Jennifer Lawrence is “so good it’s silly” in The Hunger Games, says the movie’s director.

The actress plays Katniss Everdeen in the highly-anticipated film helmed by Gary Ross. The director is full of praise for 21-year-old Jennifer and believes she is one of the most talented stars to emerge in recent years.

“She is so good, it’s silly. Seriously, I just want to write her parents a thank-you letter for creating Jennifer Lawrence,” Gary told MTV News. “Once a generation, you find this kind of talent.”

The director has promised fans will be kept entertained throughout The Hunger Games. The movie is based on the young adult adventure series written by Suzanne Collins. It takes places in a futuristic time where poor districts must select children to fight to the death on live television until only one remains.

Jennifer’s character Katniss volunteers to take her younger sister’s place when she is chosen to compete.

Gary insists he couldn’t ever choose a favourite scene from the film, because there are so many he enjoys watching.

“I’m not being coy in this answer; it’s really hard for me to say. The stuff she does in the tracker jacker sequence is incredible. The stuff in the cave with Peeta, she’s just remarkable in there,” Gary gushed. “Obviously, from the trailer, you’ve seen what she does in the Reaping, the commitment, and how about the little girl Willow [Shields], who plays Prim? The commitment Jen has, the bravery, the incredible control over what she’s doing, she’s just remarkable.”

The Hunger Games, also starring Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Elizabeth Banks, will be released worldwide from March 21.

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Hey all! The Vanity Fair 2012 Hollywood Issue cover has been released and Jennifer is on it looking gorgeous as always. Below you can watch an interview video on the set of the shoot and check out the cover as well!

Jennifer Lawrence has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce this year’s Oscar nominees.

The “Hunger Games” actress will be joined by Academy President Tom Sherak at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on January 24 to reveal just who will be up for one of those coveted gold statues, the Academy announced on Monday (January 9). The show, airing on ABC, is set to take place on February 26 with host Billy Crystal.

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Vanity Fair released a photoshoot of the cast of The Hunger Games and an interview with Jen. Enjoy!

For those mourning the passing of the Harry Potter cycle and dreading the looming end of the Twilight saga, Suzanne Collins has come to the rescue with her spellbinding trilogy of novels, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The first comes to movie theaters on March 23. The post-apocalyptic drama takes place in Panem, a North American country that is divided into 12 districts. Every year children between the ages of 12 and 18 must enter their names in a lottery known as “the reaping.” Each district selects a boy and a girl to compete with the representatives of the other districts in a televised fight to the death. The final victor wins a life free from want. Collins got the idea for the books from watching footage of the Iraq war and reality television. Adapted for the screen by writer-director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit), the films are positioned to be Hollywood’s next big teen franchise. “My kids turned me on to it, and I went nuts,” says Ross, adding, “You rarely get a tentpole that has this much emotional depth, this much character to dive into.” Jennifer Lawrence, who received an Oscar nomination last year for her performance in Winter’s Bone, is Katniss, the heroine, who, when her younger sister gets picked in the reaping, volunteers to take her place. “Katniss is an incredible character: she’s a hunter but not a killer, a 16-year-old who’s being forced into the arena,” says Lawrence. “These kids are killing one another only because if they don’t they’ll die. It’s heartbreaking.” Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) plays Peeta, who has loved Katniss since childhood and who is also chosen in the reaping. “I literally read all three books over the course of five days,” he says. “My mind was blown by how much I felt I was like Peeta. We shot in the forest near Asheville, North Carolina—a lot of fight scenes, very physically demanding. Jennifer and I totally hit it off. We’re both crazy people—we don’t hold anything back.” Ross concludes, “My responsibility was to Suzanne and the readers, to give them the same experience they had when they read the book. I was just so lucky that I had the cast I had.”

