Jennifer Lawrence and her costars from The Hunger Games, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, are on the cover of this week's The Hollywood Reporter. Along with their blockbuster's director, Gary Ross, the actors shared some of the secrets behind their much-anticipated movie. They dished on Hunger Games production details like what the stars got paid, how long they're contracted for, and which actresses were also in the running to play Katniss Everdeen. Gary dished out praise for Jennifer, who revealed that she had a tough time deciding to take the role. Liam also shared some advice given to him by his action star brother, Chris Hemsworth. Highlights from The Hunger Games interview include:
- Jennifer on deciding to take the potentially life-changing role: "It was the middle of the night in England, and I was in bed when I got the call. And I was so in love with the books and the script, and suddenly it was right in my face - and the size of the decision was terrifying. . . I called my mom and she called me a hypocrite, because when I was doing indie movies and everyone was asking why I didn’t do studio movies, I said, 'The size of the movie doesn’t matter.' And she said, 'Here’s a movie you love and you were thinking of turning it down because of its size.' I thought, 'I don’t want to miss out because I’m scared. Me being scared, I never want that to stop me from doing something.' But I knew in my heart that I wanted it - it was about working out all the fears."
- Liam on getting diet advice from his brother Chris: "My brother Chris texted me before shooting and told me to lose weight. He said, 'It's called The Hunger Games, not The Eating Games!'"
- Gary on Jennifer's acting: "There's such a power and a truth to her acting. She has absolute, total control over what she's doing. I've never worked with anyone more talented than her - ever. A talent like this comes once in a generation."