Are you ready for some Real Talk with Elizabeth Banks? We hope so! Because with the actress who brings Effie Trinket to life on-screen safely ensconced in the studio for an in-depth, no-holds-barred question-and-answer session about the making of "The Hunger Games," it was only a matter of time before MTV News' Josh Horowitz asked the question we've all wondered about since that first glimpse of the pink-haired and powdered Effie in the film's trailer: How long did it take to put that Capitol Couture look together?
The good news: Our curiosity was more than sated. (The bad news: It was a lot more than sated, as you'll soon find out.) Elizabeth, who's much more open about her toilette than the prim and proper Effie would be, explained that determining her character's signature look was the real time-suck.
"It was a really long process to find it, initially," she said. "It was a couple days of hanging out in the trailer and playing around. But once we nailed it, it was just two hours a day."
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Tags Elizabeth Banks, Hunger Games, Video
Despite her celebrity status and starring role in the movie, there's still one thing that Elizabeth Banks has in common with every other "Hunger Games" fan: She's dying (dying!) to see the finished product on the big screen. And when we sat down to chat with her about the scenes she's most excited to see come to life, her answer was the same as everyone's:
"I'm really excited to see the actual Games," she gushed.
Yes, Elizabeth Banks wants to see the armed and dangerous tributes tearing each other limb from limb just as much as the rest of us do...but, you know, not out of psychotic bloodlust or anything. Instead, Elizabeth described the character-driven importance of the whole arena scene—and noted that, in the context of the Games, even the "bad guys" have their own complex emotional journey to take.
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Tags Elizabeth Banks, Hunger Games, Video
Whoops! Remember when we told you that the final track list for the "Hunger Games" companion album was wrapped up and ready to go? Well, uh...we were kidding. Yeah, that's it, just kidding! (Haha! Ha! Ha!) As it turns out, the original list wasn't as set-in-stone as we thought it was—but the new, officially official, no-way-we're-going-back-on-it track rundown appeared in our mailbox this afternoon (straight from Universal Republic). And the album will consist of:
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Tags Arcade Fire, Birdy, Glen Hansard, Hunger Games, Hunger Games Soundtrack, Jayme Dee, Kid Cudi, Maroon 5, Miranda Lambert, Neko Case, Punch Brothers, Taylor Swift, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Civil Wars, The Decemberists, The Low Anthem
Wes Bentley didn't mind revealing some exciting inside info on his "Hunger Games" grooming regimen when he sat down with us to talk about his role in the first film (that beard? Two hours of maintenance every day. TWO. HOURS.) But when it comes to spilling any other secrets about Seneca Crane or the movie's incredible settings, Wes is seriously tight-lipped. About the location itself, he'd only say that he was as psyched as all the rest of us to see what the production team had put together:
"I was curious to get on set and see what was going on. It was a secret for everybody, so to get on and see what the look was—I was just excited to be a part of it every day."
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Tags Hunger Games, Video, Wes Bentley
The kids are all right, you guys—just look at all the marvelous people they honored with nominations for the Kids Choice Awards this year! Lots of our favorite folks, flicks and reading material made the cut, proving once and for all that being underage doesn't mean you can't appreciate the finer points of pop culture. Which crushworthy celebs scored a nod from the kid-cademy? Who will be up for a sliming come March 31? Drum roll, please, and...
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart all got noms for Favorite Actor (or Actress) honors—plus, there was an extra show of support for Taylor Lautner as Best Buttkicker. (Did Taylor kick a butt this year? We were too busy looking at his abs to worry about what his feet were up to.) And Selena Gomez and Miranda Cosgrove are both in the running for fave TV actress. And, shockingly, Justin Bieber got a nomination for Favorite Musician!
...Okay, just kidding, that's not shocking at all. But congrats, Biebs. They love you!
