Big news this week for Hunger Games fans: The trilogy has officially surpassed Harry Potter at the best selling book series on Amazon. This is especially impressive since Potter includes seven books and it only took Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins four years to crank out the trilogy, which includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.
But perhaps the more exciting news is surrounding Hunger Games leading lady Jennifer Lawrence – who plays archery-extraordinaire Katniss in the films.
The now 22-year-old star signed on to do the second film Catching Fire, and was offered a reported $9.5 million pay increase to secure the deal. That’s a big chunk of change, especially considering Lawrence was only paid $500,000 for the first film. But the raise seems fair since the first film brought in an estimated $650 million in movie ticket sales alone.
Leading up to the second film, Lawrence is looking healthy and more stunning than ever, posing for a recent issue of Vogue Magazine showing off her Katniss-worthy figure. But beyond the Hunger Games hype, we love Jennifer’s commitment to staying true to herself in a culture of stick-thin Hollywood actresses.
The Kentucky-native was criticized earlier this year for being too heavy to realistically portray a citizen of hunger-stricken District 12 in the film. But she remains confident that her role as Katniss should represent a strong, athletic woman, and she has no desire to whittle down to skin and bones.
In a recent interview with UK Marie Claire, Lawrence feels that she’s ‘totally normal’ in her view on health saying, “You see these 12- and 13-year-olds ordering salads with dressing on the side and thinking they need to be on a diet. I do want the stick-thin trend to end.”
And in another interview with Seventeen Magazine, she recalls being 13 and having her peers think it was cool to pretend to have an eating disorder since stars like Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie were rumored to be anorexic at the time.
With too much money and fame at such a young age, there’s always a fear that rising starlets like Lawrence will succumb to the wafer-thin look and starve themselves to get any role they can – which inevitably becomes a lifestyle. But Lawrence seems to remain that the size-zero look isn’t for her.
The star has been spotted all over LA going to and from workouts in her signature spandex capris and Nike running shoes. The star is reportedly running a lot to stay in top shape for the upcoming film, as well as frequenting a gym in Santa Monica for regular sweat sessions. Lawrence has admitted in the past that she doesn’t focus too much on diet when preparing for a role, but rather on fitness, and doesn’t feel the need to deny herself when it comes to food.
It was also reported last week that Lawrence has signed a contract with Lions Gate Entertainment to produce four more films, Catching Fire being the first under this new agreement. This means we’ll likely being seeing a lot more of Lawrence as Katniss, and we can’t wait to see her in action in the series’ second installment which is slated to begin production in January 2024.
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photos via Vogue and AKM-GSI