By the Book: Catching Fire Predictions for Chapter 16
It’s time for our Chapter 16 installment of By the Book, where the Mockingjay.net staff predicts what parts of “Catching Fire” will make it from the book and into the film, what scenes we’re afraid might get cut, and what quotes we hope to hear included in the script.
By the Book contains spoilers for Catching Fire, so if you haven’t read the book and don’t want to ruin any surprises, STOP READING RIGHT NOW!
At dinner, Katniss knocks a dish of peas to the floor so that she can grasp Darius’ hand under the table since she’s not allowed to talk to him because he’s an Avox. After dinner, they watch the Tribute parade and the next morning is the first training room session. She and Peeta meet Wiress and Beetee from District 3, who point out the force field surrounding those watching them. Katniss shows off her archery skills after lunch and when they go back to the apartment, Haymitch tells her that half the victors had requested her as an ally. When the time comes for the Tributes to be rated, Katniss hangs a dummy in front of the judges and writes the name ʺSeneca Craneʺ across it.
Carla
As I said for the previous chapter, I think the whole Darius subplot is not going to be included. I hope they do keep in the conversation about allies with Haymitch, because it would be a nice segue into the Training Center scenes (not to mention, it’d add more suspense if it’s mentioned that Peeta and Katniss are at a distinct disadvantage against people who have known each other for years). I also think the pre-training scene would be a good moment to add some Effie development, show how she does truly care and worry over Katniss and Peeta.
The Training Center sequence will probably be something of a montage to show us the Victors’ abilities, like it was in the first movie. We know from the stills released by Lionsgate that Finnick will probably be his flirty self, and Katniss will likely be shown interacting with Wiress and Beetee as something of an introduction to the characters and adding some foreshadowing about the rebellion. The part about the ʺchinkʺ in the force field definitely has to be included, as it’s crucial later on in the film. I also hope they’ll have some good shots of Katniss firing arrows and the rest of the tributes being suitably impressed, but it might not be necessary as the film will already be action-heavy.
Katniss ʺkillingʺ Seneca Crane’s dummy in her private session definitely has to be there, as they have to explain her Training score somehow. I’m not sure that she’ll hang the dummy, however; that might be too harsh a visual. I’m very curious as to whether Francis Lawrence will keep to Katniss in this moment or actually show us what Peeta did, as well. I think it could be doable even if they stick to Katniss’s PoV, like for example they could have Peeta’s painting still there when Katniss walks into the room.
The fangirl in me hopes they find little ways of showing us meaningful interaction between Peeta and Katniss– first off, to show that they’ve really come to be a team, a united front; and second, to subtly remind the viewer that Katniss is purely motivated by her desire to save Peeta, and viceversa. They probably won’t have time to give us most of the conversations we have between them in this chapter, but I’m sure they can say a lot with a glance, a smile or a nod of the head. I’d love to see them holding hands before they go in for their private sessions with the Gamemakers.
Lines I Hope Make It
Katniss: “But I don’t want Brutus. I want Mags and District Three.”
Haymitch: “Of course you do.” (I can absolutely imagine Woody Harrelson’s resigned tone as he says this)
Ciara
There is a danger in Catching Fire that the scenes leading up to the arena may have an air of repetition. I hope Flawrence can keep it fresh by making it clear that during the training sessions alliances must be formed because currently District 12 are the first targets. So Haymitch explaining this situation is a good segue into the training centre. We need Wiress and Beetee to explain the force field, the ʺchink in the armour.ʺ I think their conversation will be given prominence even if the allusions to the rebellion are cut. I think most of these getting-to-know-you scenes will become part of a montage though, allowing us to see some of the tribute’s personalities and skills with the most important characters making a lasting impression. This was done very well in The Hunger Games, it was easy for the audience to establish a lot about the tributes before entering the arena.
It would be a nice way to round out this scene by contrasting Peeta’s ability to socialise and strike up alliances with Katniss giving up attempts to lose herself at the archery range, where she gets everyone’s attention under the watchful eye of Plutarch. Which would be a perfect transition to Haymitch talking about alliance offers. I love the exchange between Katniss and Haymitch: ʺ… I know it can’t be your sunny personality.ʺ … ʺ… I want District 3 and Mags.ʺ ʺOf course you do.ʺ I hope it stays in because Woody would ace those lines. I’m not sure if the interactions between Katniss and Peeta will stay intact or even if Peeta’s painting in his private session will stay. I really hope those moments do make the cut but I think I can safely bet that Katniss stringing up Seneca Crane will not be left on the cutting room floor.
