Hunger Games Producer Nina Jacobson on Finnick Rumors

The LA Times spoke with Nina Jacobson, one of the producers of the Hunger Games films, at the MTV Movie Awards and asked her about the many rumors surrounding Finnick casting.

According to E! News, other actors still up for the part include Garrett Hedlund and Armie Hammer. But a producer of the sequel says even those whispers are “so not true.”

“That’s the thing that’s crazy — people are like way ahead of where we are,” Nina Jacobson told us on the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday. “We’ve not narrowed things down by any means. It’s funny to see how things can take on a life of their own.”

But are the filmmakers taking fan input into account while seeking out their Finnick? Not entirely, says Jacobson.

“It means something that people can see [an actor] in that light, so you know [the actor] will be accepted by a lot of people, on the one hand,” she said. “On the other hand, you have to kind of ignore it. You have to just sort of act like you’re sitting in a room and you want to just pick the person who gives the best audition and looks and feels most like the part.”

If The Hunger Games Characters had to join Hogwarts Houses

As the Huffington Post points out, the MTV Movie Awards put two fandoms right up against each other – those of us that love The Hunger Games and wanted them to do well in their nominations, and the legions of fans supporting Harry Potter.  Then there’s a bunch of fans that love BOTH.

The Huffington Post decided to do a bit of a mashup and ask the question  – what would happen if  the characters from The Hunger Games were sorted into Hogwarts houses?

You can click here to see what they decided, but at least for Katniss, Peeta and Gale, this is how they see it:

Katniss: Slytherin

Slytherin might get a bad rap, but hear us out on this one — it’s not always a bad thing. As a tribute, she’s ultra-focused on survival, a classic Slytherin trait. If she were a Gryffindor, she might sacrifice herself in the Games so that another tribute could survive (the way Harry was willing to die for the good of others in the final scenes of Deathly Hallows). Instead, she’s a fierce competitor with a deep instinct to survive.

Josh Hutcherson on His First Meeting with Francis Lawrence

E! Online caught up with Josh Hutcherson at the MTV Movie Awards tonight and got him to spill the details of his first meeting with Francis Lawrence.

“I sat down with him a couple of days ago,” Hutcherson told me at the MTV Movie Awards. “He’s fantastic. He’s such a smart guy. He has some great ideas for the movie.

“I just really like where his head is at,” he continued. “I really like him a lot.”

Most of their chat focused on Peeta.

“We talked about character development in the stories,” Hutcherson said. “As you know, the second book is more complicated than the first, so we talked about the narrative. Everything he said was super smart.”

We are so excited to hear they are getting ready for Catching Fire!

The Hunger Games Wins Big: Takes Home Four MTV Movie Awards!

The highly anticipated 2012 MTV Movie Awards just finished airing and, as it sure had to be, The Hunger Games was a big winner: the cast took home four awards! Jennifer Lawrence as Best Female Performance, Josh Hutcherson as Best Male Performance, Elizabeth Banks as Best On-Screen Transformation and, of course, Jennifer Lawrence & Josh Hutcherson vs. Alexander Ludwig for the Best Fight.

Josh, Elizabeth and Alexander were there to walk down the red carpet and, later, receive the awards.

Lionsgate Predicts ‘Catching Fire’ Will Earn $400 Million in Foreign Markets

In a call with financial analysts on Thursday, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer discussed the success of The Hunger Games franchise thus far, as well as predictions for Catching Fire.

Feltheimer said production will begin in September on “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” the second film in the franchise based on author Suzanne Collins’ trilogy. He noted that Lionsgate racked up $170 million in international sales at Cannes, where it began selling foreign markets for “Catching Fire,” which will open on Nov. 22, 2013.

Patrick Wachsberger, the co-chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, told analysts that “Catching Fire” had done “extremely well” in Cannes. “We got the best deals,” he added.

Rumor: Colton Haynes in the Running for Finnick?

Another actor’s name has been tossed in the mix for the role of Finnick in Catching Fire: Colton Haynes from MTV’s “Teen Wolf.” Blogger Brian Tuft says that he recently met Colton and talked with him about the role of Finnick.

When I told him he was my pick for the role, he told me that the three who were widely reported as having the role on lock [Armie Hammer, Garrett Hedlund and Taylor Kitsch] are not in the running at this point as far as he knew and that it was just a rumor. When I asked if this meant I should remain hopeful, he said yes. He has been in contact with the studio and has a meeting there next week. He kept it vague, and I understand completely. I imagine the studio wants things kept very much under wraps.

We aren’t familiar with this blogger and can’t vouch for the validity of his report, so please – as always – consider this a rumor.

Jennifer Lawrence in Short Film to Air During MTV Movie Awards

MTV is teasing us with the above photo of Jennifer Lawrence from a short film she is featured in that is about archery. The film will be shown at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards tomorrow night.

The photo clearly shows Lawrence with an arrow through her head, and given her unimpressed, annoyed expression when the pic was snapped, she doesn’t look too pleased about the situation. But not to worry: The arrow through her head is all for the sake of Movie Awards comedy, for which Lawrence was totally game.

MTV News recently caught up with Movie Awards short film producer Jordan Rubin to get the behind-the-scenes scoop about how Lawrence came to be involved.

RUMOR: Is Armie Hammer the Favorite of Director Francis Lawrence for the Role?

This week has been full of reports about the casting of Finnick Odair for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The original rumor stated there were three actors on the run for the role: The Social Network’s Armie Hammer, Battleship’s Taylor Kitsch and Tron Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund. Since then there have been conflicting reports and today we have another one. Lainey Gossip states Armie Hammer is the first choice of director Francis Lawrence for the role and that if it was to be decided tomorrow, he would choose Hammer.

Hunger Games Cast Members to Appear at MTV Movie Awards

Jennifer and Josh:

Elizabeth:

Official Hunger Games Twitter Party and Giveaway During MTV Movie Awards

The Hunger Games official Twitter wants you and your friends to help them celebrate the nine nominations the Hunger Games has at this year’s MTV Movie Awards.

As you watch the show follow all the action on Twitter with the hashtag #MTVHungerGames. You can also enter to win a Hunger Games DVD prize pack by gathering a group of friends together to watch the show, and then tweet photos of your Twitter party to #MTVHungerGames and #HungerGamesDVD.