'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' News: Peeta's Narrative 'Manned Up' From Book to Movie? [TRAILER]
It was revealed on Thursday that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie will make a slight divergence from the book the film is based on.
Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence described some of the alterations he made when he adapted the movie from the popular novel.
"We made some changes to Peeta's narrative," Lawrence revealed, in a report to Entertainment Weekly. "We manned him up a little . . . The story doesn't really change. His relationship with Katniss doesn't change; he's just a different kind of character."
Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark in the film franchise, discussed a scene in the Catching Fire novel and how his character's role in the scene could change. The scene involves the beginnings of the Hunger Games and Peeta is paralyzed with fear at the thought of entering a body of water.
"The option is for either me drowning or sitting there like a cat batting my paw into the water," Hutcherson said. "Either way the visual is horrible." Eliminating Peeta's fear of water may be one of the changes made to the film.
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The way Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) finds out about the existence of District 13, is also different in the film. The two District 8 refugees, Bonnie and Twill, who revealed the news about District 13 and the revolution, will not be included in the film adaptation. Lawrence said that it's fun "figuring out new ways around things and new ways of doing things."
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Another character who will be omitted in the film adaptation is Darius, the young District 12 Peacekeeper who gets knocked unconscious in the novel, after he attempted to intervene in Gale's (Liam Hemsworth) public whipping.
"It's as agonizing for us to lose things from the book as it is for a fan," said producer Nina Jacobson. "I want every single thing in there. But you know what? If you have to give up something in order to give more time to Katniss and Gale or to Effie as she starts to feel a conscience, you make the sacrifices in order to serve the characters and themes that are more essential."
Despite these several changes, the overall alterations are relatively minor.
"The movie is very, very true to the book," Lawrence said.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be released in theaters on Nov. 22.
Watch the trailer below:
