actress, with two additional Academy Award® nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. In addition, Lawrence has received a BAFTA Award for Best Actress and an additional BAFTA Best Supporting Actress nomination; two Golden Globe Awards® for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Motion Picture Drama, as well as a Golden Globe Award® nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama; a Screen Actors Guild Award® for Lead Role, as well two Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations for Lead Actress and Supporting Actress.
Additional film credits include Mark Tonderai's House at the End of The Street opposite Elisabeth Shue and Max Thieriot; Jodie Foster's The Beaver opposite Mel Gibson and Anton Yelchin; Drake Doremus' Like Crazy opposite Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones; Lori Petty's Poker House opposite Selma Blair and Bokeem Woodbine, for which she was awarded the prize of Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival; and Guillermo Arriaga's directorial debut The Burning Plain, opposite Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger. The film premiered at the 2008 Venice Film Festival where Lawrence won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor.
On television, Lawrence's credits include three seasons of the TBS series "The Bill Engvall Show." The comedy, written and created by Bill Engvall and Michael Leeson, follows the life of Bill Pearson (Engvall), a Denver suburban family counselor whose own family could use a little dose of counseling.
Reigning from Louisville, Kentucky with a childhood of local theatre experience to her credit, Lawrence traveled to New York at age fourteen to explore a professional career in acting.
At 23 years old, JOSH HUTCHERSON [Peeta Mellark] has quickly become one of Hollywood's most accomplished young actors. Hutcherson has already received many accolades throughout his career including the 2012 CinemaCon award for Breakthrough Actor, MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance, the Teen Choice Award for Best Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Logo's New Now Next Award for the Next Mega Star.
Hutcherson can currently be seen starring alongside Benicio Del Toro in Escobar: Paradise Lost, a drama about the notorious kingpin, Pablo Escobar which premiered at 2014 Toronto Film Festival.
Hutcherson is currently filming the James Franco directed drama, The Long Home. Based on the novel by William Gay, the film is set in the 1940's in rural Tennessee where a young man goes to work for a bootlegger unaware that he had murdered his father 10 years prior.
Additional film credits include the animated film Epic, Red Dawn, a remake of the 1984 classic about a group of teenagers trying to save their town from foreign soldiers, Journey 2: Mysterious Island alongside Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson, the independent feature film Detention, in which Hutcherson also served as Executive Producer, and an omnibus film entitled Seven Days in Havana, which features 7 shorts directed by 7 different directors. In 2010, Hutcherson co-starred alongside Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in Lisa Cholodenko's Academy Award® nominated feature film The Kids are All Right. The
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film debuted at that year's Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Focus Features in one of the festival's biggest deals and premiered to rave reviews. The film went on to garner the feature film prize at the Berlin International Film Festival's Teddy Awards in addition to Screen Actors Guild Awards®, Independent Spirit Awards® and Golden Globe® nominations. Prior to that, he starred in The Vampire's Assistant, opposite John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek, Carmel, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D, the first ever high definition 3-D live performance feature, Bridge To Terabithia, Winged Creatures, Firehouse Dog, RV, Little Manhattan, Zathura, Kicking and Screaming, Howl's Moving Castle and The Polar Express. Hutcherson won Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actor for his roles in Zathura and Bridge to Terebithia.
In addition to acting, Hutcherson is extremely involved with his charity organization, Straight But Not Narrow (SBNN). SBNN is an ally organization that prepares and trains young adults on how to become allies of their LGBT peer. For the past three years, Hutcherson has hosted a basketball tournament to raise funds and awareness for the organization. In 2012, he was honored with GLAAD's Vanguard Award for his work with the LGBT community.
Hutcherson currently resides in Los Angeles.
LIAM HEMSWORTH [Gale Hawthorne] has a quiet intensity that transcends the big screen. Demonstrating versatility and skill in a range of performances, Hemsworth has proven to be one of the most sought after actors of his generation.
Hemsworth recently completed filming the lead role in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day: Resurgence, starring opposite Jeff Goldblum & Bill Pullman. He also completed starring roles in the revenge western thriller By Way of Helena, opposite Woody Harrelson and The Dressmaker, opposite Kate Winslet.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Hemsworth grew up surfing on Phillip Island. The youngest of three boys, Hemsworth always loved movies. Though he never dreamed of becoming an actor as a young kid, he would sit down and watch movies all day long. At the age of 17, having observed his two older brothers Luke and Chris do television shows in Australia, Hemsworth decided he too wanted to pursue acting seriously. He enrolled in acting classes, got an agent and started auditioning. Hemsworth quickly landed his first big acting job on Australia's popular TV series Home and Away and from there went on to book a role on Australia's most successful TV show Neighbors.
Landing his first film role in the feature film Triangle, Hemsworth discovered that his true passion was in making movies. "It's something new and fresh and it's just a different energy to what I'd worked on before, says Hemsworth. Knowing Los Angeles was the center of movie making, Hemsworth began sending audition tapes to the states. He sent a tape to Sylvester Stallone who within a week of receiving the tape asked Hemsworth to come to Hollywood immediately to play the part of his son in the feature film The Expendables. Shortly before he was to depart for Los Angeles, Hemsworth learned that the part of Stallone's son had been written out of the script. However, within hours of learning he was no longer working on The Expendables he received a call that Marvel wanted to screen test him for Thor. Though he ended up losing the role of 'Thor' to his older brother Chris, it was this audition for Marvel that got Hemsworth to Los Angeles.
Hemsworth soon began to gain attention throughout Hollywood and, while living with his brother Chris in their manager Will Ward's guest cottage, Liam beat out hundreds of actors for the part of 'Will Blakelee' in the film adaptation of Nicholas Spark's The Last Song, co-starring Greg Kinnear and Miley Cyrus. Hemsworth then went onto star in two of 2012's biggest box office hits—The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross, and Expendables 2, directed by Simon West. He's since starred opposite Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman in the high stakes thriller Paranoia, directed by Robert Luketic and Empire State, directed by Dito Montiel and co-starring Dwayne Johnson and Emma Roberts. He also reprised his role as Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, directed
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by Francis Lawrence. Most recently, he starred opposite Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Dern & John Malkovich in the crime thriller Cut Bank.
Hemsworth eagerly looks forward to more film work with quality actors and directors. He says, "I love acting and I love movies. At the moment, I'm just trying to find people who are doing something different and meet people who are as passionate as I am. I have learned the majority of what I know on set, working. You learn from watching people with experience."
WOODY HARRELSON's [Haymitch Abernathy] rare mix of intensity and charisma consistently surprises and delights audiences and critics alike in both mainstream and independent projects. His portrayal of a casualty notification officer, opposite Ben Foster, in Oren Moverman's The Messenger garnered him a 2010 Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was previously nominated by the Academy, the Golden Globes® and SAG Awards® in the category of Best Actor for his portrayal of controversial magazine publisher Larry Flynt in Milos Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt.
Harrelson recently completed filming on Lionsgate's Now You See Me 2 for director Jon Chu. He was last seen reprising his role of Haymitch Abernathy in HBO's True Detective co-starring Matthew McConaughey for director Cary Fukunaga for which he was nominated for Emmy and SAG Awards in the lead actor category and a Golden Globes Award for lead actor in a Mini Series. He can next be seen in Triple Nine for director John Hillcoat, due out in Spring 2016. In 2013, Harrelson appeared in writer/director Scott Cooper's Out of the Furnace starring opposite Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, Relativity's animated film, Free Birds with Owen Wilson, Louis Leterrier's Now You See Me and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
In 2012 Harrelson starred opposite Julianne Moore and Ed Harris in the HBO film Game Change for director Jay Roach, for which he earned Primetime Emmy®, SAG Awards®, and Golden Globe® nominations for his role as Steve Schmidt, and Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths, alongside Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell and Christopher Walken.
