Happy Sad Confused - The Hungers Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes cast & director

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

8 years after MOCKINGJAY PART 2, the world of Panem returns with THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES. Josh gathers the talented young cast (Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, and Josh Andres Rivera) and director Francis Lawrence for a LIVE taping and goodbye to their press tour. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! FirstLeaf -- Go to TryFirstLeaf.com/HappySad to sign up and you’ll get your first SIX hand-curated bottles for just $44.95 Earnin -- Download Earnin in the Google play or Apple app store. When you download the app type In Confused under PODCAST Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Okay, it's official. We are very much in the final sprint to Election Day. And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances. It can feel exhausting, even impossible to keep up with. I'm Brad Milkey. I'm the host of Start Here, the Daily Podcast from ABC News, and every morning my team and I get you caught up on the day's news in a quick, straightforward way that's easy to understand.

with just enough context so you can listen, get it, and go on with your day. So, kickstart your morning. Start Smart with Start Here and ABC News, because staying informed shouldn't feel overwhelming. I think the first feeling I had when getting cast was exactly that, was this feeling of like, oh my God, I got this job. Oh, my God, I got this job. Like, now I actually have to do it.

You know, you audition really hard and you go, after the job that you want and then when you actually get it, you're like, now I have to show up and I have to prepare. And there are, as everyone keeps telling me, big shoes to fill. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey guys. I'm Josh Horowitz and today on Happy Sad Confused, we're live at the 92nd Street why with the cast and director of the Hunger Games, the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, guys. You ready?

I am so excited for this. I can tell you guys, R2. Welcome to our live audience here. Welcome to folks watching around the world. Welcome to the happy, say I confused listeners and watchers. This is kind of a full circle moment for, I think, a lot of us. We all love the Hunger Games books. We love the films.

I was privileged enough to go along. the ride with the amazing cast of those original films, and I thought it was all over. Eight years ago, Mocking Jay, Part 2 came out. We said goodbye to the Hunger Games, but here we are on opening day for this return to the Hunger Games, and guys, this movie is amazing. It might be sacrilegious to say, this might be my favorite Hunger Games movie. Oh, collective gasp. We have an amazing group assembled tonight. I'm going to ask my question. We're going to ask your questions. We're going to have a good time.

You ready for this? Should we do it? Okay. Okay. Please give a warm welcome to director Francis Lawrence returning to the Hunger Games. To Josh Andreas Rivera Asa Janus. To Tigris Hunter Schaefer joining us. Rachel Zegler is here.

Rachel. And Coriolanus Snow, Mr. Tom Blythe is here. Come on Tom! Oh, we have a Sejanus, is that a Sejanus blanket? Can I have that? I want one. I want one. I have my own in real life, but I want one. Hell yeah. That's amazing. In the dress and everything. So good.

Thank you. Thank you guys. Welcome. We have some enthusiasm. We have some enthusiastic fans. Congratulations on this amazing movie. The movie's out. It is. Yes, came out today. Yeah, a couple hours ago. How are you feeling?

It's been a long time coming. Are you exhaling yet? It's been quite a journey for all of you. Can you enjoy this moment? You just need sleep, basically. We need a little sleep, I think. I think we need a little sleep. Yeah, maybe next week is the exhale, relax, get healthy.

Yeah, I mean, I know I'll speak for myself. I live in New York, and it's nice to be kind of wrapping up the press tour here in what is my, like, adopted hometown. Yeah. We have a bunch of New Yorkers in the house. So welcome, guys. Welcome home.

Let's talk a little bit about, look, there is a high bar to reach with the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Secretly, where each of you worrying, oh, God, don't let me be the one. Don't let me be the one to bring this down. Yeah, Tom. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think the first feeling I had when getting cast was exactly that, was this feeling of like, oh my God, I got this job. Oh, my God, I got this job. Like, now I actually have to do it. Now, like, you know, you audition really hard and you go after the job that you want. And then when you actually get it, you're like, now I have to show up and I have to prepare. And there are, as everyone keeps telling me, big shoes to fill. Big shoes. You all filled them very well. You should be very proud. I want to start, before we get into this amazing film, as I said, I had the privilege of covering these first four films, and I found a piece of tape. I just want to show you. This is one of my last conversations with Jennifer Lawrence in 2015, right before Mockingjay, Part 2 came out, and I think you're going to find this very interesting, to say the least. Can we roll this clip for the guys? Last thing for you, looking at this franchise, obviously the end of Katness's story. Would you want to see this universe expanded for someone else for a different time period?

I mean, do you have a vote in terms of what remains unexplored? I don't see how we can, but in my lifetime, I will see these movies get redone with younger, hotter people. So I think that's probably just what should happen. They should just redo everything better. Good luck. So congratulations, the younger, hotter cast of the Hunger Games. I don't really have a question except. But you did meet Jennifer finally recently.

