Who will play district hotties Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason? And WTH is happening with director Gary Ross? Portia Baladad predicts what we can expect in The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire.
While The Hunger Games continues to CRUSH the box office, the question on my everyone’s mind seems to be, how can the next film top it?
In Catching Fire, Peeniss Katniss and Peeta return to District 12 before ‘celebrating’ their victory in Panem. To use a cliché, Peeniss may have won the battle, but they haven’t won the war. Their double victory has Panem’s regime fuming and they decide to punish them. What President Snow and his cronies don’t know is that a revolution is looming and Katniss is the face of it. [Dum, dum, dum.]
So, what can fans expect to see next year? (WARNING: Spoilers ahead. I don’t want to Liz Lemon you all)
Will Gary Ross direct the sequel?
Unfortunately, no. Ross recently announced that he won’t be directing the next film. Time, not money, seems to be what’s keeping Ross out of the director’s chair. The film is scheduled to start production this fall, leaving its star, Jennifer Lawrence, free to film the X-Men: First Class sequel in January. Without Ross at the helm, and a nearing start date, Lionsgate is scrambling to find a new director.
The studio’s shortlist includes Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), David Cronenberg (the Fly), and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel). They would all do the film’s darker themes justice, but what’s really bugging me is that the list is full of men! I wouldn’t mind seeing some strong female directors thrown into the mix (more notably, the Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow) especially considering Katniss is a badass herself.
Who’s playing Finnick Odair?
Considering Catching Fire doesn’t even have a director, no one knows who’ll be playing the 24 year-old hottie wielding the trident from District 4. If fans had their way, the casting directors’ list will include Alex Pettyfer, Armie Hammer, Grant Gustin and Zac Efron. While all pretty in their own right, my vote goes to Hammer, who you know from The Social Network. Strong talent is what a franchise like The Hunger Games needs to stay in both the critics’ and fans’ good graces.
What about Johanna Mason?
Despite poor box office numbers for Saw VI, which went head-to-head with Paranormal Activity and lost, Lionsgate is pumping extra funds into the seventh installment of the horror franchise to bring it to viewers in 3D, reports Perez Hilton.
“As long as we make money on it, we’ll keep doing this,” said vice-chairman Michael Burns.
Saw 7 trailer can be found at http://teaser-trailer.com
