Moviefone Editorial

Tag: francis-lawrence

  • Rachel Zegler Joins the ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel

    Rachel Zegler to star as Lucy Gray Baird in Lionsgate's 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.'
    Rachel Zegler to star as Lucy Gray Baird in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo credit: Nathan Johnson.

    Originally confirmed as in the early stages of production last month as part of Lionsgate’s big CinemaCon presentation, the ‘Hunger Games’ prequel movie ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is pushing ahead in locking down its lead cast. ‘Billy the Kid’s Tom Blyth was announced earlier this month as the younger version of Coriolanus Snow, the man who will go on to become the tyrannical President of Panem (and played by Donald Sutherland in the ‘Games’ movies).

    Now we know who will star as the young tribute who impacts his life years before he ascends to command the county: ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler.

    Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book series, is back behind the camera for this new one, which has seen script work from Michael Arndt and, more recently, Michael Lesslie.

    The story finds 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow as the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

    But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

    (L to R) Ezra Menas, Ben Cook, Sean Harrison Jones, Mike Faist, Patrick Higgins, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, David Alvarez, Julius Anthony Rubio, Ricardo Zayas, Josh Andrés Rivera, Sebastian Serra, and Carlos Sánchez Falú in 'West Side Story'
    (L to R) Ezra Menas, Ben Cook, Sean Harrison Jones, Mike Faist, Patrick Higgins, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, David Alvarez, Julius Anthony Rubio, Ricardo Zayas, Josh Andrés Rivera, Sebastian Serra, and Carlos Sánchez Falú in ‘West Side Story’

    “Like everybody, I first saw Rachel Zegler in ‘West Side Story’, and like everybody, I knew I was watching a star who would command the screen for a generation,” says Lawrence in a statement. “Lucy Gray is a perfect match for her as an actress: the character is bold, independent, and defiant, but also vulnerable, emotional, and loving. Rachel will make this character unforgettable.”

    “When you read Suzanne’s book, Lucy Gray’s emotional intelligence, physical agility, and fiercely powerful, determined singing voice shine through. Rachel embodies all of those skills – she is the perfect choice for our Lucy Gray,” says Nathan Kahane, president, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.

    “Lucy Gray is an incredibly complex character, a performer who has to use every skill in her arsenal to survive. Our casting team, Deb Zane, and Dylan Jury, spearheaded an exhaustive search, reading hundreds of actors in search of our perfect Lucy Gray. That search ended when Rachel Zegler blew the roof off with her depth and breadth of talent as an actor, singer, and performer. Rachel is utterly compelling; just like Lucy Gray, her voice and charisma command the stage while her inner strength and humanity transform those around her,” says ‘Hunger Games’ producer Nina Jacobson.

    Zegler herself recently teased her casting via a cryptic tweet that she has since explained.

    ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th, 2023. But before that, Zegler will be seen in DC superhero sequel ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ (due out on December 21st this year) and Disney’s live action ‘Snow White’, which is still shooting and will arrive in 2023.

    U5NGv1rB0QpQgWj0tkBMm2

  • Jason Momoa Co-Creating New TV Series ‘Chief of War’

    Jason Momoa at Oscars
    Jason Momoa presents the Oscar® for Animated Short Film during the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

    Jason Momoa already has a healthy working relationship with Apple’s TV+ arm thanks to his starring role as blind warrior Baba Voss in the dystopian sci-fi series ‘See’.

    He’s looking to keep that going by co-creating and starring in a new show for the company, one that will draw from his Hawaiian heritage. Momoa is set to headline a series called ‘Chief of War’.

    Co-created by Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, the pair will write the eight-episode initial order and serve as executive producers along with Francis Lawrence, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Erik Holmberg, and Doug Jung. The latter is handling showrunner duties on the new series.

    Justin Chon, who most recently made ‘Blue Bayou’, and worked on episodes of another Apple series, multi-generational family drama ‘Pachinko’ is reportedly in negotiations to handle the first two episodes of the new show.

    ‘Chief of War’s story is largely a mystery for now, but according to Apple it will be an “epic and unprecedented telling of the unification and colonization of Hawaii from an indigenous point of view.” Which is both a topic and a focus that has been sorely lacking on screens both big and small.

    Talking to the Associated Press, Momoa describes the series as potentially the “pinnacle” of his career. “It’s my ‘Dances with Wolves’, it’s my ‘Braveheart’ he says in an interview. You can find his full statement below:

    The show also cements another working partnership for the actor – his collaboration with Pa’a Sibbett. They co-wrote the story for the upcoming movie ‘The Last Manhunt,’ with Momoa appearing onscreen in a supporting role. Momoa starred in ‘Braven’ in 2018, which was co-written by Pa’a Sibbett.

    And if you only know him as a leading man, Momoa has had some other creative experience behind the camera already, including co-writing, directing, and starring in the 2014 movie ‘Road to Paloma.’

    It’s a typically busy time for Momoa in terms of movies – he’s wrapped on superhero sequel ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ for director James Wan and has also worked on family adventure comedy ‘Slumberland’, which sees a young girl discover a mysterious fantasy realm of dreams and nightmares, where she has to team up with an eccentric outlaw to save the day. That movie, perhaps not-so-coincidentally, is directed by ‘Chief of War’ producer Francis Lawrence.

    Momoa is also scheduled to start work this year on ‘Fast & Furious 10’, in which he’ll play a villain causing problems for Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto and the gang.

    And in more nebulous form is his latest team up with ‘See’ Season 2 recurring villain Dave Bautista, with the pair planning a buddy comedy along the lines of ‘Lethal Weapon’ in which the actors would play brothers for a story set in Hawaii. ‘The Adam Project’s Jonathan Tropper is attached to write that movie.