Other highlights from Harrelson's film career include Rampart, which reunited him with director Oren Moverman, Ruben Fleischer's box office hit Zombieland; Friends with Benefits; 2012; Semi-Pro; The Grand; No Country For Old Men; A Scanner Darkly; A Prairie Home Companion; Defendor; Seven Pounds; The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio; North Country; The Big White; After The Sunset; Play It To The Bone; Battle In Seattle; EDtv; The Hi-Lo County; Transsiberian; The Thin Red Line; Wag The Dog; Welcome To Sarajevo; Kingpin; Natural Born Killers; Indecent Proposal; White Men Can't Jump and was recently seen as the on screen host for director Pete McGrain's powerful political documentary Ethos.
Harrelson first endeared himself to millions of viewers as a member of the ensemble cast of NBC's long-running hit comedy, Cheers. For his work as the affable bartender 'Woody Boyd,' he won a Primetime Emmy® in 1988 and was nominated four additional times during his eight-year run on the show. In 1999, he gained another Primetime Emmy® nomination when he reprised the role in a guest appearance on the spin-off series Frasier. He later made a return to television with a recurring guest role on the hit NBC series, Will and Grace.
Balancing his film and television work, in 1999 Harrelson directed his own play, Furthest From The Sun at the Theatre de la Juene Lune in Minneapolis. He followed next with the Roundabout's Broadway revival of The Rainmaker; Sam Shepherd's The Late Henry Moss, and John Kolvenbach's On An Average Day opposite Kyle MacLachlan at London's West End. Harrelson directed the Toronto premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth at Toronto's Berkeley Street Theatre. In the winter of 2005 Harrelson returned to London's West End, starring in Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana at the Lyric Theatre. In 2011, Harrelson co-wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical comedy Bullet for Adolf at Hart House Theatre in Toronto. In the summer of 2012 Bullet for Adolf made its Off-Broadway debut at New World Stages.
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Emmy® nominated actress, producer and director ELIZABETH BANKS [Effie Trinket] has become one of Hollywood's most sought after and versatile actresses, easily navigating between stage and screen, comedy and drama. In addition to acting, Banks had her feature directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to Pitch Perfect about a women's college acapella group where she reprised her role as commentator Gail. She also produced the film along with her husband, Max Handelman, through their company, Brownstone Productions.
Banks has recently appeared in Magic Mike XXL opposite Channing Tatum. In 2014, she lent her voice to the global hit The Lego Movie. Following The Lego Movie, she appeared in Love & Mercy directed by Bill Pohlad which takes an unconventional look at the life of the celebrated leader of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, and his legendary battle with mental illness. The film recently premiered at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival and was released by Roadside Attractions in June of 2015. She also played Detective Nancy Porter in Every Secret Thing (2014) directed by Amy Berg and based on the best-selling novel by Laura Lippman. The story follows a detective who looks to unravel a mystery surrounding missing children and the two young women who are prime suspects.
Banks' additional feature credits include her breakthrough roles in the Academy Award® winning films Seabiscuit, in which she starred as Marcela Howard opposite Jeff Bridges and Tobey Maguire, and in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. She has also appeared in Walk of Shame, Little Accidents, Our Idiot Brother, The Details, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, What to Expect When You're Expecting, People Like Us, Man on a Ledge, The Next Three Days, Role Models, Meet Dave, Invincible, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Fred Claus, Sisters, Slither, Heights, The Baxter, The Trade, Ordinary Sinner, The Uninvited, Daltry Calhoun, Sexual Life, John Singleton's Shaft with Samuel L. Jackson and the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer starring Janeane Garofalo and David Hyde Pierce. She also appeared as journalist Betty Brant, a role that director Sam Raimi created for her, in Columbia Pictures' three blockbuster Spider-Man films with Tobey Maguire as the title character.
On the small screen, Banks earned a Primetime Emmy® Award nomination in 2011 for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance as 'Avery Jessup' on "30 Rock." She has also appeared on ABC's "Modern Family" and in a recurring role as Dr. Kim Porter on NBC's "Scrubs." In 2007 she appeared in the CBS miniseries "Comanche Moon," Larry McMurtry's prequel to "Lonesome Dove."
Her production company Brownstone Productions' upcoming projects include White Girl Problems, Tink, a Disney live-action romantic comedy in which Banks will star as Tinkerbell and RA's with Paramount Digital. She has also produced the global hit Pitch Perfect and Disney's 2009 sci-fi thriller The Surrogates, which starred Bruce Willis.
Her extensive theater credits include many roles in American Conservatory Theatre productions, as well as the Guthrie Theater's production of Summer and Smoke directed by David Esbjornson. In 2006 Banks played 'Cherie', the female lead in William Inge's comedy Bus Stop, as part of the Williamstown Theater Festival.
Originally from Massachusetts, Banks received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Graduate Degree at the American Conservatory Theater. She is involved with many charities which include: LA's Best, Planned Parenthood®, and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
One of today's most versatile and charismatic actresses, Academy Award® winner JULIANNE MOORE [President Alma Coin] is known for her breadth of work with many memorable performances in everything from comedy to drama, blockbusters to art house fare, and from the big to the small screen.
Moore will next be seen in Lionsgate's indie drama Freeheld opposite Ellen Page and Michael Shannon, and Rebecca Miller's upcoming romantic comedy Maggie's Plan, both set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this year. She will also be seen in the fourth installment of the popular Hunger Games franchise Mockingjay – Part 2 as President Coin.
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Most recently, Moore won an Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, BAFTA, and SAG Award®, among others, for her role in Still Alice with Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth. Moore is the ninth person in Academy history to receive two acting Oscar® nominations in the same year for her performances in Far From Heaven (Best Actress nomination) and The Hours (Best Supporting Actress nomination), after receiving many critics' awards as well as SAG Award® and Golden Globe® nominations for both. Moore is a four-time Academy Award® nominee, eight-time Golden Globe® nominee, six-time SAG Award® nominee, four-time BAFTA nominee, and a three-time Independent Spirit Award® nominee winning in 2003 for Far From Heaven. In 2012, she won the Primetime Emmy® award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the HBO original movie Game Change. This role also garnered wins at the 2013 SAG Awards® and Golden Globe Awards®. Her additional honors include the Excellence in Media Award at the 2004 GLAAD Media Awards, the Silver Bear Award at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, the 2002 Copa Volti as Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, the Actor Award at the 2002 Gotham Awards and the "Tribute to Independent Vision" at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
Moore's notable films include The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1; Maps to the Stars; The Seventh Son; Non-Stop; Crazy, Stupid, Love; The Kids Are All Right; A Single Man; The Forgotten; What Massie Knew; The English Teacher; Laws of Attraction; Chloe; 6 Souls; Blindness; Savage Grace; I'm Not There; Children of Men; Hannibal; Jurassic Park: The Lost World; The Fugitive; Nine Months; Benny & Joon; The Hand That Rocks the Cradle; The End of the Affair; Boogie Nights; Magnolia; Cookie's Fortune; Short Cuts; Don Jon; Gus Van Sant's re-make of Psycho; Safe; Vanya on 42nd Street; Surviving Picasso, and The Big Lebowski.
An accomplished author, Moore recently released her fourth book My Mother is a Foreigner, But Not to Me, based on her experiences growing up with a mother from Scotland. Her previous work includes the successful children's book series– Freckleface Strawberry, Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, and Freckleface Strawberry: Best Friends Forever. Inspired by the book's main character, 'Freckleface Strawberry', in 2013 Moore released her Monster Maker® app via iTunes® which allows users to make their own monster to send to family and friends. Moore most recently unveiled her second app Dreamtime Playtime®, an app that encourages math skills at a very early age. The original book was also adapted into a successful off-Broadway musical.
After earning her B.F.A. from Boston University for the Performing Arts, Moore starred in a number of off-Broadway productions, including Caryl Churchill's Serious Money and Ice Cream/Hot Fudge at the Public Theater. She appeared in Minneapolis in the Guthrie Theater's Hamlet, and participated in workshop productions of Strindberg's The Father with Al Pacino and Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter with Meryl Streep. Moore made her Broadway debut in 2006 in the Sam Mendes production of The Vertical Hour, an original play written by David Hare.
Moore and her family reside in New York City.
