Francis Lawrence , who is directing the second installment of The Hunger Games franchise, Catching Fire will come on board for the final two in the series, Mockingjay – Part 1 and Mockingjay – Part 2 . Lawrence is currently filming Catching Fire , which is due out in 2013. Collider broke the news of Lawrence’s commitment to the final two Hunger Games . Gary Ross, who directed the first Hunger Games , starring Jennifer Lawrence, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci and Josh Hutcherson declined to direct the follow-ups saying he didn’t believe he could reasonably take on the tight schedule. Lawrence noted last May after the announcement he’d direct Catching Fire : “It is truly an honor and a privilege to bring Catching Fire, the second chapter of Suzanne’s beloved trilogy, to the big screen. I fell in love with the characters, the themes and the world she created and this chapter opens all of these elements up in such a thrilling, emotional and surprising way. I can’t wait to dive right into it and bring this chapter to life along with the truly superb cast and filmmakers involved.” Catching Fire will open November 22, 2013. Mockingjay – Part 1 is due out on November 21, 2014 and Mockingjay – Part 2 is set for November 20, 2015. [ Source: Collider ]
Well, it looks like Lionsgate has picked their pony in the Catching Fire directing race ; I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence has reportedly been offered the job to helm the Hunger Games sequel, which is set to start filming on a tight schedule this August. Lawrence has three features under his belt, in addition to music videos for the likes of J. Lo and Britney Spears; he most recently directed Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon in Water for Elephants (but also made 2005’s Constantine ). Lawrence is said to have gotten the offer over Moneyball ‘s Bennett Miller, who Deadline reports was “very interested” in the gig but wanted to take time to film his Foxcatcher first. So what is there to say about Lionsgate’s choice? At least Lawrence has experience handling visual effects, building devastated but slick near-futuristic worlds, and working with teen heartthrobs. And hey, he won a Grammy (for directing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” video)! So there’s that. If Katniss Everdeen finds herself besieged in a techno bathhouse in the Simon Beaufoy-penned sequel, he’ll know what to do. And hey, maybe he can get Gaga to play Johanna Mason… Catching Fire is already set for release for November 22, 2013. Muse away on the Lawrence hire in the comments below! [ Deadline ]
Well, that was fast: Just hours after Josh Hutcherson gamely threw his support behind Hunger Games director Gary Ross , Ross has officially announced he’s not directing the franchise sequel, Catching Fire . “I simply don’t have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make,” wrote Ross in a statement. More after the jump. Whatever happened behind the scenes, Ross and Lionsgate’s joint statements make a point to emphasize that not directing Catching Fire was Ross’s decision, not the studio’s — a nicety that conveys good terms whether or not tough negotiations over salary and the like were had. Similar sentiments were expressed back in 2008 when, after opening the first Twilight film at number 1 on the way to a $392 million global take, director Catherine Hardwicke and Summit parted ways. Back then, the reason given was that Hardwicke’s desired amount of time to properly develop the sequel was longer than what the studio wanted to allot. “I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct New Moon ,” Hardwicke said in December 2008 . “Directing Twilight has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel — it is a great story. Compare that with Ross’s statement and let the wild speculation roll as to why Ross is truly out — and, more importantly, who’ll step in to fill his director’s chair on the rapidly approaching Catching Fire , said to be slated to begin filming as early as this August. Despite recent speculation in the media, and after difficult but sincere consideration, I have decided not to direct Catching Fire . As a writer and a director, I simply don’t have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule. I loved making The Hunger Games – it was the happiest experience of my professional life. Lionsgate was supportive of me in a manner that few directors ever experience in a franchise: they empowered me to make the film I wanted to make and backed the movie in a way that requires no explanation beyond the remarkable results. And contrary to what has been reported, negotiations with Lionsgate have not been problematic. They have also been very understanding of me through this difficult decision. I also cannot say enough about the people I worked with: Producer Nina Jacobson, a great collaborator and a true friend; the brilliant Suzanne