The Hunger Games

Josh Hutcherson Is Excited for ‘Catching Fire’ to start Filming

Posted By: Erin Gross • 0 Comments

Josh Hutcherson is excited for Catching Fire. It didn’t phase him when people said that his life would change when ‘The Hunger Games’ came out, because it hasn’t and he’s still doing the same things. He spoke to Yahoo Movies…

The sequel “Catching Fire” is set to start filming in mere weeks, and Hutcherson is pumped: “I’m so excited it’s finally here, the time to start making it is finally here. I can’t wait to get shooting.” Given that a script didn’t exist just a few short months ago, it’s hard to believe everything is, in fact, prepped. But it is, according to Hutcherson: “I do have a script in hand and it’s awesome. I love it so much,” Hutcherson confirmed, revealing that he met with newly-installed director Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend,” 2007, “Water for Elephants,” 2011) to discuss the film’s vision. “We talked about how important it was to really make the movie version of the book and that was Francis’s goal from day one — and the script definitely portrays that. It’s a very true-to-the-book rendition of the movie.”

The physicality required to play Peeta is still as rigorous for the sequel. “I’ve been working out a lot, getting back in the right shape for the role — because this last year, I sort of split my time and enjoyed myself — so I’ve been paying for that for the last month-and-a-half or so, getting back into the gym and eating healthy,” Hutcherson said.

When it comes to the ensuing love triangle depicted in “Catching Fire” between Peeta, Katniss (Lawrence) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Hutcherson happily anticipates the challenge: “It’s such a tough position that I know Peeta is put in where he is in absolute love with this girl and she acts like she’s in love with him, but he knows that she isn’t — and that is heartbreaking. As an actor, it’s something that I’m really excited play because it’s such a a conflicting emotion… It’s a very conflicting, confusing kind of thing and I can’t wait to play it out. It’s really, really intense and exciting, I think.”
In both “Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire,” Katniss, the heroine, comes to Peeta’s rescue — and that’s just fine with Hutcherson. “Peeta is a little bit of a wrong place, wrong time kind of guy and he kind of gets hurt a little bit,” Hutcherson says with a laugh. “I think that it’s good to have a female hero who can step up because that’s real. It’s not always the girl that gets hurt in the story and the man has to protect her. That’s not how it works. So it’s cool to have a different take on that.”

Hutcherson appears to be well aware that the sky is the limit: “It’s been an amazing ride and it’s only just beginning, so it’s very, very exciting.”