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN [Plutarch Heavensbee] was last seen starring in Anton Corbijn's A Most Wanted Man, John Slattery's feature directorial debut, God's Pocket and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Previously he appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, A Late Quartet with Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener, The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney and in Moneyball with Brad Pitt, directed by Bennett Miller. Hoffman made his feature directorial debut with Jack Goes Boating, which was produced by Cooper's Town Productions and based on the play of the same name. Other past film credits include Synecdoche, NY; Doubt; The Savages; Charlie Wilson's War and Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. It was Hoffman's performance in Capote, also directed by Bennett Miller and produced through his company, Cooper's Town Productions, for which he earned an Academy Award®.
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As an actor, his theater credits include the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, a limited run in Othello, LAByrinth's production of Jack Goes Boating, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Seagull, True West, Defying Gravity, The Merchant of Venice, Shopping and F*cking and The Author's Voice.
His theater directing credits include the world premieres of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Our Lady of 121st Street, Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings and The Little Flower of East Orange all written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and produced by LAByrinth. Also produced by LAByrinth, Hoffman directed A Family for All Occasions written by Bob Glaudini. Additionally he directed Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living at MCC Theater. He traveled to Australia to direct Andrew Upton's Riflemind at the famed Sydney Theater Company and later mounted the play in London. He also directed Brett C. Leonard's The Long Red Road for the Goodman Theater in Chicago and returned to the Sydney Theater Company to direct True West.
Hoffman passed away in February of 2014 in New York City.
Tony®, Emmy®, AFI and Golden Globe Award®-winning actor JEFFREY WRIGHT [Beetee] has enjoyed an illustrious career that has spanned the worlds of theatre, film and television.
Wright will soon be seen playing 'Bernard Lowe', in HBO's reimagining of Michael Crichton's 1973 film, Westworld. The TV-series will explore the infamous futuristic theme park where the rich flock to fulfill their wildest fantasies and the perils that ensue when illusions become realities. In addition to that, Wright will also be seen playing Harvard Law professor, Charles Ogletree in HBO's upcoming CONFIRMATION; a film that chronicles Anita Hill's sexual harassment testimony in Clarence Thomas' 1991 Supreme Court hearings. Wright's recent television appearances include his portrayal of Dr. Valentin Narcisse in HBO's critically acclaimed series "Boardwalk Empire." Wright was nominated for Critics Choice Television Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Narcisse, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award® in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series on behalf of the show.
On the big screen, Wright can next be seen in two features: Pixar's animated film The Good Dinosaur, where Wright will voice the role of Poppa Henry and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, which will be released on November 20, 2015. He will reprise his role as Beetee, the electronics and wiring expert from District 3 and leader amongst the rebellion. Wright previously starred in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
A gifted theater actor, Wright was most recently on stage as the lead in John Guare's A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center, directed by George C. Wolfe, a frequent collaborator. In 2001 and 2002 respectively, he earned an Obie award and a Tony® nomination for his work in the play Topdog/Underdog. Wright garnered a Tony® Award in 1994 for his portrayal in Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic Angels in America, also directed by George C. Wolfe. Wright reprised his Angels role in HBO's 2003 mini-series adaption of the play, earning both a Golden Globe® and an Emmy® for his groundbreaking performance.
On film, Wright has portrayed a stunning array of icons and iconoclasts. His brilliant portrayal of the renowned and controversial graffiti artist, Jean Michel Basquiat, in the 1996 film BASQUIAT, received widespread praise from critics and earned him an Independent Spirit Award® nomination. On the other end of the spectrum, Wright has taken on roles in the 2006 and 2008 James Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace and also in 2008, starred as 'Muddy Waters' in Cadillac Records and as Colin Powell in Oliver Stone's W. In 2005, he co-starred in the award-winning film Syriana, and his other credits include Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate; Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive and Broken Flowers, earning him another Independent Spirit Award® nomination; Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil ; Allen Hughes' political thriller Broken City; George Clooney's The Ides of March; and Shaft.
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In addition to acting, Wright is founded and Vice Chairman of Taia Lion Resources and co-founder and Chairman of Taia Peace Foundation. He is the co-founder of the Ebola Survival Fund and is on the advisory board of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). He also serves on the boards of directors of the Tribeca Film Institute and Resolve. Wright was named by the Government of Sierra Leone as the "Peace by Piece" Ambassador for that country's 2011 50th Anniversary Independence Celebration, and in 2011, Wright was named honorary Paramount Chief of Penguia Chiefdom, Sierra Leone.
Born in Washington, D.C., Wright graduated from Amherst College, receiving a B.A. in political science in 1987 and earned a doctorate of humane letters from his alma mater in 2004. Wright resides in Brooklyn, NY with his family.
Academy Award® nominee Stanley Tucci STANLEY TUCCI [Caesar Flickerman] has appeared in over 50 films and countless television shows. He has appeared in more than a dozen plays, on and off Broadway, and has been behind the camera working as a writer, director, and producer.
Tucci recently completed production of Bill Condon's Beauty and The Beast, alongside Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor, Luke Evans, Dan Stevens, Emma Thompson and Ian McKellen, set for release in 2017. Other upcoming projects for Tucci include Peter & Wendy, a two-hour drama where he will play 'Captain Hook' alongside Laura Fraser and Paloma Faith, set to release on ITV in 2015; and Patient Zero alongside Natalie Dormer, set to release in 2016.
Tucci was most recently seen in Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy, alongside Rachel McAdams, Live Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Billy Crudup. Spotlight premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2015 and is set to release in the U.S. on November 6, 2015.
Tucci can also be seen in the television show "Fortitude" alongside Richard Dormer, Christopher Eccleston and Sofie Grabol. A British psychological thriller set in Norway, Tucci plays an American detective hired to solve a murder case. "Fortitude" premiered on Pivot in the U.S. on January 29, 2015.
Tucci was nominated for an Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award®, BAFTA Award, SAG Award® and received a Broadcast Film Critics nomination for his performance in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.
Furthermore, Tucci won an Emmy® and a Golden Globe® for his role in the TV movie Winchell. His performance as the fast-talking tattler, who exposed secrets and scandals, left audiences and critics alike singing his praises. Winchell, directed by Paul Mazursky, provided Tucci with one of the juiciest roles of his diverse career.
He received a Golden Globe® for his role in HBO's Conspiracy. His brilliant portrayal of Lt. Colonel Adolf Eichmann delivered a truly petrifying experience, where he often deceived others with his all but friendly smile.
Tucci is also a writer, director and producer. He is the Producer for The Canal, set to release in 2015; Executive Producer for the upcoming TV/movie drama Behind the Sun; and Director/Writer for Final Portrait. He premiered the film Blind Date at The Sundance Film Festival - directing, starring, and co-writing this Van Gogh remake. Another directorial endeavor was USA Films' Joe Gould's Secret, which starred Ian Holm as bohemian writer 'Joe Gould' and Tucci as 'Joseph Mitchell,' the famed writer for The New Yorker. The film, set in New York's Greenwich Village in the 1940s, tells the story of the strange meeting and long lasting friendship between Gould and Mitchell, as well as the stories Mitchell wrote about Gould and his life.
Big Night, Tucci's first effort as co-director, co-screenwriter, and actor on the same film, earned him numerous accolades, including the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, a recognition of Excellence by the National Board of Review, an Independent Spirit Award®, The Critics Prize at the 1996 Deauville Film Festival, and honors from the New York Film Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics.
His second project, The Imposters, a film which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and starred in, was an Official Selection at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures later that year. The 1930's farce starred Tucci and Oliver Platt as a pair of out-of-work
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actors who find themselves aboard a cruise ship passengered by Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina, Lili Taylor and Hope Davis.
His work on television includes "Fortitude," "Bull," "Equal Justice," "Wiseguy," "The Equalizer," "thirtysomething," and "The Street." Tucci received Emmy® nominations for his work in "Murder One" and "ER," and an Emmy® Award in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for "Monk.
Tucci's theater work includes Frankie & Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Execution of Hope, The Iceman Cometh, Brighton Beach Memoirs and The Misanthrope. He has also performed in a number of off-Broadway plays, at Yale Repertory Theater and SUNY Purchase, where he first studied acting.
Tucci made his directorial debut on Broadway with a revival of Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor starring Tony Shalhoub. The production received a Tony® Award nomination for Best Revival of a Play.
