Amandla Stenberg Talks About The Lullaby Scene in ‘The Hunger Games’

Time Out Chicago Kids interviewed Amandla Stenberg recently about her as Rue in the Hunger Games and the emotional lullaby scene with Rue and Katniss.

When did you first read The Hunger Games?
I read the books about a year ago, when I was in seventh grade. All the kids in my class were reading them and talking about how good they were, so I thought, “Hey I should try them.” I just tore through them because they’re just so good. I fell in love with Rue right away. I love how musical she is, and how quick and smart she is.

What was your audition like?
To get prepared, my mom took some of my clothes and rolled them in the backyard to get grass stains all over them, and we put twigs in my hair. Gary Ross, the director, was very impressed. He said I had my own hair, makeup and wardrobe department.

What else did you do to convince him you could be Rue?
I just discussed how much I connected with the character. I also told them how I’ve done parkour work, so I have some tree-jumping skills.

Did you do any of the stuntwork in the movie?
I did some stuff. I didn’t have to do any of the hard-core stuff, but I got strapped in my custom harness. I flew around the room and jumped from tree to tree. I loved being in the harness because I felt like Peter Pan. We have some cool scenes where I’m up in the trees with Jennifer.

There’s a key scene in the book where Katniss sings Rue a lullaby. Some readers have been so inspired by that passage, they’ve written their own melodies and uploaded the song to YouTube. What can you tell us about that scene?
On that day [of filming], I actually had the honor of meeting Suzanne Collins, the author. That was incredible. We talked about the scene and how Rue is trying to be brave for Katniss.… It’s really so important to everyone who worked on the movie that it stays true to the books, so that the fans are really happy with it.

It’s neat that you make music, which is Rue’s favorite thing.
I come from a very musical family. My dad taught me to play guitar. I play violin and drums as well.Violin, I started in elementary school. Drums actually came when I was in a program called Rock Star, which was really awesome. We were doing a song by the Ramones, so I thought, “Why not play the drums?”

What would you like to do in the future? Acting, music or both?
I’m not sure. I love all kinds of art. I mean, I love sketching and acting and music. There are so many doors open to me, I could go in any direction.

I guarantee there will not be one dry eye in the theater  when Katniss sings the lullaby to Rue.  I may be full out sobbing during that scene.

via Amandla StenbergFB

Behind The Scenes Video Seventeen Magazine ‘Hunger Games’ Photo Shoot!

Cambio has a behind the scenes video of Amandla Stenberg (Rue), Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen), Jacqueline Emerson (Foxface), Isabelle Fuhrman (Clove) and Leven Rambin (Glimmer) at their Spring Demin photo shoot Seventeen Magazine!

LOVE THIS!!

Amandla Stenberg Talks Suzanne Collins and Prepping for Her Role as Rue

Publisher’s Weekly writer Karen Springen sat down with 13-year-old Amandla Stenberg to have speaks about her character, meeting Suzanne Collins, and her thoughts about the cast and movie.

(Keep your wits about you – Potential Spoilers Ahead!)

Was Rue your favorite character when you were reading?

Rue and Foxface were my favorite characters, probably because they’re not necessarily bad. I loved Rue because of how musical and sweet she is. Now that I’ve read the book a few times, I actually like the character Clove a lot. She’s very skilled with how she can throw knives. And everyone loves Katniss!

What did you do to get into character and make yourself feel like Rue?

For my audition, I went to Gary’s house. To get prepared, I dressed up like Rue. I wore khakis and a T-shirt, and my mom had rolled around my clothes in the dirt before. And we put twigs in my hair and leaves all over me, and stains were all over my clothes. And I had a little wreath of flowers in my pocket that I thought Rue might have. That was in my pocket as good luck, and also a special rock. Those were my little tokens I thought Rue would have.

How many days was Suzanne Collins on set? And did she give you any pointers on Rue?

She was there for two days in the middle of shooting. It was so amazing to meet her – the creator of all this. We were doing a very traumatic scene, and I was kind of bawling my eyes out. I wasn’t quite sure if this was how Suzanne Collins imagined the scene. And so I talked to her, and she told me just that Rue was trying to be very strong for Katniss. She wanted Katniss to go on, so she tried to be very brave for Katniss. That was very helpful.

Did Suzanne know you were a huge Hunger Games fan before you were cast?

Yes, I told her how much I loved her writing! I’m so glad I had the honor of meeting her. She was very sweet and wrote a note in my book thanking me for my work in the movie. A lot of the other cast members signed it as well. We were signing each other’s copies like yearbooks.

How do you think fans will feel about the film?

I think fans will be very, very pleased with the movie. I know from what I’ve shot and from what I’ve seen, it really stays true to what I thought of the book. It really embodies the feel of the book, and it keeps what is really important in the book about Katniss’s emotions and her survival. That’s really important. They did a fantastic job bringing that to life. Everyone involved is very concerned that the fans are happy with it and that they enjoy it.

I love this girl! She’s so mature and sweet, and has such enthusiasm for her character and the “Hunger Games” series…

Which is only going to make Rue’s death scene that much harder to watch. –sigh-

Who else is going to be stocking up on Kleenex the next few months to prepare for this movie?

Read more of Amandla Stenberg’s interview at Publisher’s Weekly.

Amandla Stenberg Talks to ‘E Online’ About ‘The Hunger Games’ – Possible Spoiler

E Online caught up with Amandla (Rue) on the red carpet, for the Breaking Dawn premiere, and talked to her about The Hunger Games, in particular the filming of her death scene.

“Oh, it’s a very tragic scene, but it was actually really fun to do, because I had a lot of fun with Jen [Jennifer Lawrence]…I think my death was actually pretty fun.”

“Jen is fantastic, and she’s super funny, so I had so much fun with her,” Amandla giggled.

[E Online]

Jacqueline Emerson & Amandla Stenberg at the ‘Breaking Dawn Part 1′ Premiere After Party!

Jacqueline Emerson (Foxface) and Amandla Stenberg (Rue) at the Breaking Dawn Part 1 premiere last night in Los Angeles, California.   They look so cute!  Love their smiles!

[Source: Zimbio]

Jackie Emerson and Amandla Stenberg Attend ‘Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn’ Premiere

Tonight is the premiere of the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in LA and Jackie Emerson (Foxface) and Amandla Stenberg (Rue) of The Hunger Games were in attendance! During MTV’s live streaming they caught up with Jackie and Amandla and this is what they had to say:

About Jackie: And now onto “The Hunger Games.” We’ve got Foxface (a.k.a. Jacqueline Emerson). She saw the awesome trailer for the first time today, too! She loved how real everything looks. She says she was a “huge” fan before auditioning. She adds that Jennifer is “the most talented actress she’s ever seen.” That’s some high praise, y’all.