Continuing on with Lionsgate’s daily release of new posters/portraits for the characters in director Francis Lawrence’s upcoming sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, two new such portraits have been released online today giving us our first look at Beetee and Johanna.  Jeffrey Wright plays Beetee, a previous Hunger Games winner from District 3 who specializes in electronics and wiring, while Jena Malone plays the highly anticipated character Johanna, another previous Hunger Games winner from District 7.  I’m incredibly impressed by the designs for these two new characters and look forward to seeing them in action.

Hit the jump to take a look at the new posters.  If you missed the previous portraits, check out Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen here, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket and Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman here, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy and Lenny Kravitz as Cinna here.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22nd.

Highly-stylized images featuring the stars of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in character have been released over the last two days, but we were surprised by the sudden drop of Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence all dressed up as Katniss Everdeen.  You would think they’d hold onto this stunner until all of the other characters had been revealed, but perhaps the studio is hoping to capitalize on the star’s current surge in popularity…not that I expect it to abate any time soon.

Check out Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket and Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman here, with Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy and Lenny Kravitz as Cinna here.  We’re still on the lookout for the first images of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee.  Hit the jump to see the new image of Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which opens November 22nd.

Lionsgate has released a couple of new “look at our characters sitting in chairs” posters for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Yesterday we got a look at Capitol Portraits for Elizabeth Banks’ Effie and Stanley Tucci’s Caesar, and today Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch and Lenny Kravitz’s Cinna get their day in the sun.  I assume these portraits will be unveiled for all distinguished members of the Capitol society, so hopefully we get a close look at Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Head Gamesmaker Plutarch Heavensbee in the next day or so.

Hit the jump to take a look at the posters for Haymitch and Cinna.  The film also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Amanda Plummer.   The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in traditional theaters and IMAX on November 22nd.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire provided fans with a sneak peak of one of the articulate and colorful costumes actress Elizabeth Banks will be wearing in the second installment of the young adult franchise.  Banks’ character Effie Trinket is known for her outrageous looks, and this Capitol portrait certainly continues that trend.  New director Francis Lawrence definitely has big shoes to fill, with the first installment debuting to $152.5 million in its first weekend alone.  With the film’s website promising more portraits throughout the day, fans may be treated to a number of first looks for other main characters.  Hit the jump to see the first Capitol Couture portrait. [Update: The portrait for Stanley Tucci's Caesar Flickerman has been added]

Lionsgate’s marketing campaign for the upcoming sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is about to kick into another gear, so prepare accordingly, folks.  Today, the studio has unveiled a couple of new posters for the film.  These aren’t just any posters, though, as they appear to play along with the premise of the books/film by advertising the Victory Tour that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) embark on as part of their commitment to the Capitol following their triumph at the Hunger Games.  It’s actually a pretty neat marketing angle, and I’m eager to see where things go from here.

Hit the jump to take a look at the posters.  Directed by Francis Lawrence, the film also stars Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Amanda Plummer.   The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in traditional theaters and IMAX on November 22nd.

Back in October, Lionsgate tapped the relative newcomer Danny Strong (The Butler) to pen The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, with the stipulation that Strong would move on to adapt the final film if the studio was happy with the treatment for the penultimate Part 1.  Apparently, all is good in Panem as Strong has reportedly been granted the go-ahead for Part 2.  The final book in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy is arguably the weakest of the three, yet Lionsgate intends to split it into two films.  It’s unclear exactly where this split will occur, but apparently Strong has chosen wisely.  Hit the jump for more.

For our final Toy Fair image article, we’re doing a huge roundup of NECA toy images.  While they’re making figures/toys for all the regular movies and TV shows you’d expect, the highlight of NECA’s 2013 lineup is the 60′s Batman featuring Adam West!  The reason it’s taken so long to get an Adam West Batman is lawyers.  From what I’ve been told, Warner Bros. owns Batman, while 20th Century Fox owns the show.  For years the two companies have been trying to work out an agreement to release DVDs/Blu-rays and new merchandise with little success.  However, late last year, the two companies finally worked out a deal and 2013 should see a lot of new toys and hopefully a home video release.  Which is great news for the fans.

In addition to checking out the first 60′s Batman toy in quite some time, you can also see new toys for Aliens, A Christmas Story, Captain America, Michael Keaton’s Batman, Carrie, Gremlins, E.T., Harry Potter, Hulk, Iron Man, Pacific Rim, Predator, Prometheus, Scarface, Rambo, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Thor, and a lot more.

While Steven Soderbergh has made a number of movies over the past few years, for whatever reason, I’d never had an opportunity to speak with him.  So when I was offered a possible interview for his latest thriller, Side Effects, I sent an email saying I’d like to do it and figured it would never happen.  Thankfully, I was wrong.

At the Los Angeles press day, I was given 45 minutes with Soderbergh (he only does 45-minute interviews), and we talked about a wide variety of subjects like his his post-retirement plans, Twitter, comic book movies, his preferred digital camera, whether digital can ever match IMAX quality, 48fps, the success of Magic Mike and the sequel, his work as second unit director on The Hunger Games, championing Christopher Nolan before the world knew who he was, his filmmaking process, editing while shooting, why he cut 45 minutes out of Contagion and why you’ll probably never see the footage, Kickstarter, and so much more.  If you’re a Soderbergh fan, I promise you’ll dig this interview.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what he had to say.