Tucci's additional film credits include Transformers: Age of Extinction, Wild Card, Muppets Most Wanted, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Some Velvet Morning, The Fifth Estate, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Company You Keep, Jack The Giant Slayer, Captain America; The First Avenger, Margin Call, Burlesque, Easy A, Julie & Julia, The Tale of Despereaux, ,Kit Kitteredge: An American Girl. Swing Vote, What Just Happened, The Devil Wears Prada, Shall We Dance, The Terminal The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Spin, Road to Perdition, America's Sweethearts, Sidewalks of New York, A Mid Summer Night's Dream, The Alarmist, Deconstructing Harry, The Daytrippers, Big Trouble, A Life Less Ordinary, Kiss of Death, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, It Could Happen to You, The Pelican Brief, Prelude to a Kiss, In the Soup, Billy Bathgate and Slaves of New York.
The Tucci Cookbook was released in October of 2012 where it reached the New York Times Best Sellers List. Tucci released his 2nd cookbook, The Tucci Table: Cooking With Family and Friends, on October 28, 2014. The family-focused cookbook includes recipes from Tucci's traditional Italian roots as well as those of his British wife, Felicity Blunt's.
Tucci serves on the Board of Directors of The Food Bank for New York City. Tucci resides in London.
DONALD SUTHERLAND [President Snow] is one of the most respected, prolific and versatile of motion picture actors, with an astonishing resume of well over one hundred and fifty films, including such classics as Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen; Robert Altman's M*A*S*H; John Schlesinger's The Day of the Locust; Robert Redford's Ordinary People; Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900; Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now with Julie Christie; Alan Pakula's Klute with Jane Fonda; Federico Fellini's Fellini's Casanova; and in Brian Hutton's Kelly's Heroes with Clint Eastwood, who later directed him in Space Cowboys.
Sutherland stars at 'President Snow' in the enormously popular film adaptation series of The Hunger Games, including the upcoming finale Mockingjay – Part 2. Sutherland was producer, screenwriter and star (voicing the lead character, 'Captain Johnson') of Pirate's Passage, an animated movie based on William Gilkerson's acclaimed novel, winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for Children's Literature in 2006. He stars opposite his son, Kiefer, in Forsaken, a period Western set in Canada, which recently had its world premiere as a Gala presentation at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Other films which he has completed this year are Measure of a Man, adapted from Robert Lipsyte's YA novel One Fat Summer, and Milton's Secret, based on Eckhart Tolle's beloved children's book.
Sutherland's film credits include Paul Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland; Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun; Bud Yorkin's Start the Revolution Without Me; John Sturges' The Eagle Has Landed; Herbert Ross' Max Dugan Returns; Louis Malle's Crackers; Phillip Borsos' Bethune; Oliver Stone's JFK; Ron Howard's Backdraft; Richard Marquand's Eye of the Needle; Euzhan Palcy's A Dry White Season; Richard Pearce's Threshold (for which he won the 1983 Genie Award as Best Actor); Fred Schepisi's film adaptation of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation; Robert Towne's Without Limits; and John Landis' National Lampoon's Animal House, in which he made a memorable cameo appearance; in Andy Tennant's Fool's Gold; in Griffin Dunne's Fierce People with Diane Lane; in Robert Towne's Ask the Dust with Salma
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Hayek and Colin Farrell; in American Gun with Forrest Whitaker; in An American Haunting with Sissy Spacek; in Land of the Blind with Ralph Fiennes; in Aurora Borealis with Louise Fletcher and Juliette Lewis; with Channing Tatum in The Eagle; in Simon West's The Mechanic; in Seth Gordon's Horrible Bosses as Colin Farrell's father and in Mary McGuckian's Man on the Train with U2's Larry Mullen, Jr. He has appeared as Nicole Kidman's father in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain; as Charlize Theron's father in F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job and as Mr. Bennett, Keira Knightley's father, in Pride and Prejudice. For the latter he received a Chicago Film Critics nomination.
He is part of a sterling ensemble of on-camera readers in the biographical feature on the life of Dalton Trumbo, Trumbo.
In television, Sutherland won both Primetime Emmy® and Golden Globe® awards as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the HBO film Citizen X and he won a Golden Globe® for his portrayal of Clark Clifford, advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson, in the HBO historical drama Path to War, directed by the late John Frankenheimer.
Also on television, Sutherland stars alongside an international cast in Tandem's international action crime series, "Crossing Lines," which recently completed filming on its third season in Prague. He starred in the long form adaptation of Ken Follett's best-seller, "The Pillars of the Earth." He co-starred with Peter Krause in the ABC-TV series "Dirty Sexy Money," for which he was nominated for a 2007 Golden Globe® as Best Supporting Actor. Prior to that, he co-starred with Geena Davis in the ABC drama series "Commander-in-Chief," and was nominated for a Golden Globe® as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of House Speaker, Nathan Templeton. At the same time, he was nominated for a Golden Globe® as Best Actor for his performance opposite Mira Sorvino in Lifetime Television's much-lauded miniseries, "Human Trafficking."
On stage, Sutherland starred with Justin Kirk and Julianna Margulies in a sold-out, critically acclaimed, Lincoln Center engagement of Jon Robin Baitz's Ten Unknowns. For that performance he received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Best Actor. He also starred in the London, Toronto and Los Angeles productions of Enigmatic Variations, an English language translation (by his son Roeg Sutherland) of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's French play.
Donald Sutherland was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 1978 and a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in France five years later. In 2012, he was awarded the highest French honor, the Officier des Arts et Lettres.
WILLOW SHIELDS [Primrose Everdeen] born and raised in New Mexico, is most notably recognized for her role as 'Primrose Everdeen' in the epic portrayal of the fan favorite book series The Hunger Games. Shields began acting at the age of seven years old and thanks to her unique look, down-to-earth personality and easy to work with demeanor, she has quickly caught the eye of Hollywood big wigs. Shields became interested in acting when she followed her brother to a handful of auditions and her passion and drive quickly shined through. She booked her first guest starring role as 'Liza Rogan' on USA's In Plain Sight. She continued onto roles in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Beyond the Blackboard alongside Emily VanCamp as 'Grace,' and R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour as 'Eve.' Shields caught the eye of world famous fashion designer Marc Jacobs who was adamant on dressing the young starlet for a variety of events and award shows, even coining her as his muse in Nylon magazine. Shields grew up with her older brother River and fraternal twin sister Autumn in an animal loving home with their four dogs (Jude, Arizona, Polly and Neo) and one pet cat named Clue. During her downtime she enjoys photography, dance and spending time with her family and friends. She dreams of one day learning how to design and create her own clothing—everything from drawing to assembly of the garments. A charity that she holds near and dear to her heart is Operation Smile, which gives children a new lease on life by providing pro-bono surgeries to fix cleft palate, cleft lip and other facial deformities across the globe.
Since graduating from LAMDA in 2009 SAM CLAFLIN [Finnick Odair] has worked on a number of prestigious projects.
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Claflin has recently begun filming Lone Scherfig's Their Finest Hour and a Half where he will be seen starring alongside Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy. The romantic comedy follows a British film crew as they attempt to create a morale boosting film during the Blitz. 2015 will also see Claflin film the title role in Robin Friday charting the life of the enigmatic British footballer. Claflin has recently finished filming the role of Will opposite Emilia Clarke in the adaption of Jojo Moyes bestselling book Me Before You. In the film Claflin plays a recently paralyzed man whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of Louisa to care for him.
2014 was a huge year for Claflin with a number of projects out in cinemas. Claflin starred in Lone Scherfig's film The Riot Club, based on the London stage play Posh alongside Max Irons, Douglas Booth and Holliday Grainger. The film follows students at Oxford University as they join he infamous Riot Club, and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Also out last year was Love, Rosie. This film version of Cecilia Ahern's novel Where Rainbows End sees Claflin star with Lily Collins as friends and lovers in this romantic comedy drama set in Dublin and Toronto. Earlier in the year Claflin appeared opposite Jarred Harris in Hammer Horror film The Quiet Ones.
