E! caught up with Jena Malone last night  (7/26/12) at the Beverly Hills party for Dannijo & Tucker Tea where she shared how she feels about being cast as Johanna Mason and whether she has read the series!

As you may have heard, the 27-year-old starlet was cast on Monday as Johanna Mason in the second HG flick, Catching Fire.

“I’m super excited,” Malone exclusively told us at last night’s Beverly Hills party for Dannijo & Tucker Tea. “It’s going to be amazing.”

But she’s not rushing things.

“We’re getting there,” she said when asked if she’s met with director Francis Lawrence.

As for preparing for her role, she said, “One step at a time.”

Johanna is a former Hunger Games winner who becomes a rival to Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence).

One thing Malone doesn’t need to do is read the Hunger Games novels—she’s already done that.

“I read the whole series over a weekend when I had a wisdom tooth out,” she said. “I was in bed looking for something to read and my little sister recommended it like a year and a half ago, so she was like, ‘You have to read it! You have to read it!’ And so I’m glad I finally did and I loved it.”

Source : E!