Lines I Hope Make It
I’m not sure when this line will be uttered, but I’d love to hear Katniss say: ʺHow are we going to kill these people, Peeta?ʺ and Peeta say: ʺI don’t know.ʺ
Erin
Since Darius has been cut from the movie, the first part of this chapter will also be cut. I’m sure they will skip over the recap of the Tribute parade and Katniss’ nightmare, and go straight to breakfast the next morning, where Katniss will see the golden bracelet that Haymitch wears, and he’ll give them a lecture on the importance of making allies during training. I do hope they keep the little moment of Katniss and Peeta together on the elevator as he takes her hand before they enter the training room. I’m sure a lot of the training will be a montage, seeing Brutus’ gigantic biceps, Enobaria’s golden teeth, the various Victors showing off their skills at the different stations.
We’ve seen the still, so we know there’s a moment when Finnick comes up behind Katniss– if they stay true to the book, Finnick will put his arms around her while she’s at the knot-tying station. If they stray, maybe he’ll come up behind her after she’s been showing off with the aarows. I’m looking forward to seeing a scatterbrained Wiress while Beetee, the total nerd, while he completes Wiress’ sentences and explains the forecefield to Katniss. I also can’t wait to see Finnick’s and Brutus’ and the others faces when they watch Katniss practice her archery. When it comes to the private session, I’m not sure if Katniss will just hang a dummy and paint Seneca Crane on it… I think she’ll actually shoot the dummy, the arrow sticking just below his name.
Line I Hope Makes It
Haymitch (to Katniss): ʺI know it can’t be your sunny personality.ʺ
Tash
As mentioned in the last By the Book, we know that the Darius storyline has been cut, so that eliminates a large portion of the early part of Chapter 16. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing though, as Carla mentioned hopefully this affords us some more time with Effie as well as Haymitch. I’d like to see the dinner after the chariot ride and some commentary about the other tributes, similar to the scene in The Hunger Games, and this would provide a nice touch of continuity as the mentor and the escort try to give them some confidence before meeting them all in the training centre. I hope as Katniss and Peeta split up to meet the other Victors that we’ll still get some glimpses of Peeta as we follow Katniss around, similar to THG where the camera often cut away to reveal who Katniss was looking at. We have seen the fabulous photo of Finnick and Katniss, so I hope that he sidles up behind her and finishes the knot in her hands just as in the book. I think that the meeting with Mags might also happen at this point, when Katniss tries to break away from Finnick he will grab her again and introduce her to Mags before she wanders off to find Beetee and Wiress and make the all important forcefield discovery.
I can’t wait to see Amanda Plummer as crazy Wiress and I have high expectations as she trails off before excitedly pointing out the ‘chink’ in the forcefield. I absolutely love the bird scene when Katniss lets her arrows fly but I am prepared for this to be cut or for us to only see the most fleeting glimpse of it, which would be totally worth it for the look on the other Victors faces, especially Peeta’s (can you imagine the admiration/love?). I really like Carla’s touch of Peeta and Katniss holding hands and would dearly love for something like this to be included as they wait together before their training session, wondering what they will do and what will happen next. I don’t think we will see Peeta paint but I do hope to see the stains on the floor and spilt pots everywhere as Katniss walks in. We were pretty sure back in our Chapter 2 analysis that President Snow will tell Katniss about Seneca Crane’s demise, so I can’t wait to see Katniss’ demonstration with the dummy and then the looks on the game makers faces…
Lines I Hope Make It
Katniss: ʺHow are we going to kill these people, Peeta?ʺ
Peeta: ʺI don’t know.ʺ
What are your Chapter 16 predictions?
In the first movie I think Katniss’ private session was before Peeta’s, so will that order be carried over into Catching Fire and how would that affect the storyline?
It wouldn’t affect it at all, since it makes no difference. The only difference is that Peeta’s session will probably be shown rather than just heard about, and this is why the change will be good for CF, since IMO what Peeta does is even more memorable – and the audience already will expect Katniss to do something badass as in the first movie, while his session will be a bigger surprise.
the only difference i can see is that katniss basically knew peeta had done something dangerous (mainly because of the long, long time he was in there), and she reacted by doing something even more risky (in her mind, at least) so the gamemakers would make HER a target instead of peeta. put herself at risk of retaliation so that risk was taken off peeta’s shoulders. (of course, it kind of backfired on her, since they both got a 12).
in that case, it would make more sense if peeta went first so she could have this realization, particularly if they DO show us peeta’s painting. i’m sure jennifer could say a lot with a panicked-then-resolute expression upon seeing it. it would speak volumes of how determined she is for peeta to survive the quell.
but of course, i’m sure they can work around that anyway, if they decide to stick with the “ladies first” order. it’s not that big a deal.
