Mockingjay Movie: Effie Trinket will take Fulvia Cardew's place

According to the Filmmaker's Round Table on the #HungerGamesExclusive website, Effie Trinket (played by Elizabeth Banks) will take on the role of Fulvia Cardew—Plutarch's assistant—in the Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 movies.

Fulvia is a character much like Effie: she's from the Capitol, she's a little bossy, and she can have that same Capitol insensitivity toward District citizens. Her character filled that void of not having Effie in the first two parts of the novel, so it makes sense to change make that adjustment.

Fulvia is also the character who comes up with the "We Remember" propos. It makes me wonder if Effie will now have that idea or if another character will? Or perhaps they won't even include those propos? (I hope they do, though.)

If you haven't checked out the #HungerGamesExclusive website, you need to. I especially enjoyed the Filmmaker's Round Table article and the sneak peek of the script. I'm sure Lionsgate® will be adding more content soon, as well.

To keep up with the latest Mockingjay filming images and news, check out my friends over at Panem Propaganda. They have been on fire releasing the latest pictures to quench our thirst for Mockingjay.

You can read more about the casting on my earlier post: Mockingjay Movie Casting News

Mockingjay Movie Casting News

I've been enjoying the numerous casting announcements for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2" movies. So many characters from books never seem to make it to the big screen in their movie adaptations, but it seems like many of the new characters in Mockingjay will. *SPOILER ALERT* The following has spoilers if you have yet to read Mockingjay.

Those who have been cast are:
From District 13
President Coin (Julianne Moore), Boggs (Mahershala Ali), Leeg 1 & 2 (Kim & Misty Ormiston), Homes (Omid Abtahi), Mitchell (Joe Chrest), and Lt. Jackson (Michelle Forbes). Update: Commander Lyme is listed as a District 13 leader rather than District 2 leader, according to Entertainment Weekly.

From Various Districts
Commander Paylor from District 8 (Patina Miller), Commander Lyme - a former victor from District 2 (Lily Rabe Gwendoline Christie) see update above, Annie Cresta from District 4 (Stef Dawson)

Capitol Citizens
The film crew: Cressida (Natalie Dormer), Messalla (Evan Ross), Castor (Wes Chatham), and Pollux (Elden Henson) UPDATE: Tigris will be played by Eugenie Bondurant

The Star Squad 451 is just missing two members for casting: Mitchell (the oldest member of the squadron) and Jackson (the second-in-command to Boggs). Who do you think would best fit those roles? Or do you think they will be left out? UPDATE: All members of the Star Squad have been cast. Joe Chrest will be playing Mitchell and Michelle Forbes will be playing Lt. Jackson. 

However, according to Entertainment Weekly, Commander Lyme is listed as a "District 13 Leader" rather than a District 2 leader. So...will she be part of the Star Squad? Or will she train Katniss and Johanna (in place of York)? What do you think?

Other characters from Mockingjay that have not been cast include Fulvia Cardew (Plutarch's assistant who comes up with the "We Remember" propos), York (she trained Katniss and Johanna in D13 to prepare them for war), Tigris (the former Capitol stylist who helps the remaining Star Squad members penetrate Snow's mansion) update--Tigris is played by Eugenie Bondurant, Eddy (the adorable boy from District 8 that tugs at Katniss's heart), Dr. Aurelius (Katniss's doctor who testifies on her behalf during her trial).

Other minor characters from both Catching Fire and Mockingjay include Hazelle Hawthorne and children Rory, Vick, and Posy (Gale's mom and siblings); Delly Cartwright (D12 survivor and truly nice person Peeta was friends with); Lavinia and Darius (red-headed Avoxes, Darius being a former D12 Peacekeeper); Leevy and Thom (D12 citizens who helped Gale after his whipping and appear in Mockingjay); Dalton (the cattle rancher from D10 and refugee to D13); and of course Greasy Sae and her granddaughter, though perhaps the older lady in "The Hunger Games" movie is Greasy Sae and she'll make a reappearance in "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay."

Are there any that would disappoint you if they weren't cast? Please leave a comment and share!

Classroom Connections: Ask your students who they would cast for each part and why.

Need to brush up on your Mockingjay characters? Check out my Mockingjay character cut-up activity; the hands-on activity is great for interactive notebooks & reading journals!






