Hunger Games Director Gary Ross Spills Secret to the Girl on Fire Dress and the Opening Ceremony

E Online interviewed Hunger Games director Gary Ross about the girl on fire costume and the tribute parade scene. 

Sure, Liam Hesmworth and Josh Hutcherson are good looking and all (and Jennifer Lawrence ain't half bad herself), but if you're like us there's one reason in par-tick you'll be drooling and ogling during The Hunger Games:

The fashion, of course! And while Elizabeth Banks gets the luxury of Effie Trinket's outlandish outfits (and wigs and makeup and everything else!) there was another look we were très psyched for: The Girl on Fire!

the Girl on Fire outfit

And director Gary Ross tells us that plenty of work went into those fashionista flames:

"That was so hard!" Gary told us when we asked about the infamous glitzy opening ceremony outfit (ya know, the one where Katniss and Peeta are literally enveloped in faux fire). "It's not that clearly spelled out in the book the way in which she is on fire, so how we dealt with that fire aspect was a very big deal."

And while author Suzanne Collins might have been light on the technical details (simply detailing a black unitard and a cape and headpiece to be ignited) she was sure to point out that it was "sensational" and "deadly."
Which is a lot to live up to…

Gary breaks down his design process, saying: "I thought 'Well, if the fire is sort of trailing behind her—as it would in the chariot—and if it's adhering to the top of her shoulder and kind of to the bottom of her rib cage, it would form angel wings. And I thought that aesthetically, in a design sense, that's something that could be harmonious."
In the end, Jennifer dons a very detailed, shiny leather (or could it be spandex?) top and pants, with her hair up in braids and no headdress or cape. Once Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) lights the twosome on fire, it's all CGI flames shooting out their backs.
We'll leave the final verdict on whether the look works or not up to you. And hey, if the first fire look does not float your boat, there's always a second one. And in the next book? A fire wedding dress, of all things!

Gary also weighed in on filming the opening ceremonies, explaining: "None of that city exists. None of those crowds exist—that's all computer generated. So these are chariots on a road at a tobacco plant with a lot of green screen around them…It was just astoundingly complicated to do."

But well worth the effort, at least in our opinion. The Capitol is stunning. But Mr. Ross will have the opinions of about a gajillion loyal tributes within 36 hours. Only one day left, people!