I agree with pretty much all the statements here. I think the Darius plotline will be completely gone. This section will begin with Haymitch probably giving them the instructions to make allies and stay together. I hope this will allow for some Katniss and Peeta interaction as they go into training. I agree that it will probably be where we see everyone and get a feel for personality and such. We should definitely see a good portion of Beetee and Wiress and learn about the force field and the “chink” as it is crucial to the ending. We hopefully will meet Mags here and see Finnick be distracting. I would love to see the looks on everyone’s faces (tributes and Plutarch) when they see Katniss shooting. I hope we even see Peeta’s reaction because in the book he even says it is the first time he sees her shoot for real. I agree that this would be a great place to differentiate Peeta’s skills at making friends versus Katniss. As for the gamemaker sessions, the previous comment brings up a good point that since the first movie changed the order, how will that affect what we will see here. We definitely have to see the Seneca Crane dummy and what Katniss does to it.(hang it, shoot it, something!) since this is her POV mostly. I would love to see Peeta making the portrait of Rue, but don’t hold out much hope. I at least would hope they mention what he did. Most of all, the lines I want to hear are when Katniss tells Haymitch she wants “Mags and District 3,” and he replies “Of course you do.” That was probably the funniest line and I can’t wait to see how Woody Harrellson would do it. Classic!
I think they will keep the order of Peeta going before Katniss in the gamemaker’s sessions. I don’t think we’ll see what he does, I think we’ll just get a quick flurry of servants cleaning up as Katniss walks in and maybe her looking around slightly confused, trying to figure out what happened and why the gamemakers are so upset.
Honestly, I would love for them to keep what Peeta painted a secret until the next scene when he is surrounded by not just Katniss, but Haymitch and Cinna and everyone on their teams. I think the impact of having him quietly say “I painted Rue.” and the explanation that follows is very humbling and touching. It kind of brings everyone in the room back to thinking about who/what they are fighting for and why this rebellion is so important.
I agree with everyone though about the lines that have to be kept in (besides Finnick flirting with Katniss cause he’s just adorable) especially the ones pertaining to Haymitch. I am very much looking forward to seeing Woody be able to have fun with the character and really let his sarcastic, yet gruff-tough love personality shine through.
Since the movie is a different medium from a book, I think they should stick with the “show, don’t tell” rule, and show things whenever possible, instead of having people tell what happened to Katniss.
I hope that they won’t take away the part when Peeta and Katniss are on the roof having their picnick, and Peeta says “I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever.”
i love that part
One of my favorites, too.
I hope that they won’t take away the part when Peeta and Katniss are on the roof having their picnick, and Peeta says “I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever.” But that’s not chapter 16 though..
I also had one other thought and wanted to know what you all think. I believe that they will at least mention that Peeta painted Rue for his session. That means that they will probably have to establish that he is a painter. So, considering that earlier everyone was under the impression that the movie would not bring up Katniss and Peeta having to have “talents”, I am wondering how they are going to bring this up. I think they will have to bring in Peeta painting in some way for this part, and also especially if they want to have the “You’re a baker, you’re a painter..etc.” line in Mockingjay (which I think they will because it is good moment in that book. I would love to hear what you all think about this! : )
Why does everyone think they won’t show Peeta painting Rue but just have people talk about it? The difference between the movie and the book is that they don’t have to have events happening off-screen if Katniss isn’t present. “Show, don’t tell” is the #1 rule of the film medium. I think it would be great to see Katniss hanging a Seneca dummy, and then (if they keep Peeta going after Katniss, which I think would work perfectly in this case, since the audience already expects Katniss to do something badass in her private session, as in the first movie, but what Peeta does comes as a surprise) show the Gamemakers wondering “What is he doing? Painting?!” and then show the picture of Rue and the Gamemakers’ faces. Then cut straight to Effie freaking out during the conversation between the four of them about their sessions.
As I said previsouly, I believe they won’t talk about talents. Either way, the first Hunger Games showed Peeta’s skill with camuflage that can very well be applied to painting… So, even if they don’t show Peeta’s paintings, his skill with the brush has already been established, imho.
They cant hang the dummy at all… they messed it all up in the first movie by giving seneca nightlock. :/
Seneca was executed in the book as well. I believe it’s at the beginning of Catching Fire when Katniss figures out that Snow killed him off. You never find out how in the books, but he was most certainly dead by the Victory Tour.
So yes, they can do the dummy scene. Katniss was just showing her opinion in his death, not saying he should die.
yeah, but katniss doesn’t know how he died, does she? she didn’t either, in the book. she just assumed it was by hanging, but it might’ve happened differently.
