Next Thursday The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two is unleashed in cinemas. The film, which is the fourth in the series, marks the end of the franchise based upon the young adult novels by Suzanne Collins. It’s time to say goodbye to Miss Katniss Everdeen, a role that has helped catapult Jennifer Lawrence to mega-stardom.
The final chapter sees a change in pace for the films and focuses heavily on themes of war, rebellion and retribution; things finally come to a head between Katniss and President Snow. President Snow is played by screen legend Donald Sutherland and it seems that the story on which the film is based has struck a chord him as he shared his feeling about the film series and how he hopes it will impact our own society at the film’s press conference.
When asked what he hoped viewers would take from the series he had the following to say:
There’s a purpose for everyone involved in this, the actors, the producers, the studios whatever, and I had a purpose. I had a hope that these films when I read the books and the scripts and when I saw the performances, my hope was that these films would not end after the showing. These films would go on in the hearts and souls of young people around the world and cause them to engage in political endeavour so that they would act to change the status quo, because if it stays as is, then we’re dead. If they don’t persuade people to accept climate change, if they don’t stop war, if they don’t recognise war as something that is engaged with for profit that has nothing to do with King and country or saving the world for democracy, that’s all bullshit. It’s just about profit and that profit goes to the top ten percent and the people who are on the bottom. It’s like Bruce Springsteen said – blind faith in your leaders gets you killed. My hope always, and my belief when I saw her (Jennifer Lawrence) performance that tears your heart out, even now when I think of what she did and what this film did but what she did in particular, it breaks me apart. I’m eighty years old for God’s sake so my hope is that young people will just organise and get off their rear ends and do something positive.
This insightful and emotional speech came just moments after he had been entertaining the crowd with his comedic talents. Seriously, if you ever cross paths with him, ask him to tell you his chicken joke.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two arrives in cinemas on 19th November.
