FRANCIS LAWRENCE

I wish that the circuses that were around now felt like they did then. They're not quite as elegant or as magical as they used to be. There was something about the old tent shows, the Big Top, the canvas, the lights, the sawdust, the hay and the animals that's just missing now. Now, it's all urbanized and maybe a little garish.

I've been a fan of noir films since I was in high school.

I think the movie business and film crews are a little bit like the circus, in that we travel around like a pack and we're a big family for a finite period of time. We roll into someplace, cause a bunch of damage, and then roll out.

I believe that the process could be fun, I just think that making movies is really tough. And it's stressful as it is, and I think that most of us got in this business because it's fun to make movies.

I think that the thing that is really strong with 'The Hunger Games' is just that it comes from a very strong idea.

There are two separate scripts for 'Mockingjay' parts one and two. It's definitely one story, but there are two totally distinct and separate scripts.

Whenever you're adapting something that's a 12- or 14-hour read down to something that has to be around two hours, there's going to be some cuts.

I love reluctant heroes, all of that.

It's kind of the filmmaker's job to use visual, cinematic language in a way possible to tell a story that reaches and touches as many people as possible.

When you're making a movie, you have those days that you really look forward to, and it's a little bit like Murphy's law. The days you look forward to become your hell days. The days you're dreading become these amazing days.

'Last Man on Earth'... Vincent Price is one of my favorite actors; I think he was miscast.

'I Am Legend' was a rich, emotional experience where you could be scared and cry, and there's some wish fulfilment.

I remember 'Battlestar Galactica' shot at the college that my dad taught at. I remember trying on a Cylon helmet. I think I was 6 or 7 years old.

I still wear Vans.

'Omega Man' is a little too tied to a specific generation and a little cult-y to me.

One of the big themes - if not the big theme - of 'Mockingjay - Part 1' is the battle of the airwaves. I don't think teenagers really understand the role propaganda has in our lives in terms of politics, advertising, and the general manipulation of imagery.

Often, adults don't give kids enough credit.

I love animals. Even if you go back to my music video days, I can't tell you how many animals I used.

All the 'Hunger Games' stuff, we had a fantastic production designer, and he built amazing sets.

I'm attracted to the journeys of isolated characters.

I've never seen a 'Transporter' movie.

I've now made enough movies that I understand that people love to put things in a box.

We actually started shooting the 'Mockingjay' movies before 'Catching Fire' was released.

I always want to try to make films feel timeless, because one of my biggest pet peeves is that there's a movie you love, and then you revisit it twenty years later, you show your kid or something, and it's like, 'Oh my God!' with hairstyles and clothing and all that kind of stuff.

When I signed on and went and did 'Catching Fire,' the majority of it was done in Atlanta for rebate reasons. Luckily, that worked because there's forest. There's old rail stations and factories and lots of stuff we can use and sound stages. For the tropical stuff, we went to Hawaii.