Hunger Games Goodness: Lawrence Speaks PLUS A Muppets Mash-Up

It seems we can't go a day without new buzz about The Hunger Games hitting the net. But we don't mind in the slightest. 

Particularly not when the buzz is this good. 

Firstly, director Gary Ross and star Jennifer Lawrence have been chatting to the lucky people at SFX about the all-important action scenes we'll be seeing in the movie. And we're pleased to hear that Miss Lawrence was dedicated when it came to getting Katniss' skills just right. 

 "Jen did a lot of what’s called free running, which is an interior Parkour course with vaulting over boxes, running along beams and climbing over boxes, which are skills she would need in the forest," revealed Ross. 

"She had a lot of agility training where she got incredibly good at things like tumbling rolls. The [Arena] fire sequence was a combination of practical and CG elements. We actually had practical fire that Jen is interacting with and running from with fireballs and everything." 

"The action and the physical endurance that it takes… that’s real," added Lawrence. 

"If I look exhausted in the movie, that’s definitely real! There’s a very intense fight scene with a 14-year-old girl who had been training – well, all of us had been training in stunts and hand-to-hand combat, but I guess she had been training longer than I had been. And she unleashed! I was like, ‘It’s a scene!’ She beat the hell out of me! I was shaking like a chihuahua every time they called action: ‘Please, no!’" 

We're not sure we could face free running and a beating from over-enthusiastic 14-year-old actresses - at least not without a lot of booze at the end of the ordeal - so we have nothing but admiration for Jen's commitment. 

But here's the really good stuff. 

The Muppets might have triumphed at the box office, but they're unrelenting when it comes to their absolutely excellent marketing campaign. 

 Remember all those parody trailers? Well, here's one more. 

Amazeballs.

The Hunger Games hits cinemas on 23 March, 2012.

Avengers Assemble: Whedon's Hulk Will Be "An Extension Of Banner"

We might be insanely excited about The Avengers… or Avengers Assemble… or whatever we're calling it these days. But it's fair to say that we're a little nervous about seeing yet another incarnation of the Hulk on screen.

Will Whedon's version of the Green Goliath be better than its predecessors?

Fear not, Marvel fans, for Joss 'The Great' is determined to get Bruce Banner's alter ego just right.

In an interview with SFX, the director revealed his Hulk will be "a Bruce Banner who’s not obsessed with his own problems.

"A Hulk who not only feels flesh and blood, but is clearly an extension of Banner himself and not just a CGI thing that roars. A Hulk who feels dangerous, who might actually hurt someone we care about, who belongs in a classic horror film. And much more.

"He’s the hardest character by far, and ended up being the most fun," said Whedon, adding that Mark Ruffalo is perfect for the role.

"Mark is such a delightful mensch it’s stupid," he added. "His Banner is a bunch of contradictions: graceful and awkward, meek and confident, erudite and working class, funny and sad. And contradictions are what the Banner/Hulk dynamic are all about. Also, Mark kinda looks like the Hulk. So we got to build our Hulk from him."

He also revealed that he'd love to bring pretty much every Avengers character to the big screen… except for one. Wonder Man.

"I never did figure out what he was for," Whedon explained.

Us neither, to be honest. Good call.

Avengers Assemble hits UK screens on 27 April 2012.

Stewart's Snow White "Can Kick Ass"

Let's be honest. Kristen Stewart might be a decent actress, but her mopey portrayal of Bella Swan in the Twilight movies doesn't fill us with confidence when it comes to picturing her as a tough cookie in upcoming fantasy flick, Snow White And The Huntsman. 

But the star says we're going to see her step up to the challenge in this dark and twisted version of the fairy tale. 

 In an interview with SFX, Stewart revealed that her Snow White is "a born leader". 

 "I mean, it’s literally pumping through those veins, but it’s been taken from her. She was put away when she was seven years old and her mother and her father were killed basically right in front of her," she explained. 

"And we’re not doing the version of a fairytale that wouldn’t deal with all of those things, where you just sort of skim over all those things. It’s like all of these things are actually really important to the characters.

"She bleeds for her land and her people, and that’s just such a cool concept for me because it’s other people caring about people. I mean, she’s strong. She can kick ass. I think she genuinely lacks that innate fear of death that we all have. She’s got serious, fierce survival, not skills but insights. But she isn’t afraid of anything." 

Suddenly, we're a little more excited to see this film. 

Snow White And The Hunstman is released in the UK on 1 June.

Doctor Who: Karen Gillan Promises Strong Exit

Doctor Who star Karen Gillan reckons her exit from the show later this year will have a big impact on fans.

Well, you didn't think Amy Pond was going to bow out quietly, did you?

