Screen Junkies » Gary Ross

Steven Soderbergh Is (Logically) The Second Unit Director For ‘Hunger Games’

Penn Collins — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:26:37 +0000

When Steven Soderbergh said he was going to retire, most people thought he meant he was going to stop directing films, but what he really meant was that he was going to direct just as many films as he had been, but also picking up work in menial capacities on dystopian teen fiction adaptations.

And let it be known that Steven Soderbergh is a man of his word. The auteur has recently come aboard as second unit director on Gary Ross‘ Hunger Games. While this may seem to be a random pursuit on Soderbergh’s end it seems to be a very practical one from director Gary Ross. Ross has a long-standing relationship with Soderbergh from earlier projects such as Pleasantville, and with the tight timetable that Hunger Games must meet, it serves the project well by having a trusted ally run with the 2nd unit duties, even if he may be a tad overqualified.

Or maybe Soderbergh just wants the opportunity to work with Lenny Kravitz. Who knows?

Gary Ross To Direct Carey Mulligan In Sci-Fi ‘Outback’ Once They Clear Their Plates

Penn Collins — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:12:38 +0000

10 photos‘Shame’ Actress Carey Mulligan

Carey Mulligan will be returning to Australia for the Gary Ross-helmed Outback. After completing The Great Gatsby. And Drive. And the sex-addiction drama Shame. So, not now, but someday. Meanwhile, Ross is busying himself the The Hunger Games, which is currently shooting.

Outback will be a science-fiction project set in the Australian outback, but beyond that, the logling is being kept under wraps. Tobey Maguire, her Gatsby co-star, will be taking on producer duties for the film.

Nissar Modi will be drafting the script, which stems from an original idea hatched by him and Ross. No other casting news has broken, but it’s a safe assumption that Mulligan will be playing a lead, given her rising stock and busy schedule. (Variety)

‘Hunger Games’ News: Kravitz Is A Cinna, District 12 Exposed

Geoffrey Golden — Tue, 24 May 2011 04:07:04 +0000

In terms of Hunger Games news, we’ve heard quite a bit about what actors will be cast as which murdered tributes, but what about the buildings? Who’s being cast as what buildings? No, that’s not right. What I mean is, “what’s the set looking like?”

Below are some sneak peaks into the developing set of The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. The shooting is taking place in Shelby, NC, so if you’re a resident, just find the big “District 12″ lettering and it’ll lead you to Tween Hollywood History in the making. You can also catch a ride on the District 12 coal train, which is a lot like the soul train, only there’s more teen killing involved.

Meanwhile, Screen Junkies already reported that Lenny Kravitz was likely to be cast in The Hunger Games, but now the official word is that he’s playing Cinna the stylist. A girl’s gotta look fabulous before she gets shot at? Yeah, that actually sounds about right.

Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is directed by Gary Ross. (The Hob, The Playlist)

‘Hunger Games’ Pics: See More Of Jennifer Lawrence’s Glistening Katniss

Geoffrey Golden — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:07:25 +0000

According to EW, Jennifer Lawrence is “The Chosen One.” Yeah, I’d choose her. I’d choose the hell out of her. *Slow Wink*

Check out new preview stills below of Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games. It’s the movie based on the book, that based on tween enthusiasm, is going to be huge. Yesterday, Screen Junkies posted the first-ever Katniss still, and these are clearly from the same photo shoot. Totally digging the bow and arrow. Quiet, deadly, can kill from long distances. Very classy. Everything’s always guns and swords, guns vs. swords or guns with swords attached to them, so this looks like a nice change o’ pace.

The Hunger Games hasn’t actually started filming yet, but the Gary Ross directed adaptation is aiming to hit theaters with its arrow March 23rd 2012. (The Film Drunk)

Click To Embiggen

‘Hunger Games’ Director Wants To Adapt More Great Literature

Joseph Gibson — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:20:01 +0000

Director Gary Ross and producer Nina Jacobson have already teamed up once, to adapt The Hunger Games. Now they have their sights on another work of great literature: Cyrano de Bergerac. There aren’t very many details about the project, except that it’s a “modern retelling” of the famous story that … well, I’ll let you read it yourself:

“[I]t is understood to be a contemporary story revolving around ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, a man who is in love with a woman but is forced to woo her surreptitiously on behalf of a far more handsome but less expressive suitor. The twist here is the story is told using today’s vast and complex social media tools.”

Oh man, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for this pitch by John Whittington: “It’s Cyrano de Bergerac, but with Twitter.” Hollywood is truly a hotbed of creativity. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Woody Harrelson And His Awesome Weed Join ‘Hunger Games’

Geoffrey Golden — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:44:46 +0000

Woody is kind of a strange name. The Hunger Games is full of characters with strange names. I can smell the synergy. Oh… no, wait, that’s hemp. Never mind.

It’s official: Woody Harrelson has joined the cast of The Hunger Games, the endlessly-buzzed about Lionsgate adaptation of the first in a series of popular, dystopian tween novels by Susanne Collins. Harrelson will play Haymitch (“Hey, Mitch…’sup?”), the drunken winner of the 50th Annual Hunger Games, which took place over 20 years ago. Is Haymitch just a code name his character chose, in place of Woody Boyd? Does The Hunger Games take place in the “Cheers” universe? If so, I’m way more interested. Also, if so, which year did Norm win?

