Click here to see our photo gallery from the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunger Games.
The night of March 12 marked a milestone in Los Angeles. It was the night The Hunger Games hype outshined teen behemoth Twilight as the stars took to the red carpet at L.A.’s Nokia Theater to premiere the action-packed young adult adaptation. Our Box Office expert, Paul Dergarabedian, was on the scene, and luckily for us, he delivered all the details on Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth on their big night:
It was total hysteria at the premiere. Not since the Twilight premiere have I seen such enthusiasm. From screaming girls holding up signs that said “Marry me, Josh [Hutcherson]” to the loud screams reminiscent of a Beatles concert during the arrivals, the whole affair had a circus atmosphere.
It was truly funny (and somewhat surreal) to see 13-year-old girls screaming “Donald!” at octogenarian (and great actor) Donald Sutherland.
Also striking and heartwarming was how all the actors ran across the street to greet the fans (who had camped out all night) to shake hands and sign autographs; you could tell that the younger actors were truly appreciative of their faithful and adoring fans.
At Nokia/LA Live they have the most enormous horseshoe-shaped press line and inside that area it was pandemonium for two straight hours as the press clamored to get interviews with the cast and crew of the movie. Even Peter Facinelli (Twilight: Breaking Dawn) was there, as well as Sylvester Stallone thus adding to the surreal nature of the proceedings.
Jennifer Lawrence was wearing a long, shiny gold slinky dress that made her look very elegant and Elizabeth Banks was wearing a bright orange mini dress that was very eye-catching. Of course, they both really stood out when they got out of their respective limos.
Once inside the theater the flaming Mockingjay logo was on-screen and the movie (as is custom) did not start at the official time of 7:30 p.m., but at around 8:15. Director Gary Ross came up and introduced the main cast and the audience went nuts, screaming and applauding for their new heroes. Lawrence pretended to trip on her long dress walking across the stage and that got a big laugh. Finally, it was showtime and the movie finally started to thunderous applause.
That’s all for now, folks! Check back next week for a full review of The Hunger Games.
