By: debbie lynn elias
With every film, leading the charge, defining the tonal bandwidth, bringing the words on the page into focus on the screen, casting actors, dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s”, you find the director. And with THE HUNGER GAMES, that man is Gary Ross. A Hollywood veteran known best for Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, Ross is a consummate director beloved and respected by cast and crew alike.
So, what does his HUNGER GAMES cast think about Gary Ross as a director?
Josh Hutcherson: “I love Gary. He’s such a talented writer, on top of that. He came on and worked with [book author] Suzanne [Collins] to get the script to where it needed to be. So much of the heart and soul of the movie is the script. If it’s shit, the movie is probably going to be shit, as well. He’s such a talented writer that he’s able to add in different devices, like how they have the commentator [opening narration and then Stanley Tucci as a tv host] rather than just having expositional dialogue. I think that added a lot to the film, as well. It was so well written. There was room to improv, but we didn’t need to.”
Liam Hemsworth: “He’s amazing. I’ve been a fan of his since Pleasantville. I loved that movie. He’s a great director to work with because he’s very open and very manic on set. He tries everything possible and makes sure he gets it from every different angle. He’s just a good, energetic guy who keeps everyone on their toes, and keeps the set alive. He’s just open to your ideas. We did a little bit of improv. The writing was so good that we didn’t have to do a lot. He’s an open enough person that you can try different things. If it didn’t work, we tried it a different way.”
Isabelle Fuhrman: “He made us all very comfortable on set. He would talk to us about our characters. I had a really great discussion with him about my character, before we started shooting, when we were rehearsing. He was always there, whenever we had questions, or had anything that we wanted to add or ask about. He would talk to us, as if he was our character, so he could get facial expressions out of us, and it was so interesting what expressions we came up with. And, he had a megaphone, and there was a giant speaker in the middle of the cornucopia that would just project outward, so that everyone could hear him.”
Alexander Ludwig: “At the end of the day, so many people were so passionate about their craft. Right when Gary would say, ’Action!’, everyone was just mutually in that mode. Even with all that laughter and friendliness off set, this is what we do for a living and this is our passion, and we just go all out. Everyone knew, going in, that there was a reason we were chosen for this, and we had to do the fans and this amazing book justice.”
Jennifer Lawrence: “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. . .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.”
Donald Sutherland: “[Ross] is brilliant. He’s an amazing man. He really is. You’re loathe to use the word genius, but he’s quite extraordinary, from my point of view.”
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