‘Hunger Games’ L.A. Premiere: Cast, Crew Express Solidarity With Paris

The Mockingjay’s final flight landed in Los Angeles Monday night at the premiere of the last Hunger Games film.

The event for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 was already set to be a somber affair after the deadly attacks on Paris on Friday. On Sunday, Lionsgate made the decision to cancel interviews on the red carpet after the terrorist attacks killed more than 129 people.

Still, hundreds of fans came out to the event, held at the Microsoft Square at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. Stars such as Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth wore special ribbons in the colors of the French flag pinned to their outfits with the defiant mockingjay pin badge made famous by the franchise.

Earlier, Elizabeth Banks tweeted out a picture of the ribbon with the words: “Our hearts are with you France where we have so many amazing fans.”

The stars greeted fans, signing plenty of autographs and posing on the red carpet before heading into the theater for the premiere.

Before the screening, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer took to the stage for some brief words. He talked about how some scenes for the film were shot in Paris, and they’d recently had a premiere there.

“Tonight, as we celebrate our movie and salute our filmmakers, we want to express our solidarity with the brave people of Paris and share our sympathy for their grieving,” he said. “We stand with them tonight.”

Feltheimer then turned his attention back to the YA franchise — which spans four movies, and 3,700 hours of filming. “Tonight we come full circle back to Los Angeles, where it all began,” he said to the crowd.

He then introduced Mockingjay director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson, who took the stage to thank the cast of the film, which included Lawrence, Hemsworth, Hutcherson, Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland and Jena Malone.

Suzanne Collins, who wrote The Hunger Games books, got an especially loud applause when she took the stage. “Suzanne, thank you. Without you none of us would be here together tonight,” said Francis Lawrence. “Thank you for your stories, and your patience with us, and your guidance.”

After the screening of the film, which followed Katniss Everdeen as she went up against the corrupt government of Panem, the stars and other attendees enjoyed an afterparty at the rooftop of Event Deck. As with the previous L.A. premieres, the Hunger Games went all out. The crowd was greeted by drummers, and guided into a tent that was designed to look like President Snow’s mansion.

Inside, models dressed as members of the Capitol roamed around, while the entire tent was bathed in a red light, and hundreds of red roses. A replica of Snow’s greenhouse stood in the center, with only white roses and white carpet inside.

Groups of fans circled around several of the stars, including Sutherland, Sam Claflin and Willow Shields, who stuck around for the party. The L.A. stop is the second-to-last premiere event for the film (there is one more stop in New York) after the cast previously held premieres in London, Berlin, Paris and Spain.

Francis Lawrence spent time chatting in the back of the vast event space, greeting both crew and Lionsgate executives, along with plenty of fans.

“Thank you so much for your passion, your love, your loyalty,” he told the fans before the movie started. “You’ve been with us from the beginning and you’ve been nothing but supportive. This night is for you.”

Related Stories

Related Story

'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2': Film Review