With CinemaCon wrapping up its show tonight, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay director Francis Lawrence was in town to collect his award for Director of the Year from the convention. Shortly before collecting his hardware, I landed a few minutes with him backstage and got some updates on how things are going on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

  • His first cut of the film was 2 hr 50 min but now it’s 2 hr 7 min without credits.
  • There aren’t many deleted scenes.
  • They still have to film the epilogue and the plan is to film in late May. It’s one scene and it’s a few minutes of the movie.
  • He said they’re planning on going to Comic-Con this year. He’s not sure which of the cast is going but the plan is to be there.
  • Don’t expect to see a trailer anytime soon.
  • He’s planning on being at The Hunger Games exhibition in NYC when it opens.
  • He’s developing Odyssey with Lionsgate and it could be his next project.

Here’s the interview followed by a time index of the entire conversation.

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Image via Lionsgate

Francis Lawrence:

  • Where is he in post-production?
  • :33 – What can he tease about the soundtrack?
  • :45 – Has he shot the epilogue? Says they will in late May and it’s a few minutes of the movie.
  • 1:04 – How long was his first cut and how long is the movie now?
  • 1:22 – Deleted scenes?
  • 1:40 – How close is the finished film to what he envisioned?
  • 2:50 – When will he be finished with the film?
  • 3:05 – Is he going to Comic-Con?
  • 3:25 – When we people see the first footage from the movie?
  • 3:55 – Great teaser trailers talk.
  • 4:35 – Is he or the cast going to The Hunger Games exhibition in NYC when it opens?
  • 4:55 – Is he reading scripts or starting to think about any upcoming projects? Says he is developing Odyssey with Lionsgate.
  • 5:35 – What can he tease people about Odyssey?

 

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Image via Lionsgate