Comic-Con: ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ star Jennifer Lawrence shines

Comic-Con: ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ star Jennifer Lawrence shines

A cast of six actors took the stage to talk about “The Hunger Games” sequel “Catching Fire” at Hall H Saturday, including rock star Lenny Kravitz, but it was Jennifer Lawrence that the 6,500 fans were most excited to see. The newly anointed Oscar winner who plays heroine Katniss Everdeen was her usual mixture of honesty and self-deprecating humor as she and her cast mates debuted the “Catching Fire” trailer for the first time to raucous applause. The young adult adaptation followed a sneak peak of Stuart Beattie’s new film “I, Frankenstein,” which stars Aaron Eckhart as a modernized version of the monster originally created by author Mary Shelley. Eckhart took the stage with co-star Yvonne Strahovski (who plays an electro-physicist), Beattie and graphic novelist Kevin Grevioux. FULL COVERAGE: San Diego Comic-Con 2013 “This is the next chapter of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,” said Beattie, best known as the screenwriter behind “Australia” and “G.I. Joe.” “Our story begins where hers ends — you see Adam (Eckhart) carrying his father’s body out to the cemetery. It’s very much Mary Shelley’s character done in a modern-day setting.” Eckhart, who had to learn the art of Filipino Kali stick fighting, found the update very relatable. “We’ve stayed true to Shelley. Frankenstein is looking for love, purpose in his life, how he fits in,” said Eckhart. He’s looking for community. It’s something we can all relate to.” PHOTOS: Katniss and Peeta in ‘Catching Fire’ posters With the first “Hunger Games” movie becoming the 13th highest grossing film ever, it’s clear that who the audience really relates to is Everdeen, the reluctant heroine of the story who becomes a leader of a repressed society. Now under the guidance of director Francis Lawrence (“Water for Elephants”), who took over the directing duties from “Hunger Games” director Gary Ross, the second film in the planned four-movie series will return Katniss to the arena after she’s tried adjusting to her new life back in District 12 — this time as a victor. “She’s struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after the games while living in Victor’s Village, where she never wants for food, and feels useless. She’s adapting to a new life,” Lawrence said of her character’s evolution. Lawrence and co-star Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark, her fellow victor and complicated love interest, dominated the panel with a playful banter that the crowd loved. It’s a friendship that co-star Jeffrey Wright, who plays Beetee in the film, remarked on: “They have a language all their own. Half the time we didn’t know what they were talking about but that chemistry you seen on screen is reflected in their friendship.” The relationship was evident specifically when the two were describing a kissing scene between them that involved a lot of tears, and unfortunately, a lot of snot and slobber being exchanged during the process. “The kissing scenes are going to be really hot, if you’re into snot,” said Lawrence with a laugh. Lawrence also regaled the crowd with the challenges involved in reprising her role as Katniss. “Wearing the wedding dress was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life,” said Lawrence about the voluminous gown that was five feet wide in circumference. “I’m not good at walking, as you know,” she joked in reference to falling when she walked up to receive an award during the this year’s Oscar race. The actress also did a lot of basic running training because in her mind she runs “weird.” “Running and trying not to hit myself in the face with my bow, those were my two greatest challenges,” she said.



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Boston Strong: Aerosmith, James Taylor, J. Geils Band Anchor All-Star Concert

