Francis Lawrence, who directed Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, spoke today about the beloved late actor and how his crew dealt with his sudden death.
“It was obviously very rough for all of us,” Lawrence told USA Today about the moment the cast and crew heard the news. “He was a friend. He was an amazing actor, an iconic actor. He was someone I really looked up to.”
Lawrence said that the production in Atlanta shut down the day Hoffman died. The Capote actor died on Feb. 2 from a drug overdose. The crew was shocked by the news, which they could not have expected.
“We as a cast and crew definitely honored him,” Lawrence said. “We gathered everyone together and had a big moment for him. We still think about him every day. It's hard not to imagine him being here.”
Hoffman played Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire, which was just released on home video. He reprised the character for Mockingjay Part I and Mockingjay Part II. Lionsgate is still planning on releasing the films on Nov. 21, 2014 and Nov. 20, 2015, respectively. Hoffman did complete most of his scenes for the films.
“Even if (Hoffman) had a number of days left, most of those moments were appearances in other scenes. Most of his dialogue was done,” Lawrence explained.
Hoffman did complete work on John Slattery’s God’s Pocket, which will be released theatrically on May 9 and then On Demand on May 14. IFC is distributing the film and it made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
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