Tracker Jacker Scene - The Most Difficult Hunger Games Scene to Shoot According to Director Gary Ross

Here is the continuation of MTV News' interview with Director Gary Ross.

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Now that we've had time to digest Ross' revelation that there will be no Katniss voice-over in the upcoming film based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling dystopian novel, it's time to head into full-on spoiler territory with a discussion of the most complicated scenes in the film. (Please heed this very emphatic SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't read the books.) 

"The tracker jacker sequence was one, that's a vertical sequence literally staged over 100 vertical feet," Ross said when asked which scenes that required the most care and consideration. "You have the Careers on the ground, you have Katniss up in one level of a tree, you have Rue up in another tree over here, you have the tracker jacker nest up here, and the crew is going up and down the tree the entire time," he explained of a particularly intense scene set during the actual Games. "You have all these different axes to cut together into one suspenseful sequence, and you have CG insects, so this is not for the faint of heart. I think my shot list for that was 110 setups. We're building scaffolding in the forest this was shot practically in trees. None of this was shot on a computer, so that was a daunting sequence that required a lot of attention." 

In addition to the challenges involved in the action-oriented sequences like the Tribute Parade and Katniss' big "Girl on Fire" moment, Ross admitted that several of the "intimate acting moments" required the most attention. 

"There's a huge responsibility in shooting the death of Rue and what that means and the way Katniss honors that death by creating a memorial and the act of defiance that's inherent in that and how that becomes a pivotal moment," he said. "The moment when she's about to eat the berries with Peeta at the end, these are moments when you get up on that day and you go, 'OK, it's berry day,' " he added with a laugh. "Stanley Kubrick had this great line; he said, 'The toughest part of directing is getting out of the car in the morning.' I'm so happy with [Rue's death scene] and the Reaping."

Read More

Hunger Games Director Gary Ross on the Tracker Jacker Scene

MTV News' interview with the Hunger Games movie director features the latter's reaction to the tracker jacker scene. See the video below:

From MTV News:

Among this nasty creature collective is a super species of wasp known as tracker jackers, whose venomous stings cause hallucination and even death. Yet, despite their killer instincts, the insects end up playing an important role in Katniss' survival, all the while posing one of the biggest filming challenges to director Gary Ross.

"That's a vertical sequence, literally staged over 100 vertical feet," Gary said, explaining the difficulties of the sequence. "You have the careers on the ground. You have Katniss on one level in a tree, and you have Rue in another tree up here. You have the tracker jacker nest up here, and the crew is going up and down this tree the entire time, and you have all these axis to cut together into one taut, suspenseful sequence. And you have CG insects. This is not for the faint of heart. I think my shot list was like 110 set-ups or something like that. We're building scaffolding. This was shot practically in trees—none of this was shot on the computer. That was a daunting and challenging sequence that required a lot of attention."

However, for all its technical difficulties, Gary said the scenes that required the most attention were the quieter, emotional moments between the characters (like a certain tribute's tearful death). Click play on the video above to hear more from Gary on that Game-changing, gut-wrenching moment.

Read More

Hunger Games Actor Josh Hutcherson's Most Exciting Scene in the Movie -- Want to Know What it is? Read Here

Celebuzz has the opportunity to interview Josh Hutcherson during the 2012 People's Choice Award, which he and his Journey to the Center of the World 2 co-star Vanessa Hudgens, presented an award. Josh was asked about his most anticipated scene in the Hunger Games movie. Here is what he has to say:

"I can’t wait for fans to see the tracker jacker scene," a smiling Hutcherson told Celebuzz as he made his way down the red carpet of the 2012 People’s Choice Awards. "The make up is incredible. The scene is insane," he continued. 

Read More