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In one calendar year, 21-year-old Jennifer Lawrence has gone from fresh-faced unknown to the next big thing. After her best-actress-Oscar-nominated performance in last year’s Winter’s Bone, which won best picture at the Independent Spirit Awards, Lawrence was an X-Men heroine, and she’ll soon star in spring’s most anticipated release—The Hunger Games. Senior West Coast editor Krista Smith reached her in Philadelphia, where she is filming her next movie, The Silver Linings Playbook. Highlights from their chat:

Krista Smith: First off, congratulations again on your best-actress nomination! Since then you’ve been working nonstop. Have the experiences from those insane weeks sunk in yet?
Jennifer Lawrence: Thanks. I don’t know if an experience like that can ever sink in, but I’m so grateful for it.

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“I was training for a film called ‘Odd Thomas’ that I was doing at the same gym Jen was training [at for] the bow stuff and all the running,” Yelchin told MTV News recently. “I got to see her and talk to her. I think she’s amazing, and she’s a good friend of mine.”

And after checking out the “Hunger Games” teaser, Yelchin had firsthand knowledge of what it took for Lawrence to become Katniss. He was impressed, but not surprised.

“When I saw Jen, it was different kinds of physical training she was going through, like running training,” he said. “She’s such a powerful person. She can do anything she puts her mind to. If she needs to transform for something, she’ll transform. If she needs to learn how to kill you with the bow, she’ll do that. She’ll do anything she needs to do.”

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There’s no question that “The Hunger Games” is one of the most highly anticipated films due for release next year. But distributor Lionsgate is hoping that the frenzy of excitement will expand beyond the core audience of young adult readers who initially flocked to Suzanne Collins fantasy action series — and they’re making a big financial bet to demonstrate their commitment to the project, which stars Jennifer Lawrence as protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Once conceived as a mid-budget movie for young adults, “The Hunger Games” is now a nearly $100-million production aimed at fans of all ages.

Lionsgate first acquired movie rights to Collins’ books in early 2009, when “The Hunger Games” had sold fewer than 500,000 copies. Since then, the trilogy has reached more than 12 million copies in print and become popular with a much broader audience, despite the young age of Katniss and others who compete to the death in the titular games.

As a result, the studio has expanded the budget for the movie and believes it will reach a much broader audience. The production, which wrapped in North Carolina on Saturday, was nearly $100 million, a figure brought closer to $80 million after tax credits.

See the story in Tuesday’s Times for much more on production of “The Hunger Games” and what its potential success means for Lionsgate.

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Men’s Health Magazine named their annual 101 Hottest Women of 2011 list this week and Jennifer Lawrence, star of the upcoming young adult movie Hunger Games finished the list at No. 1. Also making the list, at No. 32, is fellow Hunger Games star Elizabeth Banks.

Men’s Health mentioned Lawrence’s role in X-Men: First Class, making the same comment everyone made about Rebecca Romijn a decade ago, about remaining hot despite being painted from head to toe in blue paint for the role of Mystique. The 20-year old is moving quickly up the ranks in Hollywood since her breakout Oscar nominated performance in Winter’s Bone in 2010.

Banks, meanwhile, has been a mainstay on the list since her breakout in 40-Year Old Virgin and impressed in following years with roles in Role Models, Our Idiot Brother and Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Also making the top 10, following Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence is Emma Stone (The Help), Zoe Saldana (Columbiana), Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Rosie Huntington-Whitley (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), surfer Alana Blanchard, model Brooklyn Decker, Katrina Bowden (Piranha 3DD), model Miranda Kerr and Megan Fox.

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Actor Josh Hutcherson fears his The Hunger Games co-star Jennifer Lawrence is out for revenge after he made the Oscar nominee wet her pants with a scary prank.

The Kids Are All Right star has landed the role of Peeta Mellark in the much-anticipated movie adaptation of author Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book, opposite Lawrence as leading lady Katniss Everdene.

The pair has formed a strong bond onset, but prankster Hutcherson admits his latest stunt is sure to have landed him at the top of Lawrence’s target list.

He tells Entertainment Weekly, “We have this fake dummy on set, this really gnarled-up scary-looking thing. The other day I put it in her bathroom in her trailer, and she told me she actually peed her pants, she was so scared. I’m sure she’s going to pay me back. I’m just terrified because she’s someone I can see taking it to the next level, and somebody could get hurt.”

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