Was that nerve-wracking? Was that exciting to kind of... She's super approachable. That being said, I was still very scared to approach. It was at a fashion show, and those are really, like, weird things to go to. Hunter going to test. It's, like, really strange. really strange. And I kind of just said, I'd just feel weird if I didn't say hi. And she was

really, really nice about it. And then we took photos. And what you don't see in that video of us taking pictures together, you can't hear her say it, but she's like, let's take another one where I'm strangling you and saying, you'll never take my part. So she's great. Sounds about right. Let's talk about the casting of this. So Francis, first, from your perspective, what was the approach I mean, what did you, let's talk, let's pretend Tom's not here. What do we need for Tom leave, yeah, earmuffs

of Coriolanus. Honestly, we needed the best actor possible. I mean, I think one of the things that Nina did the first time around or the first movie is bring, you know, really young, great, fresh faces, great actors to be the sort of front and you know, center of the movie and the heart of the movie.

We wanted to do the same thing, so we kind of knew that we were going to be finding somebody, you know, fresh face relatively unknown, and we saw a lot of people. And I will say that Tom's audition came in very late in the game. I remember I was in Germany on a train, and it came in, and we watched it, and I was with my assistant, and he just kind of blew everybody out of the water. I mean, some of it was physical, right? You could sort of, you know, he's got the blue eyes.

I could see that he could possibly age up into sort of a Sutherland-esque-like character. He's very intelligent. He's sophisticated, which are also sort of some important. attributes to sort of transfer over to be believably turned into the elder snow. But he's an amazing actor. You know, he's Juilliard trained. He's amazing at his craft. We knew that we were going to be able to get all the emotional values for this journey

that he was going to go on. So he was just absolutely the best actor for the role. I mean, it's a hell of a journey for this character. We're in like Michael Corleone, Anakin Skywalker Territory, like fall from grace. take that. Well, but truly from where choreo starts and where we see choreo at the end of this, no spoilers, but you probably all have read it, let's be real. What was challenging, what was intimidating about the part?

Did you have more of a read on kind of like where choreo was at the outset versus the end, or what was the degree of difficulty, would you say for this? Yeah, I mean, halfway through auditioning, I realized what the part was, what the film was, because at first it was kind of top secret. I got, you know, a few scenes to read for first few auditions and I was like this seems dystopian this seems kind of like somewhat familiar but I hadn't read the book so I didn't recognize the character names and stuff and then at a certain point I was like oh this is this is a Hunger Games movie and I realized did my research and was like there's another

book there's another book that I need to read right now and and so I read it in like four days really quickly before my last few auditions and I remember thinking first of all this book is really freaking good and Susan Collins is a really great writer and then also thinking this part is really hard like he is he is dense and conflicted and he has all these kind of like multitudes within him and everything that I thought I knew about the character from watching Donald Sutherland play him 64 years in the future is like a different a completely different character essentially and what I really knew was like he's got to be so different by the end of the book slash film

compared to where he is at the beginning, and that it has to be, you have to be able to track that throughout, but it has to be subtle, because it's like a psychological game that is being played out in real time. And the real tricky part that I think Francis and I both kind of acknowledge from the start

was that the book is written from his perspective. It's in like first person, not first person, but it's written from his perspective. And then the film, like adapting it into film, can be tricky because we don't have we're not doing voiceover we're not doing like a monologue overlaid over the whole thing so we talked about like how do you how do you bring that kind of perspective into it and I was like oh it's just like all in the eyes I think it's got to be watching his thought processes happen in real time so

hopefully it works it works Rachel I know from from our chats before you had an interesting you know history with this project right you were you'd been working a lot let's be real like and you needed you need some time on when this kind of came around, and you almost didn't end up doing it. Yeah, she broke my heart, and then she bended it luckily, but she broke my heart. I'm so sorry, Francis. I still apologize to Francis all the time. I apologize steadily throughout the filming process because of how much I regretted the initial

no, because I was having such a good time filming the movie. Yeah, I mean, reality is you get burnout at some point, and I was trying to be as emotionally mature, but also. so just, you know, self-preserving and didn't feel like I had it in me to spend another half of the year out of the country away from my family. And so, you know, I initially said no. And I didn't want to lead Francis on, so I kind of really said no from the word go. We had such a good chat. Yeah, no, and I totally understood it because we had a four-hour meeting. And at the end of the meeting, I said, is there anything else you'd like to know? And she goes, yeah, when's it happening and

where is it happening? And I said, July 11th in Poland or something. It was two days after she was going to wrap this movie, she hadn't even begun yet further into Europe. And I saw her go white as a ghost. And I was like, oh my God, she's never doing this movie. And she didn't. But just imagine your perspective now. If you were watching all of us on stage with another talented actress, you would have, I mean, good for them. Well, I would have been very happy for her. And I'm sure she would have done an incredible job. But then I also would have been Jennifer Lawrence saying, you'll never take my heart. Josh, Hunter, talk to me a little bit about your interest in Hunger Games prior to this,

your level of fandom when this comes around. Is it, I'm seeing a lot of nodding from at least one person over there? Yeah. Let's see, I mean, I got into it in middle school, and the obsession descended upon me really fast and it was about the same time that I started reading the books that they were starting to film the first movie in Asheville, North Carolina, which is like four hours away from where I lived and I remember like hearing about the casting call for extras and we were losing our minds because that was so far and we were like in middle school, you're not going to like go do

that. But yeah, that's that was my first impression. I was also a capital person for how Halloween. At that time, too, just a general capital person because I loved the costume so much. I found the picture today and I'll show it tomorrow. Stay tuned. Josh, what did you dress as for Halloween? I mean, we were Fred and Daphne. I was in a Catholic. I think he met as a kid. Are you doing a Flintstones movie? I did a, I was never a Halloween guy. I always had this. I had this. I had this. I I had the scream mask, and I would just wear that every year.