 Boston Strong: Aerosmith, James Taylor, J. Geils Band Anchor All-Star Concert

The city of Boston is known for many things – its revolutionary history and higher education, its trophies and ground balls between the legs, its provincial past and progressive future. After this year's Boston Marathon, the city has also been recognized for its collective pride and resiliency, which were celebrated in unique fashion yesterday at the Boston Strong benefit at the TD Garden for the victims of the marathon bombings. Beginning with guitarist Tom Scholz's molten, Hendrix-style "Star-Spangled Banner" and ending with an enthusiastically absurd all-star singalong of the garage-rock anthem "Dirty Water," a parade of townie hall of famers from the worlds of rock and pop, comedy and sports took the stage to honor the victims and the first responders. Scholz's band, Boston – once, for you youngsters, the biggest rock band on the planet – came out of mothballs to set a breakneck pace from the starting line, and Aerosmith wrapped up nearly five hours later with an all-hands-on-deck encore that included, aptly, their version of "Come Together." Musicians Respond to Boston Marathon Bombing In between, emotions teetered from full-hearted to "Fuck yeah!" The J. Geils Band finished a rowdy half-hour set that recalled their working-class, pre-MTV heyday with the harmonica romp "Whammer Jammer" and the classic roof-raiser "(Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party." Dropkick Murphys, a late addition, closed their four-song set with a deafening singalong to their pirate anthem "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," which featured the strangely moving sight of the New Kids on the Block – now there's two sides of the city's musical identity – surging onstage in spangled Boston Bruins jerseys. Bostonians are fiercely, famously protective of their own, and their own culture; as comedian Steve Sweeney, a local legend, said before introducing the Geils Band, when people ask, "How you doin'?," locals are liable to reply, "Mind your own goddamn business, you nosy bastard!" As he laid on the accent thick ("gawwwd-damn!"), the arena shook with self-aware laughter. But the city has become much more inclusive in recent years, and the Boston Marathon attacks have made that clear. Host Matt Siegel, a longtime local radio personality, drew a rising wave of roars as he listed the people for whom the benefit was organized, from the wounded and the rescue workers to the runners, the shopkeepers along the race route and "the beautiful, sweet people who created that incredible memorial in Copley Square." Richard Blanco, the poet who read at Barack Obama's second inauguration, brought the Garden to a hush with an evocative new poem written for the event. Promoter Don Law invited a few honorary Bostonians onto the bill, including his close friend Jimmy Buffett (who noted that "sometimes patriots come from pirate stock") and the hard-edged country star Jason Aldean, a close buddy of several Red Sox. His "Dirt Road Anthem" rap about watching out "for the boys in blue" drew hoots of recognition from the cluster of MIT police officers in attendance to honor Sean Collier, their colleague who was killed by the bombing suspects a few days after the marathon. (Aldean, the cops told Rolling Stone, was one of Collier's favorite artists.) Sportscaster Chris Berman, on hand as a presenter alongside football legends Doug Flutie and Tedy Bruschi, noted that on the drive up from Connecticut he "took the Turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston." The man who wrote that sweet nostalgia, the born healer James Taylor, shared the stage with old pal Carole King, and together they brought the love. King, seated at a grand piano, took the lead on her own "So Far Away," then joined a group of backing singers as Taylor led them on "Shower the People" and "How Sweet It Is." "We should do this more often," King said before the pair concluded their set, inevitably, with "You've Got a Friend." "Well, they'll take your soul if you let them," sang Taylor, pointing to the audience, big bunches of whom were swaying arm in arm. "Don't you let them." Through the night, the mood was lightened by some of Boston's best-known comedians, including a slimmed-down Lenny Clarke, who blustered hilariously in a pair of bright yellow pants; and the sublime Steven Wright, who made the most of his three minutes with a deadpan fusillade of surreal jokes ("I have two pairs of glasses, one for fiction and one for non-fiction. I read the Bible twice, once with each pair"). The reunited New Kids on the Block, whom Donnie Wahlberg acknowledged were not especially well-liked by the city's hard-rock fans 25 years ago, were as warmly received as the rest of the acts, and they repaid the favor with surprise appearances by their New Jack Swing-era contemporaries Bell Biv Devoe (in matching Sox hats) and Boyz II Men (in matching Celtics jerseys). New Kid Joey McIntyre pointed out that he'd finished the marathon in 3:57, just 10 minutes before the bombs went off. "It sounds like a cliché, but I'm telling you, love conquers all," he said, his voice cracking. "Love crushes hate, every single time!" An hour or so later, Steven Tyler and his little band of roosters put the finishing touches on a night to remember. Noting (as did many other performers) how cool it was for them to share the stage with Carole King – her classic "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was "the first song I ever sucked face to," he said – he shook off the grog of the band's flight in from Singapore with a mini greatest-hits set ("Sweet Emotion," "Dream On") followed by the all-star encore. Buffett, Flutie, the New Kids, Dane Cook and the rest of the motley crew belted out the lyrics to the Standells' ode to this city by the banks of the river Charles. "I'm gonna tell you a big fat story, baby," they all sang lustily. It was about their town.


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