”These are kids growing up in war who physically, emotionally can’t love somebody,” says Jennifer Lawrence about the uncomfortable triangle between District 12’s battle-weary Katniss, Peeta, and her childhood friend Gale that began in The Hunger Games. ”Katniss thinks she can’t have a crush on a boy because she’s worried about survival every single day. And she can’t be a normal 16-year-old meeting her friend out in the woods and practicing kissing because that’s not the world that they live in.” - ”Jen and Liam have amazing chemistry,” says director Francis Lawrence of his young stars. ”They have a nice moment right before Katniss is reaped that is the very first thing we shot. And then when Gale has been brought in from the whipping, that’s another really nice moment they have alone.” ”This the book where you have to understand the pull Katniss feels to both Peeta and Gale,” say producer Nina Jacobson.”