Wait, you're just a serial killer. And then I would just a serial killer. That's not Halloween. That's just a scary dude. Yeah, it was just scary guy for Halloween. Just general scary guy. I was a scary guy, TM. But, sorry, as far as Hunger Games is concerned.

Sure. Well, I did, I've told this story. I don't know if you've heard it yet, but it's. It's, when I was younger, I didn't have such great grade, so I had to give up a lunch period to do study hall. And we had this really good librarian who recommended the Hunger Games book to me, the first one, because everybody was reading it. He was like, reading's fun, I promise. And I'm like, boo, nerd. But then, you know, I read it, and then I was the nerd.

And it was great. I was really genuinely very into it. I couldn't put it down. I was very much a casual fan. I didn't dress up as a capital person or anything like that. But it was very much a relationship of like, I really likes the movies. There was the whole Team Gale, Team Pita thing.

And, you know, I'm like, what a stupid thing. But then shortly thereafter, I'd even be in my head, like, well, obviously Team Pita. Right. Go in the easy way to get the audience on your side. Shameless. Cheap. Yeah, truly. But I respect it at the same time.

Let's talk about some relationships between some of your characters in the film. Lucy, Lucy Gray and Corio, it's complicated, to say the least. What do they see in each other, you think? What do they do for each other in this story? That's it, isn't it? What we can do for each other is really what the other is looking for. Yeah. I thought there was more than that, but you're just using me, I see, okay.

No. No, I mean, we've had this, I feel like you and I have had this conversation where we talk about whether or not they were actually in love or if they were just trying to preserve themselves and seeing how they could use the other to their advantage and kind of came to the conclusion that it was a fun cocktail of both. Suzanne wrote a complex relationship that has pros and cons and in the end it kind of comes down to the individual perspective on whether or not the cons outweigh the pros or vice versa I agree no I also think from Corio's perspective he's grown up being told what district people are or what someone from District 12 represents to him and he's been told that they are chaotic and barbaric and You know, they took his father from him when he was very young.

And so when he then meets Lucy Gray, and she's everything but that, she's, like, free and fun and full of life and light and love. And I sound like some sort of soap commercial. By dub. That was sponsorship. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Other soaps are available. No, but I think then she tests everything that he thinks he knows about the districts and about people who are from the district. and it tests everything that he has been brought up

to believe about the world and he kind of goes along with it for a minute because out of necessity yes but I think also because he's like completely fascinated by her I think he's never seen anything like her and feels like he never will again and at a certain point there's a point in the film I think where where kind of necessity

and like using Lucy Gray to get what he needs kind of is almost swapped out for actual Don't miss Swiped, a new movie inspired by the provocative real-life story of the visionary founder of online dating platform Bumble. Played by Lily James, Swiped introduces recent college grad Whitney Wolfe as she uses grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry to become the youngest female self-made billionaire. An official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Hulu original film Swiped, is now streaming only on Disney Plus. Are you looking for a movie review show where the critic is at the top of his or her game, meticulously breaking down and explaining exactly why a film does or does not work? Well, good luck with the search.

Because we're having fun here on Adam does movies. Each and every week, I hit the big blockbusters, I cover the streamers, and I even toss in some movie news for fun. Check out the show on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, on YouTube. And hopefully, we can do movies together. Hot. If not love, then some sort of infatuation or some sort of, like, fascination. But I do like what you said, which is like it's not kind of black or white.

It's gray, and the relationship is, it's the lucy, it all lives in the lucy gray. Suzanne's a genius. She's a genius. But especially as an actor, that's like, that's so much more interesting than like the black or white of it, you know? Like, it's so much more interesting to play the, like, not the primary colors, but like instead of playing. blue or red, it's like play the purple, you know. Yeah. Let's imagine this is a repertory company of actors.

We're rebooting the original Hunger Games films. Who's playing what role? Francis? You want to cast your actors? Make the decisions. I'll play Hamich. We all want to be, hey, Mitch. What's in that mug over there?

Yeah. Anyone else? Oh. I want to play one of those aggressive monkeys. Right. You know, the baboons. Yep. I'd like to be Sina.

I think it would be fun. And also my dog's name is Lenny and then Lenny Kravitz. So there's a connection. I like it. If that makes sense. Hunter you're up. I'd like to play. a loaf of pita's bread.

The one that gets tossed in the rain, you're like, that's me. Like Andy Circus mocap action going on, basically. Josh, what do you got? I mean, I think realistically I'd be like one of the guys behind the bad guy who's killing everybody, and I'm just like behind him, and I'm like, yeah, get him, yeah.

And I'm kind of the henchman. You're behind Cato. Yes, like I'm the guy behind. and Kada with my arms folded, but, you know, yeah. Why does that guy have a scream mask on in the back of there? What's going on? I was going to make the joke that he'd be Jack Quaid's character, Davey Marvel. T.M.

