Director Francis Lawrence unpacks Lucy Grays big arena performance.
Plus, music producer Dave Cobb breaks down the films dystopian Appalachia sound.
Warning: This post contains spoilers from the 10th annual Hunger Games.
Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’.Lionsgate
Thats the first song she sang in the filming of the movie, Lawrence tells EW.
The sound of her solo voice in that big cement space was pretty incredible.
It gave everybody chills.
Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’.Lionsgate
Some people were even tearing up.
It didn’t come without some challenges.
So, we had to be careful there.
Lionsgate
There were other unexpected influences, too.
Theres a little bit of the Smiths, Cobb tells EW.
Pure as the Driven Snowcould have been a Smiths melody, in a way.
It needed a little bit of a twist.
I didnt want to make it completely period [piece].
Cobb was tapped to create the music before the film had even been made.
But he notes there were no creative challenges there, citing Collins razor-sharp vision.
Im a history buff, and Suzanne is 10 times the history buff that I am, he says.
When you talk to her [aboutHunger Gamesmythology], its so deep.
Theres so many layers.
These lyrics are taken from so much knowledge of old country Appalachian, British Isles music.
Shes very well versed [on the history].
Working with genius Zegler, Cobb adds, made this particular gig really easy.
It was effortless and fun, he says.
She didnt need a lot of coaching.
She kind of coached us.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesis in theaters now.
You canbuy Entertainment Weekly’sThe Ultimate Guide to The Hunger Gameshereor on newsstands.