In 2012 Claflin played the role Prince William alongside Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth in box office hit Snow White and the Huntsman, which he will follow up with a small role in the forthcoming The Huntsman. The previous year Claflin made a name for himself as youthful missionary, Philip, the romantic lead in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Claflin has also starred in a number of outstanding television projects. In 2013 he was seen on screens opposite Hilary Swank in Richard Curtis' BBC One drama Mary & Martha, which was shown to coincide with Red Nose Day and to raise awareness about malaria in Africa. In 2012 Claflin played Jack in White Heat, an epic drama for the BBC charting the lives of seven friends from 1965 to the present day. He starred in United alongside David Tennant, Dougray Scott and Jack O'Connell. In this one off film for the BBC, Claflin played the talented footballer 'Duncan Edwards' in the tragic story of the Munich Air Crash of 1958, which killed and injured a number of members of the Manchester United team.
In 2010 Claflin was seen in the hit Channel 4 mini-series "Pillars of the Earth" based on Ken Follett's novel of the same name. In this drama Claflin played 'Richard', alongside Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Atwell and Ian McShane. Claflin also starred in the critically acclaimed adaptation of William Boyd's "Any Human Heart" for Channel 4 which won a BAFTA Award for Best Drama Serial. Claflin played the younger years of lead character, Logan, sharing the role with Jim Broadbent and Matthew Macfadyen. The same year Claflin also appeared in The Lost Future, a sci-fi adventure in which he played Kaleb, alongside Sean Bean and Annabelle Wallis.
As a rising actress distinguished by her versatility and multidimensional roles, JENA MALONE [Johanna Mason] continues to evolve with each new project.
Malone recently wrapped production on Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon, in which she stars opposite Elle Fanning. The LA-based thriller, co-written by Winding Refn, follows an aspiring model who moves to Los Angeles and has her youth and vitality devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.
Malone recently starred in Oren Moverman's Time Out of Mind alongside Richard Gere. The film is about a New Yorker (Gere) who enters a shelter when he runs out of housing options, then struggles to put the pieces of his life back together and fix a troubled relationship with his estranged daughter (Malone). The film premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and was released by IFC on September 11, 2015.
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She also recently starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice. Warner Brothers released the film on December 12, 2014. The film co-stars Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival.
Additionally, Malone recently wrapped production on Mitchell Lichtenstein's Angelica, a psychological thriller set in 1880s London based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Arthur Phillips (Prague,The Egyptologist). Malone will play 'Constance', a young shop girl who falls for and marries Dr. Joseph Barton. After the difficult childbirth of their daughter Angelica, doctor-ordered celibacy creates a rift in the Bartons' marriage and a ghostly force enters their home. The film premiered at the 2015 Mill Valley Film Festival.
Malone was cast to play the lead role in Dori Oskowitz's Claire. The American remake of Eric Rohmer's 1982 French pic Le Beau Mariage, follows an eccentric young woman in her twenties living in Long Island with her aunt and teenage cousin. Fed up with her married painter lover, Claire sets her sights on a man she barely knows with aims to get herself married.
Malone starred opposite Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton in the History Channel's mini-series Hatfields & McCoys which is based on a true story, and chronicles the bloody hostilities between two clans that escalated to the point of near war between two states. The mini-series broke cable records and became the new most-watched entertainment telecast of all time on cable and also earned an Emmy® Nomination for Outstanding Mini-Series and a Golden Globe® Nomination for Best Mini-Series.
Previously, Malone starred in Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, Ami Mann's Dakota, Oren Moverman's The Messenger, Sean Penn's Into the Wild, Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain, Brian Dannelly's Saved!, Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, M. Blash's The Wait, and Brian Savelson's In Our Nature. As a young actress, Malone starred opposite Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in Stepmom, the cult classic, Donnie Darko and her very first role in the independent film Bastard Out of Carolina which earned her an Independent Spirit Award® nomination for "Best Debut Performance."
Malone has guest starred on several television series including "Law & Order" and "Chicago Hope", and her performance in the TV film Hope earned Malone a Golden Globe® nomination for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV."
In Spring 2013, Malone directed her first music video for the band Lavender Diamond. The video for "The Incorruptible Heart" was released exclusively on MTV Buzzworthy.
Malone recently toured with her band, The Shoe. Malone and her bandmate, Lem Jay Ignacio, met in 2008 and shortly after started recording together. Malone built an instrument she plays called "The Shoe" which includes an old steamer trunk with a plethora of electronic instruments inside. Their first EP "At Lem Jay's Garage" came out in 2009 under Jena's label There Was An Old Woman Records. Their full length album "I'm Okay" was released in Spring 2014.
Malone currently resides in Los Angeles
MAHERSHALA ALI [Boggs] is fast becoming one of the freshest and most in-demand faces in Hollywood with his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging background in film, television, and theater.
Ali will next star in Gary Ross's civil war era drama The Free State of Jones opposite Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Keri Russell. STX Entertainment will release the film on March 11, 2016.
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On television, Ali was recently cast in Netflix and Marvel Entertainment's "Luke Cage" in the role of Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes. A Harlem nightclub owner, Stokes will become an unexpected foe in Luke's life when Stokes' criminal activities threaten Luke's world. Ali stars alongside Mike Colter, Rosario Dawson, and Alfre Woodard. The series will premiere on Netflix in 2016.
Ali can currently be seen on the award-winning Netflix original series "House of Cards," where he will reprise his fan-favorite role as lobbyist and former press secretary Remy Danton for a fourth season in February 2016.
Ali's previous feature film credits include Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines, opposite Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, Wayne Kramer's Crossing Over starring Harrison Ford, John Sayles' Go For Sisters, and David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
On television, he appeared opposite Julia Ormond in Lifetime's The Wronged Man, for which he subsequently received a NAACP Nomination for Best Actor. Ali also had a large recurring role on Syfy's "Alphas", as well as the role of Richard Tyler, a Korean War pilot, on the critically acclaimed drama "The 4400" for three seasons.
On the stage, Ali appeared in productions of Blues for an Alabama Sky, The School for Scandal, A Lie of the Mind, A Doll's House, Monkey in the Middle, The Merchant of Venice, The New Place and Secret Injury, Secret Revenge. His additional stage credits include appearing in Washington, D.C. at the Arena Stage in the title role of The Great White Hope, and in The Long Walk and Jack and Jill.
Originally from Hayward, California, Ali received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications at St. Mary's College. He made his professional debut performing with the California Shakespeare Festival in Orinda, California. Soon after, he earned his Master's degree in acting from New York University's prestigious graduate program.
WES CHATHAM [Castor] was born and raised in North Georgia. At the age of 13, Wes attended the Gift Center in Lawrencville, GA and while attending classes here, a professional theater company out of Atlanta started a mentoring program with the school and Wes was chosen to write a play that was later performed by his classmates. It was from this experience that Wes found his passion for the arts. After high school, Wes joined the military as an aviation firefighter on the flight deck of the USS Essex, working in crash and salvage for four years. Wes's first break came just three months before his tour was finished when Denzel Washington chose his ship to shoot the movie Antwone Fisher. While searching for authentic military servicemen for the movie, casting director Robi Reed discovered Wes. She soon convinced him to make the move to Hollywood and shortly thereafter cast him in his first series regular role on Showtime's Barbershop.
Wes began to garner attention when Paul Haggis cast him as Corporal Steve Penning in In the Valley of Elah opposite Tommy Lee Jones.
Following this, Wes worked with Oliver Stone in W, David Mamet and Shawn Ryan on the CBS series The Unit, and was part of the SAG Award®-winning ensemble cast of DreamWorks The Help, starring opposite Emma Stone as her brother. The ensemble cast also included Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Mike Vogel and Sissy Spacek.
Recently, Wes wrapped ALL I SEE IS YOU opposite Blake Lively and Jason Clarke with Marc Forster set to be released in 2016.
Wes will next star in the upcoming SyFy series THE EXPANSE, set to premiere Decmber 14, 2015. THE EXPANSE is a mystery science-fiction television series, based on a series of novels. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System, it follows police detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), and
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his crew as they unravel a conspiracy that threatens peace across the System and the survival of humanity.