TM. Yep. So, those are powerhouse actors that you're in a scene with. Is that intimidating? Is that, uh... Hell yeah, bro. That's it. Hell yeah. Are you over it yet? Can you be chill around Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage at this point?

I basically just didn't talk to either of them. I was kind of scared. I was scared. I think the first time I talked to, well, no. I think the longest I ever was in a room with Peter and socialized was when I told him my mom was a big fan and I asked him to sign my book. But yeah, it is.

It's terrifying. When you know that first coming on set, there was like a different energy each day, like the first day Viola came on set, I will never forget everyone. everyone was nervous I think even Francis you were like a little bit like she's

yeah I'm not I'm never nervous oh I was nervous for sure right yeah I mean because you know we had she and I had had conversations about the character you know so we had the same vision for the character and worked on the hair makeup wardrobe did them you know the tests for all of that

but because of the way these movies work and how big the cast are we never have that like sit down table read you know workshopping rehearsing And so she walked in day one, and she was going to be showing us all who her version of Gaul was. So, you know, you're just like hoping, oh, man, I hope I don't have to, like, get into it with Viola about something. But she came out and just killed it, and it was a scene in Heavensby Hall in the beginning of the movie where she gives a speech and introduces herself and introduces Peter as well. And I remember she just came out, and the command she has was so incredible.

and she was like on the mic and over the PA and there was a room filled with like 300 students from the academy and everybody erupted into applause at her first take and it was really, it was amazing and so it was great and it's a relief and you knew instantly she was going to be incredible I mean she is honestly one of the best actors of all time

yeah we like after that scene like yeah yeah no clap for her after that scene we all were kind of like suddenly like even more nervous, I think, to go speak to her. And she, and we'd all just been introduced to her when she gives this monologue. And she's got this, you know, this amazing prosthetic eye and this amazing costume. And then I walked by stage and she sat there, sipping a coffee, completely chill, cracking jokes.

And I was like, oh, she's cool. She's like, she's an amazing actor and she's just cool. Like, and then she sits and she, like, puts you at ease immediately. And I will say that goes for Peter and Jason as well. just like great actors who each have their own like distinct skill and then also are just really good people and I think that's like that kind of runs through this franchise like through all the films it seems to me

and it's like what makes me so excited to be just a part of it is like you join these like hallowed halls of like great actors who are also really good people and like family and all rally around Francis and Nina and Suzanne and like want to bring it to life. I would imagine I mean look by the nature of the work. These are intense movies to shoot. I mean, you know, it's work at the end of the day. So I'm curious, like, is there a way to decompress during the shoot? Were you guys able to, also COVID times,

I know, and were you able to, you know, decompress it all on location? A few of us, like, learned how to decompress together. Yes, for sure. Which ones? No, we have fun. A few of us would, you know, we could have some fun. Okay. We were, how does that manifest? We were in Europe and And it's, we went dancing. We went dancing. And like, when we got together. Techno. Techno, to be precise.

Techno. Hunter's a techno head. Like, loves techno. I am too. Yeah, we go dancing sometimes. But also, Francis has like, and Francis. Yeah. And Francis has like a real insistence on the, like this communal vibe on his set, a familial vibe.

So there weren't really long nights on set because there was an insistence that we all get to sit down and have dinner, whether that be together. or not, but really together a lot. And Francis knows all the best restaurants. He knows all the best wine. And that's exactly what you want from that kind of experience where you're so far from home and don't make the wine joke you're about to make. No, I was actually going to be sincere.

You weren't going to say I was going to drop you in it. No, breaking news. Josh is a fake wine connoisseur. And the reason why is because he wanted to impress Francis, because Francis is a real wine connoisseur. So Josh wanted to, like, create this whole... Now, now. Here's the thing.

The story here, there's a... Let me spin you a little yarn. There's a little bit of lore here. The first time we got together, it was me, Francis, and Tom. We wanted to get, like, you know, a drink or two, have some dinner, talk about what was about to happen. And I ordered a glass of wine because I usually drink whiskey, but I knew that if I drink whiskey, I would have like three more whiskies and then I would

get fired and so I was like you know I'm going to be good I'm going to have a glass of wine and Francis says oh you like wine I say yeah and so began the three months of essentially living a lie because then you

apparently were really passionate about wine but I just didn't want to drink whiskey that day this all culminated and Francis buying Josh a really nice, expensive bottle of wine and gifting it to him, which Josh then left to bake and microwave in his rental car for like three months,

and it fermented even more. It's like glove box. Yeah, which then Francis found out and was like, you don't really like wine, do you? And Josh was like, nah. It was like two nights. It wasn't. I drank it.

It was still pretty good. I don't know how to get us back on track, but I'll try. I do want to talk about, like, the music in this film is amazing. I mean, like, Rachel, she's, I don't know if you're familiar, but Rachel Zegler sings and pretty damn well. There's actually a lot of singing in it, too. I feel like you sing more in this than West Side Story.

Aha. Ah, ha. Twist. Um, what, talk to me, because, like, I feel like, there's the singing, but also the physicality of this role, is pretty intense. So was that aspect the challenging part for you?

