THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES PRODUCTION
MORE TO THE STORY Tom Blyth (left) and Rachel Zegler (right) star in this prequel to the original series, which tells the tale of a young Coriolanus Snow
A fter the cinematic adaptation of The Hunger Games trilogy, in which Tributes from the occupied districts of Panem fight to the death in a televised battle, author Suzanne Collins wrote a prequel dealing with the backstory of future tyrannical president Coriolanus Snow (played by Tom Blyth). Eight years on from the last film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes reunites filmmaker Francis Lawrence and cinematographer Jo Willems ASC, SBC – who previously collaborated on Catching Fire and Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 . “Francis and I have evolved as filmmakers and people, so it was exciting to tackle something set before the other four movies took place,” begins Willems. “The war has just passed so there are still a lot of buildings destroyed and it’s an older architecture. I’ve always preferred shooting in the districts from Catching
Fire onwards, as there’s something more painterly and nostalgic about them that I connected to more strongly.”
THE REAL DEAL Unlike in previous instalments, the event known as The Hunger Games takes place in an arena with interiors captured at Centennial Hall in Wroclaw, Poland and exteriors at Berlin Olympic Stadium. “You’re inside this arena going, ‘How do we make this exciting?’” reflects Willems. “I have to make it look dramatic in terms of lighting and it constantly wants to feel dangerous to the Tributes in there. This is not a happy place! We went for a grittier, realistic feel.” There was not complete freedom as Centennial Hall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “We couldn’t nail anything into the walls, but we had some riggers in there who would climb up to
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