    P2exSCX0ptrrjAuoGkjtn2
    PeUoT2JG3jB1iiHmbfYgB2

  • Jennifer Lawrence Is a Lethal Ballerina Spy in ‘Red Sparrow’ Trailer

    Jennifer Lawrence joins the sexy spy ranks with “Red Sparrow,” and you can now check out the dark, tense first trailer.

    “Red Sparrow” reunites Lawrence with her “Hunger Games” director, Francis Lawrence, in a very different film for both of them.

    Here’s the synopsis 20th Century Fox shared with the trailer:

    Dominika Egorova is many things.
    A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs.
    A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit.
    A master of seductive and manipulative combat.

    When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

    “Red Sparrow” co-stars Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeremy Irons.

    Here’s the trailer:She’s going full “Atomic Blonde” there, no?

    “Red Sparrow” is scheduled to release in theaters on March 2, 2018. Meanwhile, Lawrence’s new film “mother!” opens tomorrow, September 15.

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • A ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Could Happen (But It Won’t Star Katniss)

    The end is nigh for the “Hunger Games” franchise, with “Mockingjay — Part 2” hitting theaters today. It’s sad to say goodbye to Katniss and co. — but could there be more stories to tell in Panem?

    “Mockingjay” director Francis Lawrence tackled that question in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which he said that if the “Hunger Games” films were to continue, he’d be interested in making a prequel.

    “The interesting part of the story for me is to go back 75 years earlier and see how everything became the way it is,” Lawrence told EW. “I’m sure if [author] Suzanne [Collins] were to get inspired and decide there’s another story that’s important for her to tell that exists within the world of Panem and whether about the Dark Days, another character, or another set of Games, whatever that could be, I’m sure it would be great. And I’d loved to be involved, absolutely.”

    While that’s exciting, Lawrence said that any new “Hunger Games” film would have to focus on different characters, since “with the end of this story, we’ve reached the end of Katniss’s story.”

    “I think that Suzanne created such an iconic character, and I think she’s the main reason why everyone comes back to these stories,” Lawrence continued. “Now, that’s come to an end.”

    The director faced similar questions about continuing the series when “Mockingjay — Part 1” rolled around, and seemed less sure of plans for new films only a year ago. Perhaps Lawrence just isn’t ready to say goodbye to these films yet, either. We can’t blame him.

    “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” is in theaters now.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

    Photo credit: Lionsgate

    %Slideshow-244443%

  • New ‘Hunger Games’ Trailer Sets Somber Tone for Final Sequel

    “It’s the things we love most that destroy us,” echoes President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in a new trailer released Tuesday for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.″

    The line serves as a reminder from the preceding film of the close relationship between heroine Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her sister Primrose (Willow Shields). Flashbacks from various parts of “The Hunger Games” films highlight the District 12 savior’s most touching – and vulnerable – moments with her beloved sister Prim, beginning as a Hunger Games tribute volunteer to save the youngster from near-certain death, “I told her that I would try to win – try to win for her.”

    The late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who died 2014 and will posthumously make his final appearance in the film’s last installment, is seen as his Plutarch Heavensbee character reminding Katniss of her greater purpose – rebellion leader against the Capitol.

    “I never asked for this, I just wanted to save my sister and keep Peeta alive.”

    Though no new scenes are featured in the teaser, a previous trailer released in July shows Katniss leading an uprising against President Snow, closing the final chapter on the Suzanne Collins book series. “Tonight, turn your weapons to the capital,” she says. “Turn your weapons to Snow!”

    “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” opens Nov. 20.

    57771

  • Effie and Katniss Suit Up in New ‘Mockingjay – Part 2’ Photo

    Mockingjay, hunger gamesA new photo from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” reveals that there’s plenty of girl power to go around in the final installment in the massively popular YA franchise.

    Entertainment Weekly shared the snap, which features Effie (Elizabeth Banks) appearing to help Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) prep for battle — and sport a killer outfit, naturally. Banks’s bubbly stylist and Lawrence’s feisty heroine are just two of several key female characters who make “Mockingjay” tick, and as director Francis Lawrence explained to EW, that’s entirely by design.

    “There is some serious girl power in this movie,” Lawrence told the magazine, adding that “Hunger Games” author Suzanne Collins’s work was the backbone for establishing that tone. “She wrote it that way, and it’s been so much fun to inhabit,” Lawrence said.

    Check out the photo of Effie and Katniss below, and be on the lookout for new characters played by Gwendoline Christie and Michelle Forbes when “Mockingjay” hits theaters.

    “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” is due out on November 20.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

    Photo credit: Murray Close via Entertainment Weekly

    %Slideshow-244443%

  • Jennifer Lawrence Taking ‘The Dive’ with James Cameron, Francis Lawrence

    Premiere Of Lionsgate's
    Jennifer Lawrence and her “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay” director Francis Lawrence are teaming up with Oscar winner James Cameron for a new ocean-themed biopic.

    TheWrap reports that the trio will work together on “The Dive,” the true story of married couple Francisco “Pipin” Ferraras and Audrey Mestre, freedivers who competed with each other to see who could dive the furthest underwater using a single breath of air. Mestre died in 2002 during one of those dives, in an attempt to break her own world record of 557.7 feet.

    Jennifer Lawrence will play Mestre in the film, and Francis Lawrence will direct. Cameron, who has filmed Ferraras attempting his late wife’s last dive, will produce the film.

    No word yet on when production is expected to start, or who will play Ferraras. Stay tuned.

    [via: TheWrap]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

    %Slideshow-260949%