Lionsgate is hoping that The Hunger Games becomes the next Twilight in terms of box office and franchise success. It was /the-hunger-games-confirms-josh-hutcherson-and-liam-hemsworth/announced recently that Liam Hemsworth has been cast as Gale Hawthorne, and that Jennifer Lawrence is /the-hunger-games-confirms-jennifer-lawrence-as-katniss-everdeen/confirmed as Katniss Everdeen. This, of course, sent fans of the Suzanne Collins novel into a tizzy, as these two white actors have been cast in, what are described in the books as, biracial roles.
Director Gary Ross was quick to /the-hunger-games-director-gary-ross-defends-jennifer-lawrence-casting/defend these casting choices, as /hunger-games-author-talks-about-casting-jennifer-lawrence/was author Suzanne Collins. But another question still lingered. Would the characters of Thresh and Rue, who are depicted in the books as being African-America, be cast as African-Americans?
Gary Ross is assuring that, yes, they will be. Here is what he had to say.
"Thresh and Rue will be African-American. It's a multi-racial culture and the film will reflect that. But I think Suzanne didn't see a particular ethnicity to Gale and Katniss when she wrote it, and that's something we've talked about a lot. She was very specific about the qualities that these characters have and who they are as people. Having seen Liam and Jen perform these roles, that's really the most important thing. They're very much the characters to us. I have the advantage of having seen these guys audition for these roles, and I would never judge any role or any actor until I've seen them perform it."
In the same interview, Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins were asked which scene they were most looking forward to seeing on the big screen. This is what Suzanne Collins had to say.
"I have to see the fire. I have to see the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. I have to see Rue's death. There's a couple of the cave scenes with Peeta and Katniss. Now I'm going to go through it and I'm just going to pick every scene. It's all just a little too exciting to miss."
To read the rest of this interview, which delves deep into the screenwriting process behind The Hunger Games, CLICK HERE