Chatham resides in Los Angeles with his wife Jenn Brown and son Nash.
NATALIE DORMER [Cressida] as 'Margaery Tyrell,' the would-be queen, on HBO's award-winning series Games of Thrones, which is currently in production on its Sixth season.
Dormer completed production on director Stefan Ruzowitsky's Patient Zero for Screen Gems. The thriller, also starring Matt Smith ("Dr. Who"), focuses on an unprecedented global pandemic that causes the evolution of a new species. An aggressive form of rabies turns the infected into predators, addicted to violence. An inexplicably gifted human survivor with the ability to speak the new mutant language leads a hunt for Patient Zero and hope for a cure. Dormer also stars in Focus Features' The Forest from director Jason Zada. The film is set in the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mt. Fuji, where a young American woman goes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. She will play both sisters.
Dormer recently lead the BBC's highly successful movie, The Scandalous Lady Woman, starring as Lady Seymour Worsley, whose virtue was put on trial in 1782 in what was one of the country's first divorce trials. Dormer is well-known for her starring role as 'Anne Boleyn' on Showtime's hit period drama, "The Tudors." She recently appeared in the recurring role of 'Irene Adler,' on CBS' Sherlock Holmes rendition "Elementary." Other past television credits include recurring roles on BBC Television's series "The Fades" and "Silk."
In film, was last seen in The Riot Club, with Max Irons and Sam Claflin, which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. She starred opposite Chris Hemsworth and Olivia Wilde in director Ron Howard's Rush for Universal, and opposite Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Cameron Diaz in director Ridley Scott's The Counselor. Additional film credits include The Weinstein's Company's W.E., from writer/director Madonna, Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger, Fencewalker, A Long Way Home, City of Life, Flawless with Demi Moore and Michael Caine and Casanova.
In March 2010, Dormer made her stage debut at the Young Vic theatre in London as "Mizi" in the play Sweet Nothings. She returned to the theater in 2012, starring in the title role of After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber.
In March 2013, Dormer played the Lady Door in the radio dramatisation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy.
From his early years as a staple in The Mighty Ducks film franchise to starring in films like The Butterfly Effect, ELDEN HENSON [Pollux] has been a steady force in film & television for over 30 years. In 2013, Henson appeared in the Steve Jobs biopic JOBS. The feature premiered as the closing film at the 2013 Sundance International Film Festival. Henson quickly followed that up with an ensemble role in the CBS Drama Intelligence. That momentum continued into 2014 as Henson is set to appear in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 & 2 the next two installments of the popular global franchise The Hunger Games. Henson will next been seen playing the role of 'Foggy Nelson' in the upcoming Marvel/Netflix series Daredevil.
EVAN ROSS [Messalla] is a triple threat - actor, singer, and dancer. He is currently working on his first album and in May 2015 released the single called How to Live Alone which featured T.I . It is the first single from Ross's forthcoming full-length debut. The ultimate expression of love, the passionate ballad is an ode to Ross's wife Ashlee Simpson whom he married last August.
He can next be seen in the ABC drama "Wicked City" as an owner of a paparazzi agency who specializes in gruesome murder photos. The show is set in 1982 and a murder on Sunset Strip and will premiere
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October 24th. In November, he can be seen in Lionsgate's film The Hunger Games: Mocking jay - Part 2 directed by Francis Lawrence. Ross joined the cast in Mocking jay – Part 1 as 'Messalla,' who was part of the TV crew that filmed propos for the war as part of the Airtime Assault. He later joined the rebels in the war.
He was recently seen in the Courtney Cox directed Just Before I Go where he a young gay teenager looking for acceptance. He was also seen in the independent films The Wildnerness of James opposite Isabelle Fuhrman and Virginia Madsen. Life is Hot in Cracktown starring opposite Kerry Washington; Brooklyn to Manhattan and Gardens of the Night starring opposite John Malkovich. In 2011 he won the Breakthrough Performance Award at South by Southwest for his performance in the film 96 Minutes.
Ross made his feature film debut in ATL for Warner Bros. He co-starred with T.I. and Antwan A. Patton (aka Big Boi) in this story about four friends preparing for life after high school and the different challenges that bring about turning points in each of their lives. He went on to star opposite Queen Latifah in the HBO film Life Support which closed the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. This was a film about a HIV-positive former drug addict who has overcome her addiction to become a wife and mother committed to educating people in the black community on how to protect themselves from becoming infected. Ross plays 'Trace,' a gay teenager and childhood friend of Willis's daughter who was born HIV-positive and ends up on the street, selling his AIDS drugs for money. He was nominated for a NAACP Image award for the role. In 2007 he starred in the Lionsgate Film "Pride" along with Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac. Pride is the real-life story of Jim Ellis (Howard) who in the 1970's transformed a group of troubled black inner city kids into one of the best swim teams in the country.
On TV he's appeared on a number of shows, including "90210" (CW), "Luck" (HBO) and "Mooz-lum"; and Girlfriends with his sister Tracee Ellis Ross.
Evan Ross, who Teen Vogue called "a natural born performer," is no stranger to Hollywood. Ross is the son of superstar and former Supreme, Diana Ross. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
PATINA MILLER [Commander Paylor] can currently be seen as press coordinator 'Daisy Grant' in the second season of CBS' hit drama series, "Madam Secretary," starring Tea Leoni, Bebe Neuwirth and Tim Daly. Written by Barbara Hall and directed by Dave Semel, the series premiered in September 2014 and returned to CBS on Sunday, October 4th.
Miller made her feature film debut as Commander Paylor in Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Also starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the first part of the famous trilogy's finale was released in November 2014. Miller will reprise her role in the next film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, which will be released in November 2015.
Miller starred as the Leading Player in the Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's famous 1972 musical, Pippin. Directed by Tony® Award-winning director Diane Paulus, and also starring Matthew James Thomas, Andrea Martin and Terrance Mann, Pippin received the Tony® Award for Best Revival of a Musical at the 67th Annual Tony® Awards. Miller successfully put a contemporary twist on a role originated by award-winning actor Ben Vereen and mastered the Fosse movements that the show relies so heavily on. Miller earned a Tony® Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical as well as Drama League, Fred and Adele Astaire Award and Audience Choice Award nominations for her performance. She previously performed the role of Leading Player in the American Repertory Theater production of Pippin from December 2012 to January 2013.
Miller made her Broadway debut in the 2011 Broadway season as the gutsy nightclub-singer-turned-nun Deloris Van Cartier in the stage adaptation of Sister Act, which earned her first Tony® nomination as well as Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for her performance. Miller originated the role of Deloris in the West End production of Sister Act at the London Palladium, where she
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received an Olivier Award nomination and a Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Additionally, Miller starred in multiple Off-Broadway productions including Ragtime at Avery Fisher Hall, City Center Encores! production of Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's Lost in the Stars, and the Manhattan Theatre Club's Romantic Poetry. Miller also appeared in the Public Theater's pre-Broadway revival of Hair during its 2008 run at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, also under the direction of Diane Paulus. Among her regional theatre credits include First You Dream, a Kander and Ebb revue at the Kennedy Center, Sister Act at the Alliance Theatre and Pasadena Playhouse and the Philadelphia Theater Company production of Being Alive. She has participated in workshops for Book of Mormon, Nightingale and American Idiot. Prior to her numerous theater credits, Miller appeared in the renowned daytime soap opera All My Children.
Miller performed her first solo concert at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts during its 2013-2014 theatrical season. She then made her New York City debut in February 2015 as part of Lincoln Center Theater's "American Songbook" series, which subsequently aired on PBS.
Miller received a degree in musical theater from Carnegie Mellon University. She currently resides in New York City.
FILMMAKER BIOS
Over the past two decades, FRANCIS LAWRENCE [Director] has captivated audiences around the world with his creative body of work. A director and producer of film, music videos, and television, Lawrence has established himself as a longstanding artistic visionary that can not only cater to any demographic, but is also able to understand and convey the visions of some of the world's most influential artists.
