What changes to Mockingjay Part 2 were made due to P. S. Hoffman's passing?
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who portrayed a character in The Hunger Games, passed away during the middle of filming for the Mockingjay movies. His character, Plutarch Heavensbee, is a central figure in Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1. After seeing Part 2, I can say he had a notable lack of importance, though the plot itself may have lent to that analysis, as the movie focuses on the war action more than the political machinations of its prequel.
According to an interview by Director Francis Lawrence:
"[Hoffman] had two substantial scenes left and the rest were appearances in other scenes. We had no intention of trying to fake a performance, so we rewrote those scenes to give to other actors… The rest, we just didn’t have him appear in those scenes. There’s no digital manipulation or CG fabrication of any kind."
(Bravo to the crew on this decision, post-mortem digitalization is beyond the pale...)
From my viewing, I believe one of those substantial scenes was The outro following Coin's death, where Haymitch reads a letter from Plutarch to Katniss.
Is this one of the significant scenes, and which are the other scenes that were changed?
Best Answer
According to Nina Jacobson, the producer, in this answer on Quora:
Practically, Phil had shot about 80% of his scenes. What we had to do with the remaining 20% was to give two key scenes to Liz Banks and Woody Harrelson. In MJ1, Effie gives Katniss Cinna's design for the mockingjay uniform instead of Plutarch, as was originally scripted. In MJ2, Haymitch reads a letter in a scene that, in the book and the original script, takes places between Katniss and Plutarch. Without a doubt, Phil would be a bigger presence in the movie if he had stayed with us. I miss him at many levels.
Pictures about "What changes to Mockingjay Part 2 were made due to P. S. Hoffman's passing?"
Did Philip Seymour Hoffman died while filming Mockingjay?
This week sees the arrival in cinemas of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay \u2013 Part 2, during the filming of which, in February 2014, the Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman died. Hoffman, who joined the series for the second film, Catching Fire, plays gamemaker turned revolutionary Plutarch Heavensbee.How did Philip Seymour Hoffman act in Mockingjay 2?
The Oscar-winning actor died Feb. 2, 2014, during production of Mockingjay \u2014 Part 2. But Hoffman still appears in key scenes as rebel leader Plutarch Heavensbee in the film opening Friday.Is Philip Seymour Hoffman CGI in Mockingjay Part 2?
This dilemma raised several questions about how the missing Philip Seymour Hoffman Mockingjay scenes would be accounted for, and one uncomfortable solution that came up was utilizing CGI to digitally recreate Hoffman as his character Plutarch Heavensbee.Who died while filming Hunger Games?
Philip Seymour HoffmanDiedFebruary 2, 2014 (aged 46) Manhattan, New York, U.S.Cause of deathAcute mixed drug intoxicationAlma materNew York UniversityOccupationActor producer theatre director8 more rowsThe Hunger Games Mockingjay part 2 Katniss says goodbye to Peeta
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