The action was the challenge. I feel like Francis tried to make a mission out of trying to find things that were going to scare me and failed every time because I was so game to do it all. I did a movie where I didn't get to do any stunts, even though my character had a lot of stunts and I was so bummed all the time because the stunt guy was like,

oh no, little lady. On this one, I wish they had stopped me more. But they didn't, and I'm honestly so glad that they didn't. It was so much fun to learn how to do it. I was patted up by Scott and Steve every day, and Silky, my stunt double, would teach me how to do things. And I get to watch this movie and know that I'm doing 90% of what you see on the screen, which is so incredible and really not common for things like this. So then it made the singing days like, oh, this is just an easy day, and then people are looking at me like, this seems like the most difficult part, and it's just not. the backwards tumble roll down the incline of the cornucopia.

That's the toughest part. And then, you know, for Hunter, this is, can't be wrong, is this your first film? Ah, this is my first film to come out. So, I mean, talk to me a little bit about, what do you take from this experience? Obviously, euphoria has been and continues to be an extraordinary experience. What do you take away from this experience that you apply to the next job or euphoria?

What's what's what's the learning? Yeah, I mean, I'm so glad that this all happened in the order that it did because like I was like I'm, I wasn't an act like acting like acting is like not what I was going to be doing and I had never done it before and then I just got like thrown into euphoria. and so that was my acting school and I feel like this role because it really is a character piece and there's also like responsibility

with taking on a character from a book that's also beloved by oodles of people like like I'm so glad that I had two seasons of euphoria to like help me understand like the emotional

and like brain part of acting before I started taking on something like this, which was a character. It involved, like, character work that has to be accurate to, like, a book and not just, like, me being, like, a horny teenage girl, you know? Yeah.

When this saga of this shoot ends, again, just calling it back to my experience with the previous cast, Hutcherson told me that the person that cried the most at the end of that series was Francis Lawrence. I did. I sobbed like a baby. 100%.

It's why I didn't give a speech at the end of this one. Because I realized when I give speeches at the end of movies, I cry. But the Hunger Games was, it was really intense. I mean, it was about three and a half, four years of my life. And we did the last two movies back to back, which was really tough. It was across Atlanta to France to Germany. We lost Phil Hoffman in the middle of it all. So it was a very, very trying time.

So when it was complete and it felt final and it felt done, Yeah, it was heartbreaking. Any tears this time around? Anybody? Oh, I cried everything. I think we did. I think there was some tears, but not for me this time because I got out of giving a speech. So I just like, I weaseled my way out of giving the speech.

There was a moment, I mean, because the last thing we really did, correct me if I'm wrong, I think I sang in the middle of a field in Berlin, and just to get like wild track with the wind and everything in the background. And I think it was the hanging tree. And then I saw Tom who had dyed his hair purple and Joshi was there and the three of us like had this really beautiful group hug moment and it was just such a sense of accomplishment, a sense of relief but then also just I'm going to miss getting to come to work every day and see, oh no, and seeing these people. And I feel the same like ending this tour out right now. It's an amazing thing to come to work and see people that you genuinely enjoy seeing. The opposite sucks. So when you get to do like a global press tour too with people that you really, really love and people who are passionate about the thing that you're promoting, it's one of the most beautiful experiences. And so I have the same feeling right now that I had on the last day of working, which is just this was really fun. I have to say, too, it was really, I'm just going to paint a little bit of a picture of the final moment because it was really beautiful. We were shooting.

There's a scene that takes place in these catacombs under the arena. So it was dark and this kind of basement water thing. And we all came up because we were done. And so we went up to this field and the whole crew was there. And they went dead silent. And she's saying the hanging tree. I love you too. We got him.

We got him. I'm stopping. I'm stopping. Oh, man. Just let it sit. gonna get through this together guys hold hands we're good the unusual part about this too is this is one story this is not this is only because suzanne had another idea for a story and that's beautiful but it's also like wait there's so much more we could do with some of these

characters um but it really does i guess rely on suzanne coming up with an idea correct to do more of these yeah 100% um and i think yeah nina and i have always said this because she writes from a thematic place. She comes up with something that she wants to talk about and write a story about, starts there and builds the story out and the characters out from those ideas. And I think that's what gives these stories the relevance, the reason for being, that kind of heft that you feel, especially when you sort of compare it to other, you know, Y, A material. And so it just always feels a little shallow to start thinking of, you know, characters that you might want to see spin off without those thematic ideas first. So if you find yourself stuck in an elevator with Suzanne for an hour, what are you pitching her? Any of you? What's the spin-off? Where did my footprints go in the woods? What happened?

I just want to know. She doesn't even have to write the book, and she just needs to tell me. Okay, so spoiler alert, they've all read it. But spoiler alert, what do we think happened among this group? What are your... I'm not saying anything. Do you know from Suzanne? Yeah, I know.