"If I do something, I want to just do it," she told Collider. "I just feel that it's a stronger impact, and I like to go with my instincts because it's more exciting."

Gillan added that she did not want to know the circumstances of her character Amy's exit until it was absolutely necessary.

"I wanted to keep it a surprise, for as long as possible," she explained. "[To help] keep the excitement in there."

She also praised Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat for writing such a "strong female" in Amy.

"A lot of stuff is clearly written from a male perspective and the women aren't quite as fleshed out as the guys," she suggested. "Whereas this character is really well-written. I just hope I get to do more of that."

The actress, who is set to leave the show mid-way through its seventh series, has also declared that she will not return for cameo appearances, meaning - dare we say it? - we could see her character killed off.

*Sob* - it just doesn't bear thinking about.

Doctor Who will return to BBC One in the autumn.

Joe Gilgun Teases Misfits Series 4

There are big changes afoot for the fourth series of one of our favourite shows - not least, the three new reprobates set to join the cast.

But one thing is certain to stay the same - Joe Gilgun's simply brilliant performance as Rudy.

Yay!

The actor told CultBox that the new episodes will have a "fresh outlook".

"I'm really looking forward to it, and I'm also mildly terrified of it, 'cos there's a lot of work involved, but it's such a good laugh when you're doing it," he explained.

"I'm looking forward to [the next series] 'cos there's going to be some new characters and I think that's a really good thing," said Gilgun. "[It'll give the show] a fresh outlook."

The series will return to E4 in late 2012.

Sneak Peek! John Carter: The First 10 Minutes

We haven't quite made up our minds about John Carter. Is it the first big blockbuster of 2012… or simply a lacklustre adaptation of a classic novel? 

But this 10 minute scene from the movie might just change our minds. 

And not just because Taylor Kitsch is quite the cutie. 

The opening scenes establish our hero, a Civil War-era confederate soldier, and sets up the film's premise as he finds himself transported to Mars - another planet in the grip of civil war. 

Unfortunately, what we don't get to see enough of is the effects upon which the movie will surely heavily rely as, due to Mars' lower gravity, Carter finds himself something of a superhero, though early reviews indicate that the quality of the CGI isn't something we have to worry about. 

John Carter will be in 2D and 3D cinemas on March 9, 2012.

The Cabin In The Woods: New Trailer

We've heard nothing but praise for Joss 'The Great' Whedon's upcoming horror movie The Cabin In The Woods, so we're extremely excited to see it hit cinemas next month. 

According to people we know what have seen it, the less known about the film - which stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz and Jesse Williams as a group of friends who go to a remote cabin in the woods where bad things happen - the better, so we'll say nothing more. 

But yeah, go watch it. 

The Cabin In The Woods hits cinemas on April 13th.

It's All Over For Terra Nova

The executives in charge of series evolution at Fox have decided that Terra Nova will be headed for an Extinction Level Event.

The show, which saw Steven Spielberg among its executive producers, was tipped to be the sci-fi TV series of the year, a roaring success ('scuse the pun), but unfortunately after just one series, it seems that the audience disagrees.

In our opinion the show was engaging at times, but didn't contain nearly enough dinosaurs and focused too heavily around teenage drama than real action. Jurassic Park it was not.

The show cost around £100 million to make just 13 episodes, making it the most expensive TV series in history! If only they'd thought more about the plot than the CG, then they might have been on to something.

Shelly Conn, who played heartthrob Jason O'Mara's wife, stated in a recent interview "We're so invested that it would break my heart if we didn't get another chance at this. "I just think everybody's worked so hard and we've created something that deserves to be continued."

So that's all folks, no more Terra Nova. What a wasted opportunity.

Men In Black 3: First Full-Length Trailer Released

So far, we've only had a teeny tiny taste of what's in store for Will Smith's upcoming Men In Black threequel. 

But now, the first full trailer has hit the net… and it's taking us back in time as Smith's Agent J heads to the 60s to team up with Agent K's younger self (Josh Brolin) to uncover the mystery of his future disappearance and save the world from a huge alien threat. 

Of course, the storyline has geeks across the interweb wondering quite how MIB 3 will deal with the paradox that sort of undoes the first two films, but we're happy to ignore that and look forward to what will hopefully be some good old-fashioned cinematic silliness. 

The theme tune's going to be in our heads all night now... 

Men In Black 3 hits cinemas on 25 May, 2012.

New Game Of Thrones Trailer Lands. Is Awesome.

"Power is a curious thing…" 

So opens the incredibly dramatic new trailer for the second season of Game Of Thrones, rather appropriately set to the awesome Florence + The Machine tune, Seven Devils. 

And it's enough to send shivers up our collective spine. 

Wow, we love this show. 

Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 1, and to Sky Atlantic in the UK on April 2.