The Hunger Games Mistake That Made Elizabeth Banks Angry With Jennifer Lawrence

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

Speaking during Variety's 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 noted to DiCaprio, "You and I are both obsessive about sleep when we're working, like counting the hours. When I did 'Red Sparrow,' I took an Adderall instead of a sleeping pill, and then I didn't sleep all night." Unfortunately, she did the exact opposite while filming "Catching Fire" (in which Lawrence plays protagonist and Hunger Games tribute 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 on the second 'Hunger Games' movie. I was hallucinating. Elizabeth Banks got really annoyed with me." 

Banks, as you might recall, plays Katniss' stylist Effie Trinket. "But, I kept asking [director Francis Lawrence], 'And wait, what does this mean? Wait, and what does this mean? What does that mean?'" Lawrence recalled, noting that Banks got really irritated. "She just threw her sides and was like, 'Fine, let's just keep talking about it.'" Still, as Lawrence noted, Banks probably didn't know about the Ambien.

In case you don't remember what Jennifer Lawrence and Elizabeth Banks even 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 and totalitarian version of North America that's been split into 12 distinct parts, and she's preparing for the annual Reaping, which will choose one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death in the titular Games. Despite her very 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 as tribute on Prim's behalf.

This is also, incidentally, when Katniss first crosses paths with Effie Trinket, the character made famous on-screen by Banks. An over-the-top woman who's seemingly enthusiastic about the Games *which, again, involves a group of children being forced to brutally murder each other, with the sole survivor emerging from the battle arena as victor), Effie is in charge of going to District 12 and choosing the names of the tributes. After Katniss and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are confirmed as the district's tributes, she then travels with them to the Capitol and shows them the ropes. Still, Effie's preening exterior hides a deeper person; in the two-part final film, "Mockingjay," we see Effie in the rebel base of District 13, stripped of her garish makeup and outfits and fighting for her survival along with everybody else. Now, with a new "Hunger Games" prequel movie on the horizon, another actor is taking over the role of Effie. So, what does Banks think?

In 2025, original "Hunger Games" author Suzanne Collins released the long-awaited prequel novel "Sunrise on the Reaping," which tells the story of a younger Haymitch Abernathy and his narrow victory during the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Haymitch, who's often paired with Effie in the original "Hunger Games" movies, is played by Woody Harrelson by the time he serves as Katniss and Peeta's official Games mentor (in his capacity as the only surviving and known Hunger Games victor from District 12), but he'll be portrayed by Joseph Zada in the "Sunrise on the Reaping" film adaptation set to release in fall 2026.

The producers of "Sunrise on the Reaping" have assembled a star-studded cast to take over the 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 Snakes"), 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 of Effie Trinket? I'm genuinely excited to say she'll be played by Elle Fanning, whose recent credits include everything from "A Complete Unknown" to "Sentimental Value" to "Predator: Badlands."

At least Banks seems psyched about this. "I'm super excited," Banks exclusively told People Magazine. "I texted the producers as well, and I think she's perfect. I think everyone's really happy. And I'm really happy about that. I'm excited for the next generation to have their Effie." A lot of us are too ... and we'll get to see Fanning's take on this character in "Sunrise on the Reaping" on November 20, 2026.