The Hunger Games mistake that made Elizabeth Banks angry with Jennifer Lawrence

If you’re at all familiar with Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence’s public persona, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that she told fellow Oscar winner and “Don’t Look Up” co-star Leonardo DiCaprio about a strange and embarrassing experience she had on the set of the “Hunger Games” films. Specifically, Lawrence, who rarely (if ever) minces her words, told DiCaprio that she took an early morning sleeping pill by mistake while working on the second film in the four-part series, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” and that her colleague Elizabeth Banks wasn’t particularly happy about the whole situation.

Speaking during Variety Actors on Actors Series in December 2025, Lawrence and DiCaprio bonded over trying to get enough sleep before long shoots, something they both apparently struggle with. As Lawrence pointed out to DiCaprio, “You and I are both obsessed with sleeping when we’re working, like counting hours. When I did ‘Red Sparrow,’ I took an Adderall instead of a sleeping pill, and I didn’t sleep all night.” Unfortunately, she did the exact opposite while filming “Catching Fire” (in which Lawrence plays protagonist and Hunger Games homage Katniss Everdeen):

“I also once took an Ambien in the morning, thinking it was something else. It was a dance scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the second ‘Hunger Games’ movie. I was hallucinating. Elizabeth Banks was really annoyed with me.”

Banks, as you may recall, plays Katniss’s stylist, Effie Trinket. “But I kept asking [director Francis Lawrence]’And wait, what does that mean? Wait, and what does that mean? What do you mean?'” Lawrence recalled, noting that Banks was really irritated. “She just rocked and said, ‘All right, let’s keep talking about it.'” Still, as Lawrence noted, Banks probably didn’t know about Ambien.

In case you don’t remember what Jennifer Lawrence and Elizabeth Banks did in the original “Hunger Games” films, here’s a handy refresher: When we first meet Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, she’s a teenager in the impoverished District 12 of Panem, a dystopian, totalitarian version of North America divided into 12 distinct parts, and she’s preparing for the annual harvest, which will choose one boy and one girl from each district to fight. died at the titular Games. Despite her best efforts, Primrose Everdeen, played in the films by Willow Shields, is chosen as the female tribute for District 12, so Katniss, her older sister, immediately volunteers to do tribute in Prim’s name.

This is also when Katniss first crosses paths with Effie Trinket, the character made famous on screen by Banks. An over-the-top woman seemingly excited about the Games (which, again, involve a group of children being forced to brutally kill each other, with the sole survivor emerging from the combat arena as the victor), Effie is tasked with traveling to District 12 and choosing the names of the tributes. After Katniss and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are confirmed as district tributes, she then goes with them to the Capitol and shows them the ropes. Yet Effie’s smooth exterior hides a deeper person; In the final two-part film, “Mockingjay,” we see Effie in the rebel base of District 13, stripped of her makeup and garish outfits and fighting for survival along with everyone else. Now, with a new “Hunger Games” prequel movie on the horizon, another actor is reprising the role of Effie. So what does Banks think?

In 2025, the original author of “Hunger Games”, Suzanne Collins, published the long-awaited prequel novel “Sunrise on the Reaping”, which tells the story of a young Haymitch Abernathy and his narrow victory in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Haymitch, who is often paired with Effie in the original “Hunger Games” films, is played by Woody Harrelson at the time when he is Katniss and Peeta’s official mentor for the Games (in his capacity as the only known winner and survivor of the Hunger Games from District 12), but he will be played by Joseph Zada ​​​​in the film adaptation “Sunrise on the Reaping” scheduled for release in fall 2026.

‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ Producers Assembled an All-Star Cast to reprise roles originated by other luminaries, including Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland in the original films and Tom Blyth in the first “Hunger Games” prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents”), Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee (the role originated by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Kieran Culkin as Games host Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci in the first four films). So, what about Effie Trinket? I’m really excited to say that she will be played by Elle Fanning, whose recent credits include everything from “A Complete Unknown” to “Sentimental Value” to “Predator: Badlands.”

At least Banks seems excited about the idea. “I’m super excited,” Banks exclusively told People Magazine. “I also texted the producers, and I think she’s perfect. I think everyone’s really happy. And I’m really happy about that. I can’t wait for the next generation to have their Effie.” Many of us are too…and we’ll see Fanning play this character in “Sunrise on the Reaping” on November 20, 2026.