Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the four original Hunger Games films, is back in the directorâs chair for the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. He sat down with Entertainment Weekly to give an overview of what to expect from the latest franchise installment, and explained the appeal of watching a man break bad.
Tom Blyth stars alongside Rachel Zegler as a young Coriolanus Snow, the same character that Donald Sutherland played in the 2010s. Lawrence said, âI didnât want him to study early Donald Sutherland performances. I didnât want it to be mimicry in any way. I wanted him to play the part in the way that he would play the part.â
Zeglerâs character is Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12 and the titular songbird. Nina Jacobson, the producer for the original Hunger Games movies as well as this prequel, said that Blyth nailed his audition, but sealed the deal during a chemistry test with Zegler. The West Side Story actress apparently sang an acapella version of âWildwood Flower,â and Jacobson said that âhe couldnât take his eyes off of herâshe stunned him in the way that Lucy stuns Snow.â
Jacobson explained how itâs really the shift from good kid to bad man that makes Blythâs performance so compelling. âTom is extraordinary as the turn happens. As he starts to break bad, as you start to see the man that he becomes breaking out of the shell of the man that he mightâve been, itâs incredibly gratifying.â
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldnât exist.
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