And like many young teenage girls, Furhman isobsessedwithThe Hunger Games.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you first get acquainted with the books?
And then the next day I bought the second one, and read it that night.
Credit: Murray Close
And then I had to wait until August for the third one to come out, which sucked.
But then I read the third one immediately.
Ive read the [full] series nine times now, and the first book 13 [times].
Lewis Jacobs/NBC
[Chuckling] So Im a little bit of a fan of it.
Immediately, I was drawn to Katniss, of course.
Its written through her eyes.
I wrote a letter to Gary Ross asking if I could audition for it.
My agent ended up getting me an audition with [casting director] Debra Zane.
I was told I was too young, because Im 14.
And here I am.
Wait, youre 14?
Well, Im 15 now.
Still getting used to that.
When they finally offered you the role, did you want to do it right away?
I cried, I was so happy.
It was one of those moments where you dont believe it actually happened.
What was your training like for Clove?
Originally, they wanted me to gain 10 pounds of muscle.
So they decided just to have me get leaner and more toned.
So I ended up getting some muscle tone on me.
Learning how to throw knives what wasthatlike?
It was very interesting.
And then move to a baseball.
And then move to plastic knives.
And then move to duct-tape-and-cardboard knives.
And then move to the actual knives.
A lot of it was physics, and knowing how much force to put on the knife.
Which is not what you want to do.
So a lot of practice.
Thats what [Clove] has been training for her entire life.
By the end, how accurate were you?
I can throw right on.
Its definitely a skill Im hoping to keep up with, even though its very odd.
The cornucopia scene what was that filming day like?
Theres running in, and each characters finding a weapon, and fighting for certain things.
We were very excited, because the cornucopia were the first scenes we filmed.
Thats where we became very close we call talked with each other and bonded.
Im really happy I get to play Clove.
You dont really get that kind of freedom with parts.
I talked to Gary about where I saw her.
We agreed on some points and disagreed on some points.
We talked about making her more dynamic by making her smarter than the other careers.
And in the tracker jacker scene, shes watching the tree.
So I think Clove was always testing her opponents, observing them.
Shes strong and is willing to do everything she can to survive, for her familys safety as well.
SPOILER ALERT: AndCatching Fire?
What are you looking forward to with that one?
ForCatching Fire, more Donald Sutherland, I think, [as Panems nefarious President Snow].
That was a scene that makes you cringe in the book, because its so creepy.
(END SPOILER ALERT.)
I think I guessed that this was a very popular book series.
But I didnt think it was this kind of caliber [of popularity].
Im like, I cant!
When did this happen?
Right when I got home from filming.
I had a week before I had to film another project.
We had a sleepover, and we were talking, and she was like, Hows the shooting.
I escaped through the window.
I was like, Im not sitting here anymore.
Im done tweeting and playing Tetris on my phone.
Whats next for you?
Its another dystopian future!
