Robert Pattinson Denies He's 'Catching Fire' In 'Hunger Games' Franchise

Pattinson was initially 'curious' about rumors he would be playing dreamy tribute Finnick Odair, before shutting them down.
By Jocelyn Vena

Robert Pattinson
Photo: AFP

With one saga over, "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson says he has no plans to join that other super-buzzy and much-loved book-to-movie franchise, "The Hunger Games."

In an interview with USA Today, Pattinson denied rumors that he was in talks to play the dreamy tribute Finnick Odair in the next "Hunger Games" movie, "Catching Fire."

"I woke up this morning and saw all these things about me being cast in 'The Hunger Games'," he said while promoting "Cosmopolis" in Cannes over the weekend. "I was kind of curious for a second. So I called my agent. My agent was like, 'No.' [My agent] was like, 'No one's going to offer you that part.' I was like, 'Thanks for the reassurance.' "

Finnick appears in both "Catching Fire" and the last book in the franchise, "Mockingjay." Ten years before he entered the arena in "Catching Fire," he had won the Hunger Games at age 14 using a Trident. Although they sometimes have a shaky relationship, Finnick and Katniss eventually become friends and ultimately join a group of rebel sharpshooters called Squad 451.

While Finnick's casting remains up-in-the-air, the cast is expected to hit the set for the second "Hunger Games" film sometime in the coming months. And, shortly after Francis Lawrence got the directing gig for the flick, Josh Hutcherson opened up to MTV News about the director shake-up.

"I think he'll stay true to the first one. Gary's already established a tone and a theme and kind of a whole world. So I think Francis will operate within that. I hope so," he said. "At the same time, if I were directing, I'd want to bring my own thing to it. So I hope he brings something different to it, which I'm sure he will."

Who would you cast as Finnick Odair in "Catching Fire"? Leave your pick below!

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

• MTV Rough Cut: CinemaCon 2012

Christopher Nolan Was 'Nervous' About Including Catwoman In 'Dark Knight Rises'

Director tells Empire magazine that his brother Jonathan convinced him 'there would be a great way to do it.'
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in "Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Warner Bros

Christopher Nolan's first two Batman films firmly established the tone and terms of his version of Gotham City. The character would feel more real. Bruce Wayne's gadgets would have basis in actual military technology. Overall, Nolan's Caped Crusader would feel truer to today's world, allowing for parallels to exist more organically.

So it almost seemed out of character when Nolan announced Catwoman and Bane as the two newest additions to the universe in "The Dark Knight Rises." A cat-themed burglar and a luchador-mask-wearing, Venom-dependent super-genius doesn't naturally fall under the categories of "realistic" and "organic."

In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Nolan opens up about his decision to include Catwoman in his take on the Batman mythos; not surprisingly, it took some convincing on the part of his brother Jonathan.

The brothers Nolan collaborated on the screenplays for "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Dark Knight" with David S. Goyer, and when it came time to decide whether Selina Kyle would make an appearance in the series before it came to a close, Jonathan strongly supported the notion, eventually convincing his older brother of the same.

Why did Jonathan Nolan feel so strongly about including Catwoman? He tells Empire that for their vision of Batman to be complete, they simply couldn't leave her out. "What we're endeavoring to do here is tell a complete take on the Batman mythos. And a complete take of the Batman mythos without the character for me was sacrilegious," Nolan said. "You've gotta have her, because she has a delicious greyness to her that helps define who Batman is. She keeps wavering on this line of, 'Is she a good guy or a bad guy?' Well, she's kind of neither. And that's why, to me, that relationship and that character only enhances the universe — and the Batman character."

But fitting her into the world provides a challenge unto itself. Part of that transformation manifests itself simply in the character's name. According to the article, Selina Kyle is never once referred to as Catwoman in the script. Most of the translation, however, comes with the basic conception of the character.

"Catwoman is a very iconic figure in the Batman pantheon," Christopher Nolan conceded. "I was nervous about how she would fit into our world. But [Jonathan] was very much convinced that there would be a great way to do it and eventually turned me around. Once I got my head around the idea of looking at that character through the prism of our films, saying, 'Who could that person be in real life?' we figured it out. She's a bit of a con-woman, something of a grifter. A hard-edged kind of criminal."

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

Check out everything we've got on

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

• Get Psyched For 'Dark Knight Rises'

• Analyzing Catwoman's Costume In 'Dark Knight Rises'

Mumford & Sons Finish New Album, Announce U.S. Tour Dates

Band announces that the follow-up to Sigh No More will be released in September, after they bring their Gentlemen of the Road revue to the U.S.
By James Montgomery

Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons
Photo: Noel Vasquez/ Getty Images

For about a year now, any news about the follow-up to Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More was usually punctuated with a "...probably" (see!), because the band had made no bones about the fact that they were taking their time on the record, deadlines be damned.

But now, it appears that we can remove any uncertainty, because not only have Mumford finished the new album, but it's coming out in September (OK, one last time ... probably).

The band made the announcement on Monday during their performance at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands. According to reports, frontman Marcus Mumford told the crowd that the new album was finished, and keyboardist Ben Lovett added that it would be due in stores on September 24.

Of course, it bears mention that a spokesperson for Mumford & Sons did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on that release date (hence the "probably"), though it seems like, at long last, the new album is complete ... especially given the other bit of Mumford news that broke on Tuesday: They'll be returning to the U.S. for a handful of shows this August.

