If audiences are bothered by “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” cliffhanger ending, they can blame “Breaking Bad.”
“Catching Fire” director Francis Lawrence told the Huffington Post that it was AMC’s critically-acclaimed drama that gave him a boost of confidence to be “bold” by abruptly leaving fans wanting more by the end of the sequel to “The Hunger Games.”
See photos: ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ L.A. Premiere: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson (Photos)
“I like a cliffhanger,” he said. “I was saying, what’s really interesting is I became really obsessed with ‘Breaking Bad’ while we were making this and binge-watched the entire series up until these last eight episodes while we were making ‘Catching Fire.’ And the more I watched those episodes, I just became sort of convinced that you can do that kind of stuff with movies, too.
“I know it’s weird because TV people used to always look at movies for inspiration, and now, suddenly, we’re looking at some great TV shows as inspiration. But they opened bold and they end bold, and I just think that that’s fun stuff.”
“Breaking Bad” ended its five-season run at the end of September, and has yet to fade from fans’ minds. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted more so badly that he said he offered creator Vince Gilligan $25 million an episode for just three more, which he planned on chopping up into 6-minute daily downloads.
See video: ‘Hunger Games’ Fandemonium: TheWrap on the Scene of ‘Catching Fire’ Premiere
(The plan didn’t work out.)
“Catching Fire” hits U.S. theaters on Friday, and sets up the Lionsgate franchise for another possible cliffhanger, as “Mockingjay” — the third book in author Suzanne Collins’ trilogy — will be split up into two films.
