As promised I made caps of the TV Guide clip since it finally showed up in HD

“Is it violent?” says director Gary Ross of his PG-13 film. “Yes. Do we back off from what it is? No, we don’t.”

The March 23 release of The Hunger Games is nearly upon us. While we can’t make clock turn any faster, we can offer fans of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling dystopian trilogy (and newcomers, too) a deep, behind-the-scenes look into the making of the film, from conception to casting, filming to marketing.

Perhaps no bit of casting news was met with greater surprise than Lenny Kravitz taking on the role of Cinna, hero Katniss Everdeen’s deeply cool and compassionate stylist. Kravitz was working on his album, living out of a trailer in the Bahamas and oblivious to the Hunger Games phenomenon, when Ross first approached him to offer him the part. The director had been moved by the musician’s gentle grace in Precious and was further intrigued by the fact that Kravitz already felt a nurturing bond with star Jennifer Lawrence, who had become close friends with his daughter Zoe during the filming of X-Men. “I love that girl,” says Kravitz. “The minute I met her she became a part of the family.”

It took one sleepless night of reading a downloaded version of The Hunger Games in his trailer for Kravitz to commit. But Woody Harrelson, who initially turned down the role of Katniss and Peeta’s sodden wreck of a mentor Haymitch, was a harder sell. “Listen, I’m nuts,” he explains. “It was just a stupid thing where I hadn’t read the books yet. I didn’t see that there was enough for me to do in the script. But then Gary called me back and said ‘You got to do this, I don’t have a second choice for the role.’ And of course flattery always gets the best of me so I read the books and really saw the depths of this guy. Holy s—, I would have been bummed to miss this.”

The Hunger Games Cast Members at Dallas Galleria
Josh Hutercherson (Peeta), Isabelle Fuhrman (Clove) and Jacqueline Emerson (Foxface) from the new film The Hunger Games will be appearing at the Dallas Galleria Hot Topic located at 13350 Noel Road, Dallas, TX 75240 on Thursday, March 8th at 4:30 PM! HT+1 Members can purchase $25 of The Hunger Games merch at the Dallas Galleria Hot Topic location and receive a wristband** that guarantees the opportunity to meet the cast on March 8th. Need more info? Then call the Dallas Galleria Hot Topic at 972.385.8035.

Plus, join us in the center court afterwards for a cast Q&A session that’s open to the public!

Note: This event is an HT+1 Member Exclusive!* Not an HT+1 Member? That’s okay. Click here to sign up and start taking advantage of all the great benefits!

The Hunger Games Cast Members at Fox Valley Mall
Josh Hutercherson (Peeta), Isabelle Fuhrman (Clove) and Jacqueline Emerson (Foxface) from the new film The Hunger Games will be appearing at the Fox Valley Mall Hot Topic located at 2400 Fox Valley Center, Aurora, IL 60504 on Wednesday, March 7th at 4:30 PM! HT+1 Members can purchase $25 of The Hunger Games merch at the Fox Valley Mall Hot Topic location and receive a wristband** that guarantees the opportunity to meet the cast on March 7th. Need more info? Then call the Fox Valley Mall Hot Topic at 630.236.6970.

Plus, join us in the center court afterwards for a cast Q&A session that’s open to the public!

Note: This event is an HT+1 Member Exclusive!* Not an HT+1 Member? That’s okay. Click here to sign up and start taking advantage of all the great benefits!

Poor Josh!

NEXT MEGA STAR

Every once and awhile there’s a new star that catapults into an unpredicted orbit. Whether it’s from a small part in a blockbuster, a reoccurring character on a sitcom, or an under-the-radar role in an independent feature, some new talent’s going to have a breakout role to remember. But Hollywood has already proved a successful launch pad for these nominees. Who’s destined for intergalactic stardom?

Josh Hutcherson

He was great in ‘The Kids Are All Right’ and has the ‘Red Dawn’ remake on the horizon, but expect this teen to make R. Patz like waves with his role as Peeta in ‘The Hunger Games.’

VOTE

Jennifer Lawrence beat out scores of young actresses for the kick-ass lead role of Katniss Everdeen in this month’s The Hunger Games (and landed at number one on your hottest-celebs list). In her interview with Willa Paskin, she tells us whose team (Gale or Peeta) she’s really on, whose death in the movie hit her the hardest and why she can’t stand it when actors complain. Read on for a sneak peek!

The Kentucky-born Lawrence, who was nominated for an Academy Award last year for her gritty work in Winter’s Bone, knows that her life is about to change. Big-time. The Hunger Games is being heralded as the next Twilight, with all of the box office expectations that entails. But instead of vampires, this story has a fight-to-the-death reality show, political conspiracies and the brutal deaths of small children. In other words, Lawrence isn’t just playing the next Bella Swan; she’s also playing the next Jason Bourne.

In the weeks leading up to the release of the film, Lawrence, who laughs often and quickly—at herself as much as everything else—has intentionally been taking it easy, hanging out with her friends, surfing, going grocery shopping and mentally preparing for what’s to come. May the odds be ever in her favor.

GLAMOUR: So, are you ready?
JENNIFER LAWRENCE: I feel like I’m in the eye of the hurricane right now. I just recently started cleaning like I’m insane, and I’m starting to think it’s my anxiety over the movie. I think it’s a bit like, “I’m just cleaning the refrigerator handle. The movie’s not coming out. I’m going to clean it spotless, and then my life will not change.” It’s just scary. I feel like I got a ticket to go to another planet and I’m moving there and there’s no turning back, and I don’t know if I’m going to like that other planet or have friends there. It’s daunting.

GLAMOUR: But you thought about all of this before you took the job, right?
JENNIFER LAWRENCE: I gave myself three days. I knew from reading the books that I loved The Hunger Games. I just didn’t know if it was worth changing my life for. I’m at a peaceful place right now. The people who used to ignore me at parties, now they’re nice to me and kissing my ass. But nobody’s staked outside of my house. I wanted to make sure that when I said yes, I wouldn’t regret it. And I don’t regret it. I would have said no because I was scared, and then I would have been that bitter actress telling my grandkids, “I’m the one that turned it down.”

GLAMOUR: Being very famous does seem crazy-making….
JENNIFER LAWRENCE: In some ways, it’s a hard life, but it’s a great professional life. I’m doing what I love, and then I get months and months of rest. I have a lot of money for a 21-year-old. I can’t stand it when actors complain.

To read our full interview with Jennifer Lawrence, pick up a copy of Glamour’s April issue, on newsstands March 6, 2012. Plus, don’t miss Jennifer Lawrence’s cover-shoot photo gallery.

I added some scans and outtakes from Jennifer’s Glamour US cover shoot to the gallery. I will be adding HQ scans as soon as I get the magazine.