The Hunger Games: Catching Fire IMAX Featurette Takes A Look Behind The Frame
While the first Hunger Games movie was presented in IMAX, it was not natively shot in the giant format. With only two months until The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will release, it looks to be not only be an exciting action film, but a visual feast as well. A newly released featurette shows off Catching Fire’s use of the IMAX format.
From the video above, you can tell that more money was put into the production budget of Catching Fire. It looks more expensive, with bigger set pieces and larger crowds. It seems like the film series’ new director, Francis Lawrence, is really opening up the world of the Hunger Games more so than his predecessor, Gary Ross. What’s striking about the featurette is that we get a glimpse of the underwater arena in which the 75th Hunger Games will take place. Francis Lawrence will also use the IMAX format to great effect by using it as soon as Katniss enters the arena for the first time. The entire competition was shot in the gigantic format.
Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly will profile The Hunger Games: Catching Fire for their next issue, which will also feature four different collectible covers with Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, and Finnick Odair. The new covers show off the new black-and-gray wetsuits for the underwater arena, while Gale is simply wearing a button-down shirt.
On the soundtrack side of Catching Fire, Lionsgate and Republic Records have released two new singles. The first is from Australian singer/songwriter Sia, a track titled “Elastic Heart,” which also feature The Weeknd and Diplo. This is a much better song than Coldplay’s “Atlas,”, so perhaps Republic Records should’ve led off with this one. The other is a new song from pop star Christina Aguilera titled “We Remain.” This is obviously the pop ballad of the soundtrack, as Aguilera still remains a mighty powerful singer.
A few days ago, Lionsgate released a new poster for Catching Fire, which features Katniss with her trusty weapon of choice, her bow and arrow. Much like the film’s production, the poster looks brighter and fuller than the poster for the first film. Lionsgate and Republic Records also released the entire track listing from the Catching Fire soundtrack. It seems that the movie studio and record label will release tracks piecemeal until the soundtrack is officially released a few days before the sequel film is due to open in theaters. It sounds like a good way to build fan awareness and excitement for both.
Catching Fire stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Jena Malone, Lynn Cohen, Amanda Plummer, Alan Ritchson, Willow Shields, and Sam Claflin.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack will be available for purchase in stores and online on November 19th, while the sequel film hits theaters everywhere on November 22nd, in IMAX. Pre-order movie tickets from Fandango.com are also now available.