Photo credits: Images used in graphics from Lions Gate Entertainment®. Graphics by Tracee Orman of Hunger Games Lessons.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Casting Updates

Jena Malone will play Johanna Mason in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." (Lions Gate®) Digital art by Tracee Orman, original images by TheCapitol.PN (Lionsgate) and MovieWeb.com.

In case you hadn't heard the news, Jena Malone has been offered the part as District 7 Victor Johanna Mason in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," released By Lions Gate® November 22, 2013 - yes, still 505 days away. You can catch up on the latest in this excellent post by Perri Nemiroff, which features another edition of How Panem Celebrates Independence Day by our favorite Hunger Games fansites. (P.S. I love how Adam incorporates art into his post on how Delly Cartwright celebrates Independence Day.)

I remember Malone from "Stepmom" and she definitely had the snotty, bratty kid part down. I think she's an excellent actress and while she may seem too young looking, I think she's perfect. Lionsgate continues to amaze me with their casting choices, so I have complete faith that she was the best candidate for the part.

I cannot wait to see who they choose for Finnick Odair. There was some buzz about Hunter Parrish playing the part, but nothing is confirmed. If you have used my Catching Fire Teaching Unit, then you know that Parrish was the actor I had pictured in my head when I read Catching Fire in 2009.

From "Catching Fire Character Graphic Organizer" Teacher's Guide by Tracee Orman. Blocked out answers, arrows, and commentary on the "Reminds Me Of..." section were added and do not show up on the original document. ;]

I honestly do not care whether he is selected since I know the right person for the part will ultimately get it. But, I think it's kind of cool that at least one person who I had originally pictured might be in the running.

The only other visions I had were not of anyone specific. I pictured Beetee and Wiress as more Asian-looking and Seeder and Chaff with darker skin. The one actor for Chaff who comes to mind is Michael Clarke Duncan. Enobaria has to be a woman who you would not want to mess with...perhaps a Grace Jones type? (I actually pictured Grace Jones for Atala's part, but since it's such a small part, a lesser-known actress makes sense.) I can't wait to see how they do her teeth, whoever gets the part. And it probably won't be long before we are talking about who should play Boggs and President Coin.

What do you think? Are you happy with the casting choices so far? 

(See my post about Plutarch Watch 2012: Philip Seymour Hoffman...) 

Comment below or on my Facebook Fan Page.

Picturing the Characters: Do Movie Adaptations Ruin It For Readers?

Original image from Hunger Games Movie.

Imagine you are reading a captivating novel and are picturing the characters, setting, and events in your mind, just as the author intended. And then you see a trailer for the movie adaptation and the characters look nothing like you imagined. You are crushed.

So, here's my dilemma: Do I show my students pictures and trailer videos (OK, just one video for now) of The Hunger Games as we are reading, or do I allow them to picture the characters and setting first, then reveal Lionsgate's vision later?

Last spring I couldn't contain myself as we were getting movie casting news practically daily. We happened to be reading the novel in my class at the time, and each new cast member received a prominent spot on my white board. My students would rush into class each day to look at the board to see if I put up any new pictures. It was exciting; thrilling, actually. To see students who normally hated to read looking at the board and reading the articles about each casting...that was priceless. It also seemed to help students who had trouble picturing the story and characters.

But this year, I wonder if I should reveal the look of the characters first? Granted, if students want to find out who is cast in each role, a simple Google search will bring up gobs of pictures. (Although, some will be "dream casts" not featuring the true actors.) But there's been a few "that's not how I pictured Katniss" and "Peeta's blond in the book" comments that make me wonder whether I'm doing them a disservice showing them pictures of the movie actors.

On the other hand, I also have images of Scout, Atticus, Jem, and Tom from the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my walls, and I never thought twice about those images tainting the picture in our minds as we read the classic novel by Harper Lee. Is it because I wasn't alive when the movie was being cast and have always known those actors in those roles? (Even though Dill doesn't have white-blonde hair, like his description in the book?) 

What do you think? Do the actors' images stifle the student's creative thought while reading? Or does it enhance the reading experience? Comment below or reply on Twitter (@MrsOrman) with your thoughts! I'd love to know what you think and how you handle it in your classroom. And if any readers here are students, I'd love to hear from you, as well.