Gary→Ross→Appreciation

"You rarely get a tentpole that has this much emotional depth, this much character to dive into. The character of Katniss is . . . incredible. Suzanne [Collins, the author of the books,] did such an amazing job, and painted such a vivid character that I think for me and Jen. . . . It was just exciting every day. Not just from a pure filmmaking perspective, but also just in terms of the depth of the acting and exploring the character."

"I read the book. My kids turned me on to it, and I went nuts. I guess, about a year ago. I literally read it and said, “I have to make the movie.”

"These are characters and a world that’s entirely her invention. Sometimes we’ll be working on a scene together and I almost get this giddy feeling because the characters we’re talking about are ones she’s created. I really haven’t had a real writing partner since Anne Spielberg on Big, and I feel like I’ve found that wonderful collaborative electricity again."

"I wrote a draft, and then Suzanne and I got along incredibly well, and did another subsequent draft, the final draft together. She’s wonderful."

On Josh: "He kind of reminds me of a young Jack Lemmon. There’s this incredible versatility to him; he’s wise beyond his years, he’s sort of mature beyond his years, and there’s just such a natural ease to his acting. He’s so comfortable.

On Liam: "This is a phenomenally subtle actor, totally in control of what he was doing.”

"The rest of the cast, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland and Woody Harrelson, were amazing. I was just so lucky."

On Jennifer: "I think that an actor like this comes along, you know, once a generation."
"It was the easiest casting decision I ever made in my life."

"Gary has such an amazing ability to feel the energy of a particular actor,
to see the struggles you're having at any moment, and to set you on the right path without you
really knowing. Gary understands the lens; he understands the performances; he understands
the whole film as he's putting it together." - Wes Bentley

"Working with Gary is amazing because he has a way of making the set very calm, of
making the actors feel comfortable. It feels like an indie set, being on this movie,
very homey and family orientated. Gary doesn't put pressure on the take.
He's just very light with it. Do this; try that; no, that's not working, let's try
again. He's very much like the script is the skeleton and as an actor it's your
job to put the flesh on that." - Dayo Okeniyi

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