Wait a minute. Wait, you know? You, divinatively, you know what happens to her? No, I'm just kidding. He is backtracking. He so knows. Yeah, he definitely knows. We just traded tears, Francis. Exactly. No, I had to come back from the tears. That's my way of coming back. Wow. Okay, so Francis can't answer, but you must have theories

about what happened to Lucy Gray. She's your character. Oh, she is mine. And I love her. I want her to be free so badly. The entire story is her fight for survival, at least on her side. Of course, it's a story for Coriolanus and about Coriolanus, but Lucy Gray's motivation is to stay alive for myriad reasons, for herself, for her family, and for the hope of a better future for everyone,

for the entirety of Panem. And so my hope is that he's having actual delusions at the end from the snake bite, and that my footsteps do continue. or I scaled a tree and choose. Juicy. I believe in her survival. I believe in her ability to survive because off camera, Casca Highbottom says that he's thankful

that she survives Cori Linus and I think it would be a disservice to her if she didn't actually follow through on that. Yeah. I think she survives too. I think she survives because I think Cori Linus Corey Linus lives in fear for the rest of his life. I really do. I think, like, I mean, hopefully some of you will see the film.

And at the end, you'll see that he is, like, way closer to becoming the future tyrant, President Snow. And it's all because I think he's, like, totally fearful of, like, the freedom she represents. And I do think she has to live on for that freedom to live in him as an innate fear that he tries to control for the rest of his life. Well, because that was her character.

Her character, well, my approach to her was, how do I make this person so enigmatic and powerful, yet still have a softness about her that he's able to fall in love with, that haunts him for the rest of his life? I mean, he looks at Catness, and he is scared out of his mind because of how much what she represents reminds him of Lucy Gray. And so that's like a really delicious challenge as an actor. But a really amazing thing as a fan of these books to read and see how Suzanne kind of

flipped the script on her female character. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. So big news to share it, right? Yes, huge, monumental, earth shaking. Heartbeat sound effect, big. Mates is back. That's right.

After a brief snack nap. We're coming back. We're picking snacks. We're eating snacks. We're raiding snacks. Like the snackologist we were born to be. Mates is back. Mike and Tom, eat snacks.

Wherever you get your podcast. Unless you get them from a snack machine, in which case, call us. Goodbye, summer movies, hello fall. I'm Anthony Devaney. And I'm his twin brother, James. We host Raiders of the Lost Podcast, the Ultimate Movie Podcast, and we are ecstatic to break down late summer and early fall releases. We have Leonardo DiCaprio leading a revolution in one battle after another,

Timothy Chalemay playing power ping pong in Marty Supreme. Let's not forget Emma Stone and Jorgos Lanthamos' Bugonia. Dwayne Johnson, he's coming for that Oscar. In The Smashing Machine, Spike Lee and Denzel teaming up again, plus Daniel DeLuess's return from retirement. There will be plenty of blockbusters to chat about, too. Tron Ares looks exceptional, plus Mortal Kombat 2, and Edgar writes, The Running Man, starring Glenn Powell.

Search for Raiders of the Lost Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. might imagine, yeah. Thanks. I'm gonna take, I really want to, I also want to see more from Tigris. Like I really want to see more, I want to see what happens to Tigris. Like what happens, where does that face paint, tattoo stuff come from? You know? Me too. Your game, you're in? What? You're in? You're ready? Oh, I'm, I'm ready. Okay. She is so fabulous in Mockingjay Part two. Gorgeous. Okay, it's official.

We are very much in the final sprint to election day. And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances, it can feel exhausting, even impossible to keep up with. I'm Brad Milkey. I'm the host of Start Here, the Daily Podcast from ABC News. And every morning, my team and I get you caught up on the day's day's news in a quick, straightforward way that's easy to understand with just enough context so you can listen, get it, and go on with your day. So, kickstart your morning.

Start Smart with Start Here and ABC News because staying informed shouldn't feel overwhelming. As you might imagine, when we put out the call for questions, we got literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. So I want to get to some of them and we're going to get to some of your questions as well. Call Me Kitty wants to know who's the funniest on set? Josh. Josh. Yeah. I don't know. I really

couldn't say. And Jason Swordsman. Oh, yeah. He's a riot. Wait. Yeah, maybe Jason. He might... Made me laugh any. I don't know. I really couldn't say.

Michael Krawbock wants to know favorite musical moment in the film. There's a song. called Peer is the Driven Snow, which is my favorite. I think it's a beautiful song that Suzanne wrote the lyrics for. Dave Cobb wrote the music. She sings the hell out of it. But I just love it in where it is in the movie.

And just as a song, I think it's incredible. Evening Everlark wants to know from you, Josh. How many times did you have to throw that chair and are your vocal cords all right? Do you have a ballpark? It felt like 26 times. It felt like so many. I don't think we had that many tables.

We didn't, but that's why it took so long because then they had to fix the table because it wasn't like a durable table. It exploded. It was like we had to put it back together in between each take. Oh, it took forever. I had such a headache, too.

Let's see. Uptown Livy wants to know your thoughts on Olivia Rodriguez. Catch me now. That's... Angel. Yeah, I'll just jump in for a second, then they can speak on how they feel. But, I mean, she just killed this song.

I have to say, she came in, she saw the movie, she really, really loved it. She and I and some of her team sat down in a conference room, and I just spoke at her for, like, 45 minutes about the movie, the themes, the feeling I, like, wanted at the end. Narratively, what I thought, you know, she could do with some of the lyrics, how it could tie in to snow, to Lucy Gray, all these things. And she was taking notes and taking notes. And she's so young, but she is so smart.

And three weeks later, I think, this song came in, and I was just knocked out. I thought she just killed it. I know there's a lot of musical talents on this stage. Is everybody here have musical? Oh, Tom, not so much. Tom can sing and play guitar. He needs to stop being humble. Yeah, but when you can, like, do something okay, and then you're sat next to Josh and Rachel,

like you can't do it no it's not just okay you're like fully talented at singing yeah he did it in his trailer you could hear it weren't oh yeah Hunter thinks I sing opera for some reason not opera I took it back

it's not opera I don't know what it is but it's not opera was there ever a karaoke night I would think that's the worst idea ever with Rachel and Josh and I was not present so that's why it worked out we did one karaoke night before Rachel came and then we were like we're not doing it with Rachel

we'll all be so embarrassed I love doing karaoke, too, and that's why I'm like, man. We can go tonight after this. I really couldn't say. I'm game. Let's see. Oh, wait, Francis can play a good car, too. Francis is good.

Sorry. I have a really great picture of you showing. Well, Josh asked all the people on stage. You're on stage, Francis. And I have really cute pictures of Francis showing Tom, like, easier ways to play certain chord progressions in the field in Poland, the one that looks like the Everlark scene with the babies. It's a really sweet photo.

Amy wants to know your favorite line from any of the films. You made me spill my drink on some brand new pants. I love it in this one when Viola Davis says, down, down, down. Down in the cage. Down in the cage. She does some amazing vocal stuff. Definitely. Any others resonate? I'm not made of sugar. Elva's Vault wants to know, how does it feel to be in the presence of the Capitol's number one fashion icon? That's you, Hunter.

The Capitol? I guess just let's all take a moment to revel in being in the presence. from our audience here Alicia and Cam want to know what advice do you have as an actor in the beginning stages of their career if you had to start again what would you do that's your go-to advice for young actors out there guys Rachel's like I don't have good advice I don't just try I always say the faster you can figure out who you are the better because that's ultimately going to be the fuel that you use for the rest of your life is is that special thing that everybody has as individuals we all have something it's unique it's different it's what makes us us the faster you can identify that the faster you can utilize it to you know create a dialogue to understand circumstance to have empathy for how you would fare in a situation that's my go-to advice yeah yeah I had a teacher once that said compare and despair and I feel like as a young actor you spend so much time so much wasted time and energy like looking left and right at other people

and what they're doing compared to what you're doing and whether you should be doing what they're doing more or whether they're further ahead in their career and it's just like you're in your own lane you're not in competition with anyone else you're really not like yes you are for the roles obviously but like really the competition honestly from a director's side you're really not you're not because the truth is most people that come in and like that I see are not bad it's just there's suddenly the person that's right and so it's actually not a competition it's not about being better than somebody else and so suddenly that person, like, when your audition showed up, it was like, that's a snow. Which I feel speaks to, like, Josh's point, which is, like, you're only really in competition with yourself. And if you can, like, work out who you are, then you've kind of got it down, and, like, you can express yourself freely

and you're not, like, challenging. And it's way funner that way. And I feel like in line with what Josh said, you don't let other people tell you who you are. Only you can determine that, and also only you can show that to other people. Constantly people will try to put you in boxes, I say this as a member of a marginalized community in Hollywood,

you don't get to tell them what script you fit. You get to write the script. And that's really the most important part. What's an unscripted choice you made that you're proud of? It's the obvious one. The curtsy, the bow, is a very nice one. That was unscripted? That was unscripted?

That was unscripted, and I did it one take, and God bless Dave Thompson, our A-camera operator. He caught that shit. And then Francis was like, you can keep doing it. And he came up to me, and he came to me with, you doing it because Katnais stood just like, mm-hmm. And we kept it in, and I thought that was really, really nice. There's also, like, when we were doing reshoots and we were doing a scene that we belovedly called Love Alley. Love Alley. And Tom grabbed my chin, and I just was like, ew.

And it's after Lucy Gray has kind of started to clock the seaginous of it all, and a lot of things that are kind of changing in between the percentage of trust on either side of the relationship. And I had an involuntary flinch to Tom grabbing my chin, and it made it in there, and it's so sick. What would your first meal be? after winning the Hunger Games, Emily would like to know. How do you celebrate this horrific thing you've just been through?

Barada. I have barata. I love barata. And cherry tomatoes. And noki bolanay. Yeah. I was going to say, Noki Bolane is his favorite. I feel like Josh has thought about this.

I feel like he had a prepared answer. Oh, I know how to relax. No wine, warm wine, and barata. Yeah. Anyone else? Bangers and Mash. Do you know what that is? He's so British.

You know what bangers and mash? You're British. I know, I know. I know that is such a cliche British answer, but like growing up, bangers and mash was like my comfort food. I don't even like pork, but like if I had to,

I'd pick bangers and mash. Toad in the hole. Yeah, Toad in the Hole is good. I love that. From a British person in the audience. Toad in the hole. Name your favorite British dish, everybody? No, don't do that, please.