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Tags "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Hunger Games, Justin Bieber, Kids' Choice Awards, Kristen Stewart, Miranda Cosgrove, Selena Gomez, Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Just three short months ago, we sat down for a revealing personal interview with the most talked-about up-and-coming star of "The Hunger Games": Bearderson "Beardie" McBeard, whose appearance on Wes Bentley's face in the trailer set off a veritable storm of fandom and no small number of internet memes. But, alas, it looks like Beardie has moved on to bigger and better things, because when Wes showed up for a chat with MTV News' Josh Horowitz, his famous facial hair was nowhere to be found.
For which Wes immediately apologized: "I would have loved to have kept that beard, but that beard took two hours to groom every day, and I don't want to spend that much time in the bathroom."
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Tags Hunger Games, Seneca Crane's beard, Video, Wes Bentley
If you thought you caught a moment of the macabre in Taylor Swift's new video for "Safe & Sound," you're dead right: turns out, a healthy part of the filming process took place in a historic cemetery. (Hey, "dead right"! Get it? Get it?! ...Ow, stop hitting us!) And when Taylor sat down for a chat with MTV, she was quick to tell us how meaningful that graveyard scene was.
"That's one of my favorite moments in the video," she said. "There's this wide shot where I'm just crumpled up, sitting on a gravestone. And it's actually the grave site of a couple who lived, and died, in 1853."
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Tags Hunger Games, Hunger Games Soundtrack, MTV First: Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Video
Take a good look, "Hunger Games" fans, because the playlist that'll make your life is officially here! The rundown of tracks from the "The Hunger Games" companion album has been released, and with a lineup of amazing songs by incredible artists, there's no doubt that this musical medley from District 12 (out March 20) will be on continuous playback just as soon as we can get our hands on it.
As expected, we've got a clear country influence at work in the music from the movie: the album is bursting with twang! We already knew we'd be hearing from Taylor Swift and Neko Case, The Secret Sisters and Arcade Fire, but there are a couple names that weren't leaked in advance—Kid Cudi, Miranda Lambert and even an appearance by noted Appalachian folksters the Carolina Chocolate Drops. And with the full track list just below, feel free to get guessing about which part of the story inspired these song titles! The album lineup is as follows:
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Tags Arcade Fire, Birdy, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ella Mae Bowen, Glen Hansard, Hunger Games, Hunger Games Soundtrack, Jayme Dee, Kid Cudi, Miranda Lambert, Neko Case, Punch Brothers, Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, The Decemberists, The Low Anthem, The Secret Sisters
It was hard to think about anything last night but the haunting, gorgeous debut of Taylor Swift's "Safe & Sound" video...but somewhere in between watching that amazing end-of-the-world lullaby on continuous repeat, MTV did find the time to chat with Taylor herself about the process of penning the song and about the books that started it all. And one of the best questions came straight from a fan on Twitter, who asked: What would Taylor's strategy be if she found herself in the real-life "Hunger Games"?
Turns out, Taylor is just like all the rest of us in that she's already asked herself the same question plenty of times: "I've thought about this, because reading the books, you're so sucked into it that as you go about your life," she said. "You sit there, and you're like, 'Could I climb that tree?' 'Could I make a weapon out of this?' 'If I had to forage for food, what would I do?'"
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Tags Hunger Games, Hunger Games Soundtrack, Taylor Swift, Video
It's time to enter the Arena with Taylor Swift. The country cutie is here at MTV to premiere the music video for her "Hunger Games" soundtrack song, "Safe and Sound," a soulful, melancholy collaboration with The Civil Wars (co-written with score producer T-Bone Burnett).
But the first look at the clip isn't all we have in store tonight. Following the sneak peek, the songstress will be hanging out with our own Sway Calloway for 30 minutes to answer your burning questions about all things Panem, her upcoming projects and more!
It all catches fire at 7:54 p.m. ET. So grab a hunk of Peeta bread to nibble on, take a seat and click play at the golden hour to be "Safe and Sound" with Taylor Swift.
Tags Hunger Games, Hunger Games Soundtrack, MTV First: Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Video