Lawrence next directs The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, the fourth and final installment of the hugely popular Hunger Games franchise. The film, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour-Hoffman, will be released by Lionsgate in November. It was also announced earlier this year that Lawrence will direct an upcoming film based on Homer's epic The Odyssey for Lionsgate.
Lawrence most recently directed The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which was released by Lionsgate in November 2014 and grossed over $750 million worldwide. Lawrence also directed the second installment of the franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which was released in November 2013 and earned over $850 million worldwide.
Lawrence made his feature film debut in 2005 with Constantine, based on the Hellblazer comic book, starting Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz. That was followed up by the 2007 hit movie, I Am Legend, a science fiction-horror-action-disaster film adapted from the Richard Matheson novel of the same name, starring Will Smith. In 2011, Lawrence directed Water for Elephants, based on the best-selling novel by Sara Gruen and starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz.
Lawrence is also a noted music video director, having won a GRAMMY® (Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"), Latin GRAMMY® (Shakira, "Whenever Whatever"), and multiple VMA awards. He has worked with artists such as Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson and many others. Lawrence has also directed commercials for many high profile clients including The Gap, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, L'Oreal, Bacardi, McDonald's, Disneyland, Oldsmobile, Covergirl, and Maybelline.
Lawrence is also experienced in the world of television. In 2008, he served as director and executive producer on the pilot and several episodes of the acclaimed series "Kings." In 2011, he directed the pilot episode of FOX's "Touch," featuring Kiefer Sutherland, which he continued on as executive producer for both seasons of the show.
Lawrence was recently honored with the Director of the Year Award at CinemaCon 2015.
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PETER CRAIG [Screenwriter] is a novelist and screenwriter who wrote The Town with Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard. Among his books are Hot Plastic and Blood Father, which he adapted for the screen and will be released in 2015.
As an award-winning filmmaker, DANNY STRONG [Screenwriter] is attracted to powerful and inspiring events that examine and expose the political, social, and cultural fabric of the world we live in. Strong's recent work with some of today's most influential creators further showcases his ability to bring complex characters to the fore with his writing.
Strong wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film The Butler starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. Directed by Lee Daniels, it was the sleeper hit of 2013, grossing over 100 million dollars at the US box office. He also wrote and produced the highly acclaimed HBO Film Game Change about the 2008 election. Starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, the film was nominated for 12 Primetime Emmys® and won for Best Movie/Mini-series. Strong personally won a Primetime Emmy® for Outstanding Writing, a Writers Guild Award, a Golden Globe®, the Producers Guild Award, a Peabody and the Pen Award for the film. His debut script was the HBO Film Recount, a movie about the Florida recount in the 2000 election. Starring Kevin Spacey, Dennis Leary and Laura Dern, the film was nominated for 11 Primetime Emmys® and won for Best TV movie. Strong was nominated for the Primetime Emmy® for Outstanding Writing and he won the Writers Guild Award for the film.
He is currently writing a film remake of Guys and Dolls for FOX Studios. Along with Lee Daniels, he created and will executive produced the TV series "Empire" for FOX.
In addition to his thriving career as a screenwriter, Strong is also an actor with extensive credits in film, television and theater, and has appeared in many of the most famous television shows of the last two decades. As an actor he is best known for the five seasons he played Jonathan on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and the four seasons he played Doyle on "Gilmore Girls". His other credits include such iconic projects as Pleasantville, "Seinfeld," "Nip/Tuck," "Grey's Anatomy," "How I Met Your Mother" and many more. Most recently he has been seen on season 4 and 6 of "Mad Men" playing 'Danny Siegel,' on season 5 of "Justified," playing the villainous Prison Guard 'Albert Fekus,' and the recent season of HBO's "Girls," playing 'Pal,' Elijah's (Andrew Rannells) nasty boyfriend. On stage, he has appeared in over 50 plays and musicals in regional and LA theaters.
Bestselling author SUZANNE COLLINS (Adaptation by, Based on the novel by, Executive Producer) first made her mark in children's literature with the New York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles for middle grade readers. Her debut for readers aged 12 and up, The Hunger Games (September 2008), was an instant bestseller, appealing to both teen readers and adults. It was called "addictive" by Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly, and "amazing" by Stephanie Meyer on her website. It has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 260 consecutive weeks/more than five consecutive years since publication, and there are more than 65 million copies of all three books in the trilogy, The Hunger Games (September 2008), Catching Fire (September 2009), and Mockingjay (August 2010), in print and digital formats in the U.S. to date. Foreign publishing rights for The Hunger Games trilogy have been sold into 56 territories in 51 languages to date. Year of the Jungle, Suzanne Collins's picture book based on the year her father was deployed in Viet Nam, with illustrations by James Proimos, was published in 2013 to great critical acclaim.
Suzanne Collins also had a successful and prolific career writing for children's television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy®-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. She received a Writer's Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby!
In 2010 Collins was named to the TIME 100 list as well as the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list. In 2011 Fast Company named her to their 100 Most Creative People in Business.
NINA JACOBSON [Producer] has built an impressive 20-year career as a senior film executive at three major motion picture studios. Her first film as producer and the first film for her company, Color Force, was Diary of a Wimpy Kid which grossed over $75 million worldwide and led to the production of the
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successful sequels, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Jacobson produced The Hunger Games based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel and subsequent books in the series The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. The three films have grossed a remarkable $2.4 billion combined worldwide with the final film in the series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 scheduled for release on November 20, 2015.
Jacobson and her Color Force partner Brad Simpson are currently developing feature films based on the international best-selling novels Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple, Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. On the television side, Color Force is currently in production on the first season of the anthology television series "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson" with Ryan Murphy which will air on FX in early 2016. They are also producing hip-hop crime drama "The Infamous" for A&E.
Prior to forming Color Force, Jacobson was president of the Walt Disney Motion Picture Group, where she oversaw script development and film production for Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures. During her tenure, 15 of Jacobson's projects grossed over $100 million domestically, including "Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "The Princess Diaries." The "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise became the highest grossing film in Disney's history, generating almost three billion dollars in worldwide box office.
Before joining the Walt Disney Motion Picture Group, Jacobson was a senior film executive at DreamWorks SKG, where she developed "What Lies Beneath" and originated the idea of DreamWorks' first animated feature, "Antz." She also held positions at Universal, Parkes/MacDonald Productions, Silver Pictures and began her career at Disney Sunday Movie.
Jacobson is a graduate of Brown University and currently lives in Brentwood with her partner Jennifer and their three children, Noah, Josie and William.
JON KILIK (Producer) has become one of New York's most notable film producers, collaborating with a wide range of auteur directors to create a body of work with an emphasis on human values and social issues.
In 1988, Kilik began his partnership with Spike Lee and has gone on to produce twelve of Lee's films. They include Inside Man, Clockers, Malcolm X, and the groundbreaking Do The Right Thing, which was recently selected by The Smithsonian Institute for The National Film Archives. Kilik also produced Robert De Niro's highly acclaimed directorial debut, A Bronx Tale, based on the play by Chazz Palminteri.
In 1995, Kilik produced Tim Robbins' Academy Award® winner, Dead Man Walking, based on Sister Helen Prejean's account of her work with Louisiana death row inmates, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. The same year he produced Julian Schnabel's directorial debut, Basquiat, starring Jeffrey Wright as Jean-Michel Basquiat and David Bowie as Andy Warhol. Next, Kilik teamed with Gary Ross and Steven Soderbergh to produce Ross' directorial debut, Pleasantville, a comic look at the alternate worlds of the American family in the 1950s and 1990s featuring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.
In 2000, Kilik produced Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls, based on the autobiography of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, starring Javier Bardem. Before Night Falls premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor awards. The same year, Kilik also produced Ed Harris' directorial debut, Pollock, starring Harris as American painter Jackson Pollock. Ed Harris and Javier Bardem were each nominated for the Best Actor Oscar® at the 2001 Academy Awards®.
Next, Kilik traveled to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where he produced Skins, directed by Chris Eyre. The film features Graham Greene as a Native American who returns home from service in Vietnam but cannot survive in his Pine Ridge, South Dakota home. In 2004, Kilik produced Oliver Stone's Alexander.
