By: debbie lynn elias
Aptly described by Donald Sutherland as “Jennifer Lawrence Olivier”, I first met Jennifer Lawrence at Los Angeles Film Festival with her dramatic debut in Lori Petty’s semi-autobiographical dramatization, The Poker House, a film that not only spawned Lawrence’s dramatic career but propelled Chloe Grace Moretz equally forward. Lawrence amazed as elder daughter Agnes, pulling us into her character and the story with a level of gravitas not generally found in one so young and with a comedy background at that. Following The Poker House, Lawrence stole the international spotlight, and an Academy Award nomination, with Winter’s Bone, followed by fun turns in the action adventure, X-Men: First Class and Jodie Foster’s dark comedy, The Beaver. But the buzz has been brewing for sometime now as the world has awaited her appearance as Katniss Everdeen in THE HUNGER GAMES. That wait is now over as THE HUNGER GAMES opens March 23, 2012. In preparation of the big day, Lawrence spent some time talking to us during the press junket, shedding light on Katniss and what makes Jennifer Lawrence tick.
When one looks at Lawrence’s major screen roles, there appears to be a common thread of playing economically downtrodden young women living in rural, lower class areas, and being forced to prematurely take on matriarchal roles in the family. When I asked her if this is a conscious decision and what is it about these women that speak to her, Lawrence was thoughtful. ” Before I get a script, I’m like, ‘Does she like the forest? Does she have younger siblings?’ I don’t really know what it is. Jodie Foster once told me that twenty years from now I would look back at my career and see a pattern, and understand what it had to do with my life. Now, I’m just like, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m just as puzzled as everyone else.”
One thing that Lawrence does consider when looking at a script is the director. “That’s something I’ve always looked at. It’s always been about the script and the director for me. There are directors that I want to work with and that I admire. You can love a script, but if it doesn’t have a good director, it won’t be that [one, I take].” Lawrence is also easy-going when it comes to shooting. “I like to adapt to a director’s way of working. I love doing that. Each director is so different, and you have to adapt to this new way of doing something. That’s what’s amazing to me. That’s why I love directors. I don’t want a director to have to work around me. I think it’s more fun for me to come in on their thing.”
Admittedly daunting is taking on the role of such a well known and beloved character like Katniss Everdeen. “Normally, when you’re coming out with a movie, nobody has really seen the character before. You’re just giving it to them. [With Katniss] I’m playing a character that most people have already had in their mind, and heard her speak in their mind, and seen her. That’s a scary thing to go into, knowing that so many people already have pictures or an idea of what your character is.” And even Lawrence herself was not immune to the preconceived charms of Katniss . “What I read and how I understood her and my perception and understanding of her is what I portrayed her to be in the movie.” Very helpful with THE HUNGER GAMES was the source material itself. Having the book as a reference point “[is] an amazing thing because I get to have my character’s inner dialogue, which never happens.” But Lawrence was always cognizant that “when you’re making a film, the book is a huge tool in making the script. Once you have the script, then you’re making a movie and you have to let go of the book. As an actor, I held onto the inner dialogue. But, you do have to let go of the book, when you start making the movie.”
In addition to the emotional strength of Katniss is the physical which required some intense training by Lawrence. “Running, free running – which is for agility – archery, climbing, combat and yoga.” And of course tree climbing, which Lawrence admits she is quite skilled at, “If I have a harness.”
Thus far in her career, Lawrence has worked with some very strong directors, some very strong female directors. So how does THE HUNGER GAMES’ Gary Ross compare? “He can communicate with every single actor. He can make anything work. I’m better with technical stuff. Just tell me what you don’t like and I’ll fix it. Don’t tell me to think about [method visuals or imaginary what ifs]. That doesn’t work for me. Just tell me what’s right and what’s wrong, and just tell me what to do. So, he was very technical with me. If somebody else needed more emotional guidance, then he could do that.” Expounding on Ross and with praise similar to that bestowed by co-star Donald Sutherland, “He can work with any actor. He can communicate about the lighting and the camera. He’s a genius. He was one of those directors that has an amazing vision and a very specific vision, and he never once gave that up, which is hard when you’re doing a studio film. But, to the studio’s credit, they were amazing as well. They were all fans of the books. So, he’s strong and he’s brilliant, but he also listens to everybody. You never feel like you’re being controlled. It was very artistically freeing.”
In terms of the actual production, THE HUNGER GAMES required cameras at all angles, and in some cases, going 360 degrees around the characters and the action. As unrattled by cameras as she is by the press, Lawrence is firm in her belief that “you can’t ever let yourself be thrown by cameras. That’s never good for an actor. That’s also trusting your director. That’s why, when you’re reading a script, you find a director that you want to work with and make sure they’re somebody that you trust, so that when you see something odd or something different, you know [you’re safe]. I knew there was nothing to worry about. I knew the camera was behind me and that was odd, but I didn’t think twice about it.”
Already reminiscing about the film, Lawrence is quick to talk about her favorite scene in the film. “The scene with Stanley Tucci, before I go to the Games. That was just hilarious, to see that. That was also the moment that Katniss realizes that it’s a game, and if she wants a chance to win, she has to play along.” But working with Tucci wasn’t her only happy memory. Woody Harrelson, who plays Katniss’ mentor Haymitch Abernathy made a huge impact on Lawrence.
Describing herself as someone who tries ” to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can when I’m working with people like that”, I couldn’t resist asking her what she soaked up from Harrelson. “Woody is the nicest person in the entire world. You know that he would be the exact same, no matter what his job was or what he was doing. He is just still that guy from Texas. He can strike up a conversation with anybody. It almost seems odd, seeing him on a movie set. He’s one of the most incredible actors in the world, and he almost doesn’t fit on a set. He’s just too relaxed. He has no air about him. You see him hanging out and it’s almost like somebody brought their really nice cousin from Texas, and then, all of a sudden, he’s on camera.” Regaling us with a “Woody Tale”, Lawrence was almost giddy. “[H]e does backwards acting. We had a scene where I stab a knife through his fingers on the table, and to do that, you have to do everything backwards, and then they put it forward in post. So, we would start [indicating a knife in the table], and then, slowly, everything would go [backwards]. Woody said, ‘I’m even doing backwards acting. When I get here, I start to feel my desire for the jam.’ He was full of gems like that.”
When all is said and done, Lawrence is not blind to the obvious. A role that so easily could have been written for a male (and generally is), she is particularly enthusiastic about Katniss’ being female as a sign of the times. “I feel like, not only have we gotten to the place where we have a strong female lead, like Lara Croft being the female James Bond, we have somebody who’s not even the female James Bond. She is somebody who is literally really a young girl, being thrown into this situation and not knowing if she’s going to survive it. That says a lot.”
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