Compit. And when you guys see the film, it is so intense, and the camera is, like, right in your face. So you are there with Lucy Gray. It must have been just, like, you must have had an intimate connection with your camera operator. Dave Thompson, he's my best friend now. Yeah, and it's, and truly, because I didn't get to, I came right from another film, so I didn't really get the choreography briefing. So Dave was physically pushing me out of the way to make sure I didn't actually get hit by the machete that Reaper's holding.

corals, tried in. Like, I was truly in the hungry games trying to survive. And, yeah, it's all. A little bit method. Yeah, and you're all up in my Vaseline sweat and fake dirt. Get your tickets now, guys. Get your tickets now. If that doesn't get tickets sold. There you go. All right, our last couple minutes, rapid fire, the happy, say I confused, profoundly random questionnaire. Anybody that wants to take these, feel free. What do you collect? What's the weirdest thing anybody here collects? Guitar. Records.

Stones. Do you collect stones? When I was a kid I used to collect stones and they still have a lot of them and I really love them. Aww. That's so weird. Wallpaper on your phone, anybody? You want to cop to, what's the wallpaper on your phone? It's my mom. She's holding a chicken.

Oh yeah, it's so cute. Mine right now is me holding my dog as a baby getting out of the bathtub. But I have it alternating, so. Here's my mom. I don't know if you can see the chicken's name is Princess She was really mean Yeah you hated Princess

You hated Princess I didn't like her at all It's a good picture Last actor any of you were mistaken for I get Camilla Mendez all the time I get Richard E. Grant Which is like Wait, right but he's 40 years old He's amazing I know I'm like I am aging

quickly apparently He's amazing. I love him, but yeah, we are not the same age. No, no. I get, like, Chris Hemsworth all the time. It's like, yeah. Huh. I mean. Francis, does anyone ever tell you you look like an actor?

Like, does that happen a lot? It's happened before you. I don't want to say. Wait. Because I'm not. I got Daniel Stern, the guy that he was one of the criminals in the original home alone with Joe Pesci. so lovely actor never worked with them but you know turning into a therapy session for everybody up here

what's the worst note a director besides Francis Francis doesn't give bad notes what's the worst note a director has ever given you guys it was just constantly just urgency urgency because it was like it was just like urgency you have to be more urgent oh this one no but I'm saying like ever when like you just kind of the whole

movie was just like can you be more urgent and in reality like on film sets things are not actually loud things are not actually being thrown at you like it's really a lot of acting in front of the camera with things that are not actually happening around you so the sense of urgency has to come from you and so it got to a point where I was like why don't you just tell me what's happening around me and then I will act then I'll do the acting thing in the tradition of happy say I confused an actor that makes any of you happy you see the actor on screen you're instantly happy. Hunter, you got one? Okay. There was a big reaction and then no.

Josh Rivera. The cast of when Harry met Sally. This time of year, it is, you know, it's like November, wow. Yeah, it's a New York movie. It's a big. Yeah, we've got some real New Yorkers in here. Yeah. Yeah. No, but that's like, it's festive, you know, and I get, I feel woman fuzzy when I see that movie. Oh. Movie that makes anybody sad here. What gets you? Pan's Labyrinth

Blue Valentine Paris is burning Nice And finally Tommy had something No I don't want to think about sad things right now I'm not going to think we're thinking positive Food that makes you confused

What food makes you feel? Curry worst we worked in Germany I did not understand the fascination of Corey's I know you love it I know you do Hunter I'm sorry no We had a bad experience We had a bad curry worst I'm sorry, no, that's insane.

That's insane. I started eating meat again because of curry worse. You're lost, I don't know. Cabab meat, like Donna Kabab. Like, we were in Berlin and it's everywhere and they have a really good kebab? Pardon? But like, what?

You didn't go to Kabap with attitude? I went to all of them, but it doesn't mean I understand it. Like, when you see it on that thing, I'm like, what is it? Right. It's not me? I'll show you a video. I was confused, too, until I saw a video of how they make it. And now I know how they make it.

I'll send you a video. make you never want to eat it again? No, it makes me want to eat it more. Oh, that's great. Can you send it to me tonight? Send it to the group chat. Wait, I'm sorry, you're talking about like a, like a kebab, like meat on a stick with onion. When you go to like a place and they're like shrimp it off. Oh, okay. We're going to talk street food for another hour if anybody wants to stick around. But you guys probably have tickets to the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I'm guessing if you don't already get your tickets now. The movie's out in theaters, guys.

guys. This is a long time coming. It's an amazing piece of work. You all should feel very, very proud. It is a privilege always to see you, Francis, to see this new cast that is giving new life to this amazing franchise. Thank you all for your time. They're almost done now. They can rest in a minute because the press door is basically done now. So, enjoy the moment. Take a breath. And maybe Suzanne will have another idea one of those things, right? Thanks, Josh. Thank you. Everybody, give it up for the cast and director. The bowed of song for you see. Thanks, Josh. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh. Are you looking for a movie review show where the critic is at the top of his or her game, meticulously break. down and explaining exactly why a film does or does not work? Well, good luck with the search. Because we're having fun here on Adam does movies. I talked to you like we just got done seeing a movie together, giving you the pros and cons, and I'm digging in the trenches,

in the mud and muck on streaming services, telling you which films are worth your time. Each and every week, I hit the big blockbusters, I cover the streamers, and I even toss in some movie news for fun. Because this show is Adam Does Movies. I'm obviously Adam, I probably should have led with that. But perhaps I have led you to check out the show on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, on YouTube. And hopefully, we can do movies together. Hoo-hoo-hoo! Hot.