MTV News kicked off the week in a big way Monday with the exclusive premiere of the video for Taylor Swift's "Hunger Games" soundtrack song "Safe & Sound," which was followed by a lengthy chat with the country superstar about everything from her love for Suzanne Collins' best-selling book to her adorable cat Meredith.
Swift also took Twitter questions from fans, one of which came from @SafeandSound4Taylor, who asked the Grammy winner what she would do if she were in the real-life Hunger Games.
"I've thought about this, because reading the books, you're so sucked into it that as you go about your life, you sit there, and you're like, 'Could I climb that tree?' 'Could I make a weapon out of this?' 'If I had to forage for food, what would I do?' Honestly, I think I would just be the person who runs and hides," she admitted. "I kind of freeze. You know how you have fight, flight or freeze, those three reactions to something scary? I just freeze."
Swift said she would try to run and hide somewhere, and if she had to kill anyone, she hoped it would be in an indirect way, similar to a few of the deaths Katniss inflicts almost accidentally in the books.
When asked how writing a song for the movie came about, Swift said she received a call directly from the studio and subsequently devoured the books. "I immediately read the book in, like, two days and fell in love with it," she said. "I fell in love with the characters, fell in love with the world that Suzanne Collins had created. I was just so immersed in it."
She also revealed that when she was first asked to pen a song for the soundtrack, she thought she'd be writing something encouraging and upbeat. "When I got the call, I thought from what I'd heard about the movie, 'It's an action movie, right? We're probably going to be writing a song that's like, "We're going to win!" ' And then I read the book, and I thought, 'No, we're going to have to write sort of a death lullaby, it's so different from what I thought.' "
Swift seemed just as excited about seeing the finished film as we are and expressed curiosity in seeing scenes from the actual Games, which we haven't yet been shown via sneak peeks or trailers.
"They have never shown footage of the Games," Swift said. "I'm dying to see that. Everyone wants to see pivotal parts. The relationship with Rue and Katniss and also Peeta and Katniss and their relationship developing, and none of the Games have been shown yet, so I'm so excited for the movie. I'm a fangirl!"
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