Peeta may have let Katniss take the reins during the Panem revolution, but the guy who portrays him was in total boss mode during his recent venture.
According to a new interview with ET Online, Josh Hutcherson has stepped behind the camera for his very first directorial debut. Though it's the perfect step for a former child actor to take in order to usher in his adult career, it's also one that gave Hutcherson plenty of jitters.
Hutcherson's new short film is a psychological thriller titled Ape, and is a part of a collaboration between Condé Nast Entertainment, Indigenous Media, and the company Hutcherson runs with his mother, Turkeyfoot Productions. The partnership is called The Big Script, and will consist of a series of five short films from young filmmakers like Hutcherson himself.
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So how did the actor feel about the endeavor? He compared the experience of premiering the short film — which you can watch over at The Scene right now — to a non-Hunger Games franchise.
"I am excited. I'm nervous as well. Excitement is winning the battle, currently, but it's like Voldemort and Harry Potter with their wands pushing the streams of energy back and forth."
As with any young director, what Hutcherson really didn't want was the film to be a total flop. He told ET Online that he was terrified having to face an awkward moment in which "compliments" were actually thinly-veiled criticism:
"The thing is, I do have a keen awareness of when people are bullshitting me. I'm really afraid to be bullshitted afterwards, you know what I mean? I know the things to say to people when you don't like something, because I've been in that position many times. I'm nervous to hear like, 'The lighting was really cool!'"
Totally valid. There's nothing more disheartening than someone placating you with a non-compliment in order to avoid making an honest, upsetting critique. Fortunately, Hutcherson shouldn't worry too much: though this may be his first directorial effort, he's watched and learned from some of the best — like Hunger Games director Gary Ross and Zathura director Jon Favreau. (Okay, so maybe Zathura wasn't Favreau's best. But still!)
Maybe one day it will be Hutcherson leading a major franchise from the director's chair. I'm already here for a Hutcherson-helmed Hunger Games spinoff.