‘The Hunger Games’: This ‘Mockingjay’ Scene Was ‘Truly Miserable’ To Shoot; ‘Poor Liam…’
Between The Hunger Games and its three sequels: Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1, and Mockingjay – Part 2, there’s no shortage of action. The cast had to undergo serious training for each film to ensure that they had the stamina to do the stunts that the films required. Such training included running, climbing, combat, and more. But despite all the training The Hunger Games cast received, there was one particular scene that was especially difficult for them to film, and they weren’t the only ones who struggled.
One of the most memorable scenes within The Hunger Games franchise comes in Mockingjay – Part 2, when Katniss and her war unit go underground in order to avoid capture and the deadly pods of The Capitol. As if traveling underground wasn’t difficult enough, there’s a particular fight sequence that takes place in water. Though the sequence is stunning on camera, it was extremely challenging for both the cast and the crew to film.
Which scene from ‘The Hunger Games’ movies was especially miserable to film?
In an interview with Collider, Francis Lawrence (who directed the last three movies in The Hunger Games series) got candid about just how challenging the sewer scene was to film. “It was absolutely the most miserable three weeks,” the director shared. “It was truly miserable. It was a fun sequence to make, in a sense, and to put together and see how it came together. But, you had to duck in the tunnels. We all had to wear hard hats and the water was heated.”
Jennifer Lawrence (who played Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movies) echoed the director’s sentiments. She even shared that Liam Hemsworth (who played Gale Hawthorne and stands at 6’3) spent weeks constantly squatting because of his tall stature. “Poor Liam couldn’t stand up straight for three weeks,” Jennifer Lawrence revealed.
The cast and crew spent weeks filming in water
The actor continued on to share that more details that made the sewer scene a doozy. “We’re all just complaining, but we’re very lucky,” The Hunger Games star stated. “When we had the fight sequence in the sewer, all of our gear and our costumes were completely water-logged, so it was an extra 20 pounds. I don’t know math, but it felt like an extra 2,000 pounds. It was hard. It was rough. But, Francis is so organized.”
Organization certainly helped the director stay on task, but Francis Lawrence confessed that it was challenging to deal with the dour mood that the difficult conditions were causing. “It’s interesting ‘cause something they don’t really teach you in film school,” the director shared about filming that particular sequence in the final Hunger Games film.
Francis Lawrence, director of ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’, says morale was very low while filming the sewer sequence
“When you get to a certain point and you’re seven months into an 11-month shoot and you hit a sequence like this, where the mood and morale of the cast and crew is at rock bottom, what it’s like, psychologically, to push through that to get what you need. It was on time and on schedule, but it was truly miserable. But, I’m truly happy with the result,” Francis Lawrence added. The director isn’t the only one who’s happy with the result. Fans of The Hunger Games were particularly enthralled with the sewer scene so we’d say the dedication of the cast and crew was well worth it in the end.