Collins, who entrusted us with her most amazing and important story; the gifted and remarkable Jennifer Lawrence whose performance exceeded my wildest expectations, and the rest of the incredible cast, whom I am proud to call my friends. To the fans I want to say thank you for your support your faith, your enthusiasm and your trust. Hard as this may be to understand I am trying to keep that trust with you. Thank you all. It’s been a wonderful experience. Statement from Lionsgate: We’re very sorry that Gary Ross has chosen not to direct Catching Fire . We were really looking forward to making the movie with him. He did an incredible job on the first film and we are grateful for his work. This will not be the end of our relationship, as we consider Ross to be part of the Lionsgate family and look forward to working with him in the future. [via Deadline ]
Gary Ross may have been an unexpected choice to direct The Hunger Games , but his quest for the gig was no less obsessive than the fervor of the novels’ fans; it took him exec-stalking across the Atlantic, involved elaborate custom-made storyboards, and inspired him to make a video of actual Hunger Games fans and their love for Suzanne Collins’s sci-fi series. (Besides, who else could’ve brought on Steven Soderbergh to direct second unit on one of the film’s big scenes?) Sure, Ross had been Oscar-nominated four times before (for writing Big , Dave , and Seabiscuit , which he also co-produced), but his resume was so far removed from the realm of dystopian teen science fiction that some fans were wary of what he’d do to the beloved franchise. He learned about the books from his children, both teenagers, pored over the first book himself, and decided at 1:30 a.m. that he needed to be the one to direct the big-screen adaptation. So what was his first move? Stalking, of course. “When we met directors, before I had met hardly anybody, he came to London – I was there working on another movie – and he pretended he was there for Wimbledon,” recalled producer Nina Jacobson, who optioned Collins book in 2009 before ultimately taking it to Lionsgate after fielding offers from multiple studio suitors. “We went out for breakfast and had an amazing conversation and it was very clear that what he loved about the book, and what mattered about the book, were the characters and the themes, and that he really got it. He got it at the most fundamental level. I had known him for a long time, but from that point on I was very mindful of how insightful he was about the material and how much he understood what it was really about.” Ross had never before had to audition for a directing job, he told Movieline earlier this month, so he went all out in his official pitch presentation. Commissioning multiple concept artists (“More than I’d had on the actual movie,” he quipped), Ross constructed elaborate storyboards depicting the look and feel of dystopian Panem, which he and production designer Philip Messina describe as “retro-futuristic.” But at the centerpiece of his presentation was a video he’d shot consulting young fans of the books discussing what themes spoke to them most in The Hunger Games . That video helped sell Jacobson. “He had this video that he had done of his kids and their friends, and what those kids loved about the book,” she recalled. “He could really appreciate from a fan point of view what it is that makes these books so moving – the idea, which was even inside his original conversations, that Katniss’s relationship with Rue is the thing that opens her up to the possibility of trusting Peeta. The deeper character and thematic lines in the material, he understood from the beginning, but he also had a sensitivity to what spoke to kids.” Once he landed the job, Ross pulled in notables in many fields to help achieve his vision, including composers James Newton Howard and T Bone Burnett, Clint Eastwood’s DP Tom Stern, and editors Stephen Mirrione (a Steven Soderbergh regular) and Juliette Welfling ( The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ). He also tapped an old friend to help out with one brief, but key, scene that he couldn’t shoot himself. Enter Soderbergh, who stepped in on second-unit duties and operated the camera himself on [SPOILERS] a riot scene that breaks out in District 11 during the Games. [END SPOILERS] Judge for yourself if Ross was the director for the job when The Hunger Games hits theaters March 23. Meanwhile, Ross is set to direct the sequel, Catching Fire , with Simon Beaufoy scripting. Read more on The Hunger Games . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
When Gary Ross picked rocker Lenny Kravitz out of nowhere to play Katniss’s stylist Cinna in 2012’s The Hunger Games , many folks were taken by surprise. But none, perhaps, were more surprised than Kravitz himself, who admits he didn’t even know what The Hunger Games trilogy was until he got Ross’s phone call.