Kilik returned to New York in 2005 to produce the very personal Broken Flowers, by writer/director Jim Jarmusch, starring Bill Murray and winner of the Cannes Film Festival Grand Jury Prize in 2005.
Kilik began another international production when he partnered with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu to produce Babel. The shoot took place in Morocco, Mexico and Japan. The four uniquely interwoven stories are in Arabic, Spanish, English and Japanese. Babel premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival where it won the prize for Best Director, and went on to win the Golden Globe® Award for Best Feature Film Drama and was nominated for seven Academy Awards®, including Best Picture.
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In 2007 Kilik produced Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, based on the inspiring autobiography by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Kilik won his second Golden Globe® for The Diving Bell and the film was nominated for four Academy Awards®.
In 2008 Kilik produced the rock and roll documentary, Lou Reed's Berlin directed by Julian Schnabel as well as executive producing Jim Jarmusch's Limits Of Control, Spike Lee's Miracle At St. Anna and Oliver Stone's W. In addition to Biutiful, most recently Kilik has produced Julian Schnabel's Miral in Israel and Palestine.
Kilik was born in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in Millburn. He graduated from the University of Vermont and moved to New York in 1979 to pursue a career in filmmaking. He returned to his Vermont alma mater to receive an honorary doctorate and deliver the commencement address to the class of 2003.
PHILIP MESSINA (Production Designer) last designed The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In 2011, Messina designed Marc Forster's Machine Gun Preacher starring Gerard Butler. Prior to that Messina worked with M. Night Shyamalan to create the fantasy adventure The Last Airbender.
He has also frequently collaborated with director Steven Soderbergh, designing Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Eleven. The latter garnered Messina an Art Director's Guild nomination. They also teamed up on The Good German, Eros, Solaris, Traffic and Erin Brockovich. They first met when Messina worked as the art director on Out of Sight.
Additional credits include Curtis Hanson's acclaimed drama 8 Mile starring Eminem and Gregory Jacob's directorial debut: Criminal.
Born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Messina graduated from Cornell University with a degree in architecture. His initial foray into films was as a set designer on Mermaids, School Ties and Housesitter which were all filmed in the Boston area. Relocating to Los Angeles, he went on to serve as the art director on such films as Hard Target, The Neon Bible, Reckless, The Associate, Trial and Error and The Sixth Sense. For television, Messina was the production designer on the series "Freaks and Geeks" created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow.
Messina is married to set decorator Kristen Toscano Messina, with whom he frequently collaborates. They live in Los Angeles with their six-year-old son, Luca.
The design team of KURT AND BART [Costume Designers] is a creative collaboration born out of a chance meeting at the University of Colorado in 1983. Formally educated in the notorious NYC club scene of the 1980's, their sartorial obsession and shared sensibility has traversed the worlds of fashion, music, theatre and film.
In 2014 Kurt and Bart received the Costume Designer's Guild Award nomination for Excellence in Period Film for their work on the Oscar® winning drama Dallas Buyers Club, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, starring Mathew McConaughey and Jared Leto.
Stoker starring Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska was an opportunity to work with internationally acclaimed auteur director Park Chan-wook. Their costume design work was nominated for the 2014 London Film Critics Circle for Technical Achievement.
Their previous work in film is as varied as the gritty noir Out of the Furnace starring Christian Bale and directed by Scott Cooper for Relativity, to the dance musical Step Up 3D directed by Jon M. Chu for Summit Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures.
Kurt and Bart's filmography includes Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's It's Kind of a Funny Story with Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts, Todd Solandz Dark Horse with Mia Farrow and Selma Blair, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman's Howl with James Franco and John Hamm, Dito Montiel's Fighting with Channing Tatum, Daniel Barnz Phoebe in Wonderland with Elle Fanning, and John Cameron Mitchell's notorious Shortbus.
Their early career included designing their own clothing line called Design Asylum and creating costumes for commercials and music videos. They stood out as styling team with an approach as much about
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pulling fashion looks as it was about designing and building custom pieces to realize a visual image. As stylists, Kurt and Bart have worked with some of the world's strongest and most prolific image makers, among them, Steven Klein, Herb Ritts, Patrick Demarchelier, Matthew Rolston, Francis Lawrence, Dean Karr, Mark Seliger, and Mary Ellen Mark. They have created lasting images with such music icons as David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Courtney Love, Pink, and Britney Spears.
As Senior Vice President of Production and Development at Color Force, BRYAN UNKELESS [Co-Producer] was a co-producer on The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. He was the development executive on the wildly successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, which is based off of Jeff Kinney's best-selling children's books. The third film in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days—starring Steve Zahn, Rachel Harris and Zachary Gordon—was released in August of 2012. Unkeless was a development executive on Lone Sherfig's adaptation of the best-selling novel One Day by David Nicholls. Starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, One Day was released by Focus Features in 2011.
Prior to joining Color Force, Unkeless worked at Parkes-MacDonald Productions where he was involved with projects such as The Burning Plain—written and directed by Guillermo Arriaga—and The Uninvited—directed by the Guard Brothers.
A graduate of Duke University, Unkeless enjoys art, swimming, running, cycling and watching the Denver Broncos win.
One of the most renowned Makeup Artists in the motion picture business, VE NEILL [Make-Up Designer & Department Head] has set many standards of excellence in the makeup field. Over the course of her career Neill has won three Academy Awards®, two Emmy® Awards, four Saturn Awards, a BAFTA Award, Local 706 Best Character Makeup Award and the first Artist to be awarded Hollywood Foreign Press "Makeup Artist of the Year" Awards well as the first Makeup Artist to be honored as Makeup Artist of the Year by MAC Cosmetics. That is a total of 22 international nominations and wins for her creative and innovative makeups.
From her early career as a rock 'n roll stylist, Neill began to develop her skills as a Designer and Makeup Artist. Specializing in concept, design and execution, Neill entered the film industry and discovered a talent for extreme fantasy makeup.
Neill created space travelers for the first Star Trek film and for the hit comedy Galaxy Quest, rock 'n roll vampires for Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys and visions of The Afterlife for Tim Burton's wacky comedy Beetlejuice. She turned Johnny Depp into scissors wielding anti-hero for Edward Scissorhands, Robin Williams into a Scottish Nanny for Mrs. Doubtfire, Martin Landau into horror king Bela Lugosi for Ed Wood
and brought to life an onslaught of villains, beauties and super-heroes for Warner Brothers' early Batman series. She gave Patricia Arquette the Stigmata, transformed Christine Baranski into the Grinch's sexy girlfriend, aged Johnny Depp 60 years for the film Blow and turned Jude Law into the perfect Love-Robot for Steven Spielberg's A.I. Neill continues her illustrious career with an assortment of new characters ranging from possessed beings in Constantine and a slew of dirty, drunken, barnacle encrusted Pirates for the Pirates if the Caribbean series. She turned Johnny Depp into the infamous Butcher Barber of Fleet Street for the film musical Sweeney Todd and transformed Mike Myers into The Love Guru. She worked with Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, and Catherine Keener on The Soloist, Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor in I Love You Phillips Morris. More Vampires for Priest starring Paul Bettany, Maggie Qu, Carl Urban and Lilly Collins. In 2010 she headed up the Special Makeup FX Department for the film Thor. She swung in to action as the Department Head for The Amazing Spiderman 1 & 2. She also did The Host, a Stephanie Myers book. Throughout her career Neill has worked with many of Hollywood's brightest stars. Jack Nicholson, Keira Knightly, Julia Roberts, Danny DeVito, Sarah Jessica Parker, Johnny Depp, Uma Thurman, Orlando Bloom, Sigourney Weaver, Jude Law, Ethan Hawke, Catherine Keener, Jim Carey, Andy Garcia, Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Lawrence and Woody Harrelson, Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger and William Hurt have all called upon Neill for her expertise with Beauty, the Bizarre and lots of
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Wild Characters. This is a small part of the all-star list of clientele who enjoy the touch of Neill's magical brush.
She has now added the title, The Judge to her resume for the new hit reality TV Show Face Off on the Syfy channel. The show highlights Special Makeup FX and is now gearing up to shoot Season 8.