As others have pointed out, Katniss didn’t know how exactly he died, just that he was executed. And furthermore, I don’t think she was implying that he must have been hanged, it’s just easier to hang a dummy than, I don’t know, show a dummy with berries in its hands? Not very dramatic, would it be?
I have this head-canon in which Katniss uses the paint to draw Seneca’s beard on the dummy’s face instead of writing his name.
Katniss knows Seneca was executed. How he was killed doesn’t really matter. Is there any way more violent to represent Seneca’s Death other than hanging the dummy? Its the most graphical way, and that why she did it, even if unconciously.
I think that Peeta and Katniss actively seeking out allies, which they didn’t do in THG, will provide a new dimension to the training center scenes. I am looking forward to the “Finnick sneaks up behind Katniss” scene. Unlike the opinions of everyone else so far, I think that if this is made into a montage, the scene with Beetee and Wiress pointing out the “chink” in the forcefield protecting the Gamemakers may be cut, and replaced with a scene in which they talk about the forcefield in the Arena instead. (I also assume Johanna’s naked wrestling scenes will not make it
)
The Seneca Crane “execution” scene, I recall, was the subject of much debate last year, with many fans complaining that the THG movie “got it wrong”. (Though Snow never says *how* Seneca died in the book, or even that he died at all; he just implies enough that Katniss figures it out.) So, I can certainly see, as Erin did, the CF movie tweaking the details of Katniss “re-enacting” the institution, to make it more dramatic. What I’m really looking forward to seeing, is Plutarch’s reaction, because he knows that he very well could meet the same fate as Seneca, though for totally different reasons.
As for the order of the private sessions, I don’t think it’s that big a deal either way. Nothing in the THG movie established that “the female tribute always goes in before the male tribute”. Even if they have Katniss go in before Peeta again, it doesn’t cut out much. While in the book, Katniss realizes Peeta did something to upset the Gamemakers, and is then inspired to freak them out further by re-enacting Seneca Crane’s death, these are all thoughts that can’t be conveyed in the movie anyway. The audience is just going to see what Katniss does, much as when she shot the arrow at the Gamemakers in the movie.
I would be over the moon if they showed Peeta painting Rue, which they may, since so far I’m getting the impression that CF is going to be more of an ensemble production, and not quite as Katniss-focused as the THG movie. Considering how rebellious Peeta looked in his Capitol Portrait, I am very hopeful that “Peeta the rebel” will be shown to us.
I certainly hope the “How are we going to kill these people” exchange makes it in, especially if it’s depicted the way it is in the book, with Peeta taking Katniss’s hands, even resting his forehead on them. It’s a subtle moment of emotional intimacy that would be very touching. Especially because I think there’s a very high chance the rooftop picnic scene will be cut.
i definitely wouldn’t mind if the “chink in the armor” conversation happened in the arena, instead of the training center. particularly if the training center scenes are getting too long, they might decide to move it. i kind of like that idea.
At which point in the arena you mean?
Because Peeta gets electrocuted by the force field early in the Quell and Katniss already knows what caused that. That’s when she becomes the guide of the group.
You reckon they will just show her realizing what that might be without her knowing about the ”chink in the armor”? And later have Beetee explain it to her?
There are many other parts of the story, other than the training center part, when the viewer can be introduced to the concept of a force-field. If they discuss or even show a clip from Haymitch’s Games, for example. Or if they do sneak the rooftop scene in, I can see this being used as a way to bring it up and have the scene serve as exposition, not just a fluffy romantic moment. Katniss could still serve as the “forcefield” expert after Peeta’s near-death.
If the movie skips the training center scenes with Beetee and Wiress, then they could have Wiress pointing out the “chink” to Katniss once her and Beetee join the alliance along with Johanna. Or, since we know the jabberjay scene was filmed (as the Finnick auditions included the scene), Katniss might discover the chink during that scene.
I’ve replied to some comments but its time to leave my own oppinion. As for the Darius scene, I think that we’ve already established that he wouldn’t make an appearance, so that’s that. As for the Training Center scenes, I’m not sure how they are gonna do it, but… I’m not sure if the conversation between Katniss, Beetee and Wiress about force fields is going to make it as is, since after that the audience may start to guess that Katniss will use the “chink in the armor” to do something arena related.
As for Finnick and allies and all that talk, I honestly have no oppinion, lets just see what “Flawrence” does with it.
Concerning the private sessions, even if she doens’t HANG the dummy, she may as well shoot it, that would be a nice acceptable change.
We already know Darius is not in the movie. However, I do have hopes for Katniss’ private training session. And the other victors/tributes getting to see her shoot. I hope the line makes it when Peeta says: ” They saw her shoot. I actually saw her shoot for the first time. I was about to put in a formal request myself.”