Yes, Mumford will be bringing their daylong Gentlemen of the Road revue to the States beginning on August 4 in Portland, Maine. (They've got two dates scheduled for Ireland and the U.K. next month). Joining them on the bill are an eclectic group of hand-selected openers, including St. Vincent, Gogol Bordello, Dawes and JEFF the Brotherhood. Tickets for the shows go on sale beginning Friday through the tour's official site.

Mumford & Sons' Gentlemen of the Road dates, according to the band's publicist:

» 8/4 — Portland, ME @ the Eastern Promenade (with St. Vincent, Dawes, the Maccabees, Apache Relay, Simone Felice and Haim)

» 8/11 — Bristol, VA @ State Street in Downtown Bristol (with Dawes, JEFF the Brotherhood, the Very Best, Justin Townes Earle, Apache Relay, Simone Felice and Haim)

» 8/18 — Dixon, IL @ Page Park (with Gogol Bordello, the Very Best, Grouplove, Two Gallants, Apache Relay and Haim)

» 8/25 — Monterey, CA @ Monterey County Fairgrounds (with Gogol Bordello, the Very Best, Grouplove, Two Gallants, Apache Relay and Haim)

Are you planning on seeing Mumford & Sons on tour? Let us know in the comments!

• Mumford & Sons

'Fifty Shades Of Grey': Stephenie Meyer Speaks Out

'Twilight' author tells MTV News that E L James' fan fiction bestseller is 'really not my genre, not my thing.'
By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Photo: The Writer's Coffee Shop

"Fifty Shades of Grey" seems to be on everyone's mind lately. How will they make NC-17 reading material into an R-rated film? Who will take on the role of the timid Ana Steele? And, most importantly, who will be cast as Christian Grey, the sexy leading man? Those all are important questions, but the one query we were itching to have answered is: What does "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer think of the book? E L James' trilogy started out as "Twilight" fan fiction, after all.

When MTV News caught up with the writer on the set of "The Host," she told us she doesn't know much about "Fifty Shades," but she supports James in her endeavor.

"I haven't read it. I mean, that's really not my genre, not my thing," she said with a laugh. "I've heard about it; I haven't really gotten into it that much. Good on her — she's doing well. That's great!"

"Fifty Shades" follows the sadomasochistic affair of college graduate Ana Steele and dominant billionaire Christian Grey. Their relationship begins as a purely physical attraction, but as they become engrossed in each other and start to fall in love, Ana realizes Christian's past might not be something she wants to uncover. Christian represents Edward Cullen, a brooding, self-deprecating and impossibly good-looking man with a few secrets, while Ana is an adaptation of the clumsy and shy Bella Swan. Without Meyer's novel, "Fifty Shades" might not exist.

"It might not exist in the exact form that it's in," Meyer said. "Obviously, [James] had a story in her, and so it would've come out in some other way."

But James isn't the only writer who gained Meyer's support. "The Host" author mentioned being a "super fan" of Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games."

"I'm just excited for anything that they do," she said. "I was really excited they were turning it into a movie. Of course, then you have that, 'Are they gonna screw it up?' 'cause it's so awesome, but they didn't; it's awesome. I'm really looking forward to the next one. I have fingers crossed for a couple of casting choices."

Once she revealed she had actors in mind, we had to ask her pick for the beloved District 4 tribute, Finnick Odair: "Taylor Kitsch," she said, stating her choice. "Is there another option?"

When our correspondent Josh Horowitz mentioned he spoke to Kitsch, and the actor said he's not interested in the role, Meyer was more than a little disappointed, saying, "You're breaking my heart."

MTV Movie Awards' Best Kiss Must Be 'Powerful,' Robin Thicke Says

'You have to build up the tension, because the kiss is the release,' crooner tells MTV News.
By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Rebecca Thomas

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

The Best Kiss award at the MTV Movie Awards is arguably the fans' favorite category to vote on.

For the past three years in a row, the honor has been bestowed upon "Twilight" co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart for their smooches as Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. This year, they're up against some hefty competition: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in "Crazy, Stupid, Love," Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in "The Vow" and, their biggest opponents, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in "The Hunger Games." While the winner is anybody's guess, we're wondering which couple deserves the award.

There's no one better to answer our question than Robin Thicke, who's managed to croon his way into the hearts of many ladies. The musician tells MTV News that the Best Kiss award should go to the most "powerful" smooch.

"You have to build up the tension, because the kiss is the release," the "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" singer said. "The kiss is the moment when the strings come in, and all of the danger and the anger and the frustration and the loss — the kiss becomes redemption. It takes you out of purgatory and into the gates of heaven. A kiss has to be that powerful, in my opinion."

If fans honor Thicke's definition when they vote, it sounds like Hutcheron and Lawrence could take home the coveted golden popcorn. Their characters, Katniss and Peeta, are in danger while they're stuck in a cave, she could lose him if he dies from his injuries, and he's frustrated and angry that she wants to head into the bloodbath of the Cornucopia to save him. With a single kiss, all that tension is released. Sounds like they're a shoe-in, right?

You decide! The power is in your hands. Vote now through Saturday, June 1, at MovieAwards.MTV.com, and stay tuned for more Movie Awards coverage right here on MTV News!

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

Who gets your vote for Best Kiss? Share your pick below!

• 2012 Movie Awards Presenters