The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross and starring Jennifer Lawrence, hunts people in theaters March 23, 2012. (Hollywood Reporter)

Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz Play ‘Hunger Games’?

Geoffrey Golden — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:35:17 +0000

The Hunger Games is hungry… for actors. Not just ones you’ve never heard of, like Liam Hemsworth and Dayo Okeniyi, but also a few celebrities to compete for screen time with the teenage dystopian wastelanders. John C. Reilly‘s name has been bandied about, and now we’ve got word a few more big names have been offered roles:

According to new rumors, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci have been OK’d for Hunger Gaming. In keeping with the tradition of naming everyone funny, Harrelson’s character would be Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker. He’d be like the Milton-Bradley of games where people die. Actually, that job sounds pretty badass. We don’t know yet who the other actors would portray.

Directed by Gary Ross, the film stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. (Vulture)

Elizabeth Banks To Increase Adult Male Interest In ‘Hunger Games’?

Geoffrey Golden — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 01:57:15 +0000

I’m not too interested in seeing these Hunger Games that all the tweens are talking about, but I’ll tell you what I’m talking about: the hotness of Elizabeth Banks. Not only is she a very funny actress, who stars in”30 Rock,” Role Models and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but she’s also very, very easy on the ol’ eyeballs I am now somewhat more intrigued by this movie. Somewhat.

Banks is in talks to star as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games, alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Trinket is a beaurocrat, an escort for futuristic death-match participants and a bubbly airhead who regularly changes her hair color. All three of those are listed on her business cards.

Mere hours ago, we learned that Amandla Stenberg and Dayo Oekniyi will play Rue and Thresh. Do with that information what you will. Based on the first of several novels by Suzanne Collins, Gary Ross will direct this adaptation of The Hunger Games, written by Billy Ray. (Variety)

Jennifer Lawrence Winnning Dystopian Catfight For ‘Hunger Games’ Lead?

Geoffrey Golden — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:33:24 +0000

Every young actress in Hollywood is after the lead in Hunger Games, based on the first in a series of dystopian novels by Suzanne Collins, that are apparently similar to – what else? – Twilight. You’d think every studio executive was bitten by vampires, the way these Twilight wannabes keep coming. And who can blame actresses like Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Abigail Breslin (Zombieland) for wanting a little chunk of that Twilight change.

However, it looks like one actress is emerging victorious. 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence has Winter’s Bone-d her tough competition and is currently the closest to nabbing the part. Lawrence would play Katniss, a young girl in a shitty future, participating in a televised survival death match. I assume many of the ripped male contestants in these so-called “Hunger Games” compete with their shirts off. Maybe that’s why the Oscar nominee is so anxious for the role? It’s why I’ll probably be anxious for it to leave theaters as soon as possible.

Hunger Games will be directed by Gary Ross (Pleasantville) for Lionsgate. (Variety)

Update: Sources at Lionsgate claim Jennifer Lawrence has not been given an offer, but is pulling ahead of the pack. So Steinfeld still has time to shoot her in the belly.

Alex Pettyfer Might Play Handsome Young Dude In ‘The Hunger Games’

Dave Horwitz — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:12:15 +0000

Alex Pettyfer is becoming the reigning king of underperforming young adult adaptations, with I Am Number Four and Beastly just released mere weeks away from each other doing similarly underwhelming numbers. Now, the young actor might go three for three, as he’s in the running for another high profile YA adaptation: Gary Ross‘s The Hunger Games. Screen Junkies previously reported that upwards of THIRTY sought after young actresses from Jennifer Lawrence to Chloe Moretz were in the running to play the lead in the film, and now one of those actresses might have found someone to play her love interest, , Peeta Mellark.

Pettyfer, who appears to be the “next big thing” in the eyes of top Hollywood execs, but not the viewing public, is weighing his options to determine what his next film will be, as The Hunger Games isn’t his only option. He’s currently fielding offers to be in the next Jason Bourne movie, A film with Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Lawrence called The Last Apprentice, and a biopic about race car driver James Hunt. Pile them on while you can, handsome guy. There’s a square jawed young fellow behind you, waiting to take your place. And behind him, and behind him, etc. (The Playlist)

‘Hunger Games’ Gets A Kick-Off Date

Col. Longshanks — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:21:31 +0000

Lace up your whatever you need to lace up to play a game of survival. Lionsgate has informed EW that The Hunger Games, the adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘s futuristic thriller about a young girl surviving a reality show more brutal than “The Bachelor,” will be released March 23, 2012. Gary Ross is directing/reffing the child murder movie. Now you know how long you have to finish the book beforehand. I better boot up my Kindle like whoa.

Gary Ross Frontrunner To Direct Child Murder In ‘Hunger Games’

Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Gary Ross is the frontrunner to direct the child gladiator epic Hunger Games. Though the deal is not in place yet, the Pleasantville and Seabiscuit director is now in talks with Lionsgate to murder childeren in what is expected to be the first film in a huge franchise.

The film tells the story of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18 who are sacrificed by their communities to take part in a reality show where they hunt one another for sport. Obviously no casting has been announced yet, but I’m pulling for Justin Bieber. (Deadline)