If you're a film-savvy fan who's been wondering whether there might be a whole other pre-edited "Hunger Games," lurking in bits and pieces on the cutting-room floor and just waiting to be discovered and blow your mind... Well, hey, we asked Gary Ross about that! And while he couldn't (or wouldn't!) go into graphic detail about what might've been snipped in the editing process, he did confirm the reality of said cinematic juggernaut:
"There always is," Gary admitted when questioned about whether an epic, uncut "Hunger Games" was somewhere in existence. "There was a blisteringly long version."
Which brings us to the next question: What, and how much, got lost in transition?
Gary explained, "We shaped the movie. It's almost like a second writing process in a way. So from the assembly to where we are now, probably about 20 minutes [was cut]."
Which, if you're anything like us, is your cue to start hyperventilating and freaking out about what didn't make it into the movie. Because 20 minutes? Twenty minutes?! WHAT WAS IN THERE?!
The good news: according to the director, not much.
"The movie is so one thing to me right now, I'm trying to think what actually did hit the cutting-room floor," Gary mused, before coming up with an example of a cutaway sequence—and not, thank heavens, entire scenes—that didn't make it into the final cut. And because he knows his fanbase so well, he was quick to put our worst fears to rest (ex: that crucial plot points were skipped over, that essential characters got short shrift, or that the whole entire arena sequence was replaced by a five-minute continuous shot of Haymitch scratching his nethers).
"The essence of the narrative remained intact," he explained. "It just tightens up appropriately."
And to Gary, we say: WE'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S APPROPRIATELY.
But no, it's cool. We trust you, dude. Mostly.
What scenes would you hate to see skipped over in the final cut of "The Hunger Games"? Sound off in the comments and on Twitter!