With director Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, the psychological thriller Side Effects, hitting theaters this coming Friday, the filmmaker has been sitting down for a few interviews as part of the film’s marketing campaign.  This is a curious case, though, because Side Effects also marks Soderbergh’s possibly final theatrically-released film.  As such, said interviews have been more varied than usual, with the filmmaker eager to discuss a multitude of subjects.

Steve recently sat down with Soderbergh for a 45-minute interview, and due to the conversation’s length we’re breaking it up into smaller portions before unveiling the whole thing (read Part 1 here).  Today, in Part 2, Soderbergh talks about the surprising success of Magic Mike, his involvement in Magic Mike 2, the new box office climate of knowing whether your film has succeeded or failed by Friday afternoon, his second-unit work on The Hunger Games, how he championed Christopher Nolan to direct Insomnia when Warner Bros. wasn’t so sure, and more.  Hit the jump to read on.

Current Best Actress Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence was recognized as Outstanding Performer of the Year at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF).  Whether it was her memorable debut in The Poker House, her first Oscar-nominated role in Winter’s Bone, indies like The Beaver and Like Crazy, or her star-making turns in last year’s The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook (for which she has received her second Oscar nomination), the 22-year-old from Kentucky is proving herself to be one of Hollywood’s most talented young actors.  Collider was there to cover and attend the event, and we’ve compiled the highlights of what she had to say, both on the press line and during the Q&A.

While there, Jennifer Lawrence talked about what this past year has been like for her, how she got her start in acting, why she’s never taken any acting lessons, what the experience of making her first feature film The Poker House was like, what spoke to her about the character of Tiffany when she read the script for Silver Linings Playbook, why she doesn’t like to read her scenes ahead of time, working with Bradley Cooper again on the Depression-era drama Serena (due out in theaters in September), what made her hesitate about taking on the role of Katniss Everdeen for The Hunger Games franchise, what it was like to revisit the character for Catching Fire, what she learned from working with Jodie Foster on The Beaver, why she fought for the role of Ree in Winter’s Bone, her desire to direct, and the fact that she’s a bit less terrified of this award season.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

None of us can hide from Google Earth, not even the post-apocalyptic future of Panem.  The satellite imaging service has uncovered the arena for the Quarter Quell, which is held every 25 Hunger Games.  In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the 75th Hunger Games is upon Panem, which means a new arena for the contestants.  Fans of the book know the design of the arena, and if you don’t mind spoilers, you can check out what director Francis Lawrence and his crew are building.

Hit the jump to see the arena.  The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Amanda Plummer.   The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22nd.

Lionsgate has released a new teaser poster and some high-resolution images for the highly anticipated upcoming sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  We previously saw a motion poster for the Francis Lawrence-directed adaptation, and this still poster is not entirely dissimilar from that piece of marketing.  The first images from the film were recently released, giving us a look at Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, and Liam Hemsworth, as well as new cast additions Sam Claflin and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  With this barrage of material coming our way over the past couple weeks, I imagine a teaser trailer will be popping up soon.

Hit the jump to check out the poster along with high-resolution versions of the previously released images and a new image featuring director Francis Lawrence on set.  The film also stars Elizabeth Banks,  Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone,  Jeffrey Wright, and Amanda Plummer.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens on November 22nd.

The marketing campaign for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire kicked off in earnest yesterday with the first images from the film, revealing the return of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth as well as our first look at Sam Claflin as fan-favorite character Finnick.  Another batch of images has landed online today, giving us a peek at Philip Seymour Hoffman as new Head Gamesmaker Plutarch Heavensbee (yes, the names are increasingly ridiculous) and the return of Woody Harrelson as Haymitch.  Moreover, director Francis Lawrence has revealed three characters from the book that didn’t make it into the movie.

Hit the jump for the images and info.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens on November 22nd.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is still 11 months away, but there’s not a moment to lose when it comes to the marketing.  The cover of the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features Jennifer Lawrence and Sam Claflin as Katniss and Finnick.  We’ve seen the new bodysuit uniforms in leaked set photos, and they look good in this official image.  As for Claflin, I can definitely see him as Finnick now that they’ve dyed the actor’s hair blonde.  As for his performance, we’ll have to wait and see.

Hit the jump to check out the full cover and the first image from the film.  The film also stars Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright, and Amanda Plummer.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22nd. [Update: EW has released a couple of new images, including a new look at Hemsworth's Gale. They're included after the jump.]

It’s January 1, 2013, which means that 2012 is now officially in the rear-view mirror.  Quality-wise, it was a stellar year in film, and with over a month to go before the Oscars there’s still an exciting air of unpredictability surrounding the awards contenders.  2012 wasn’t so shabby box office-wise either, and we thought today would be a nice time to take a look back at the year’s highest grossing films, lowest grossing films, and everything in between.  This year saw a few comedy surprises, the highest grossing Steven Spielberg drama in a long time, a couple of superhero megahits, and the glorious disaster that was Oogieloves.  Hit the jump to take a look at 2012’s Box Office in Review.