"The crowd responds with its token applause, but he’s
confused and tries to give Effie Trinket a big hug, which she
barely manages to fend off."



Haymitch♥Effie Appreciation #1

“Haymitch and Effie have spent a lot of time together. We played a lot with that actually. I think that there is actual respect between the two of them….We wanted to play them like they’re old—well, they’re not old friends, but there is a respect between them. I think Effie has a huge crush on Haymitch. I have a huge crush on Woody. And I think Haymitch is like “Eh, I think Effie would be fun in the sack. I would do that.”

— Elizabeth Banks

source

"That’s so funny she said that! I just thought we had a little spite for each other. Like, I look at her as just this highfalutin dame in the Capitol who has no sense of reality or what’s going on out in the districts. Haymitch is hard on her. That’s not so much in the book, but it just felt right at the time. I haven’t heard her side of it, which intrigues me."

— Woody Harrelson

source

"It really was so much fun. I’m enamored with Woody Harrelson. And I don’t know how much he committed to it but I committed to creating a lot of story [between Effie and Haymitch] out of nothing, frankly. Because there is nothing going on. We don’t really talk to each other. But I was committed to creating a physical relationship onscreen. We’re always sitting next to each other. It’s like we’re a team, but we hate each other.

It’s very classic rom-com. I’d say more like Bogie and Bacall. It’s not so modern as that. It’s more about glances and attitude towards each other. You can see that there’s some respect there but there’s also a lot of disgust.

He’s more disgusted with me, for sure. (Laughs). Elizabeth Banks has a full-on crush on Woody Harrelson. Effie definitely has a crush on Haymitch, but Haymitch does not like Effie. That’s what I’d say is going on."

— Elizabeth Banks