Francis Lawrence Opens Up About the Loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence spoke with USA Today about the sudden and terrible loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead in his New York apartment last month after an apparent drug overdose.

“It was obviously very rough for all of us. He was a friend. He was an amazing actor, an iconic actor. He was someone I really looked up to.”

It was devastating news for Hunger Games fans, who were thrilled to have such an iconic actor in the cast. Hoffman had not yet finished filming all of his scenes for Mockingjay Part 2 and Lionsgate has had to make a few adjustments to the film. “We shut down for a day to give people time to deal with the sudden shock of it all. And to try and sort of figure things out a little bit,” said Lawrence.

Having watched the extras on Catching Fire, it was tough, yet touching to see such a long part of the Target exclusive dedicated to how much the cast loved working with Hoffman. “We still think about him every day.”

Read the full article at USA Today.