Lawrence beat out a slew of high-profile young actresses for the role of Katniss Everdeen, including such names as Hailee Steinfeld, Shailene Woodley, Emma Roberts, Chloe Moretz and Saoirse Ronan. When you hear producer Nina Jacobson talk about the day she came in to read for the part, it's not hard to understand why.

"She really stole the part in her audition," said Jacobson during recent press roundtables for the film. "She made the casting director cry. The casting director was playing Prim.  Her audition is an amazing performance already.  She has such complexity, such an ability to put you in her shoes.  I mean, you can't take your eyes off of her.  I find, when I watch her in this movie...that she does so much and she does it so naturally and so organically, and she’s also a very grounded person and she brings a realism to the character that I think is very authentic."