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Lionsgate made official what Deadline foreshadowed last Friday. Josh Hutcherson has now been set by director Gary Ross to play the baker’s son Peeta Mellark, and Liam Hemsworth is set to play Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games. They will star opposite Jennifer Lawrence in what is expected to be a trilogy of films based on the Suzanne Collins novels. These were two the most coveted roles for young actors this year. Here’s Lionsgate’s release:
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 4, 2011- Lionsgate® and the filmmakers of THE HUNGER GAMES are pleased to announce that actor Josh Hutcherson (THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT) has been cast in the role of Peeta Mellark, with Liam Hemsworth (THE LAST SONG) joining the film in the role of Gale Hawthorne in the much anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ worldwide smash hit novel. Both actors will star opposite Jennifer Lawrence, who it was recently announced will play heroine Katniss Everdeen.
About The Characters
Peeta accompanies heroine Katniss Everdeen into the 74th annual Hunger Games as the male tribute chosen from their native District 12, the most remote and marginalized district of all the subjugated districts of Panem. At the outset of the Games, Peeta publicly confesses his longtime feelings for Katniss, setting up one of the most fascinating fictional rapports of all time with his supposed arena rival.
Though Katniss and Gale have never had a romantic relationship, they share a transcendent bond, often of few words. When Katniss volunteers to participate in the 74th Annual Hunger Games in her younger sister’s stead, they both presume that bond will carry her far through the horrors she will face in the arena, and they each silently hope they’ll be reunited in safety on the other side of the ordeal.
About The Film
THE HUNGER GAMES will be directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Collins’ best-selling novel, which has over 3 million copies in print in the United States alone, is the first in a trilogy of science fiction/action novels which have developed a global following.
“The Hunger Games” chronicles a dystopic Capitol which requires its twelve subjugated districts to pay tribute in the form of a teenage boy and girl, forced to participate in the annual “Hunger Games,” a fight-to-the-death live televised event. Katniss Everdeen’s little sister is chosen in the lottery to participate and Katniss volunteers to take her place. Although persevering through hardship is commonplace for Katniss, she must start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love in order to win the games and return home. The Hunger Games novel has been on the New York Times best seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. Foreign rights for the book, published by Scholastic have been sold in 41 countries.
Lionsgate will release “The Hunger Games” on March 23, 2012.
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I’m absolutely heartsick right now. Gary Ross and Nina Jacobson have completely ruined this amazing book with such horrible casting. Josh will never be my Peeta! What a disappointment! I have no enthusiasm for this movie at all anymore!
oh PUH-LEASE. There are now three AMAZING actors cast as the three leads of an amazing story, from an amazing book, with an amazing filmmaker at the helm. This is gonna be one hell of a movie.
3 Amazing Actors???!!! No who would that be? I see 1, Jennifer Lawrence. I see 1 hobbit and 1 Giant Oaf
Exaggerate much? Josh is exactly who i had in mind for Peeta. can’t believe i have to wait another year.
1) They’re doing a lot of stuff in collaboration with the author.
2) Even if they weren’t. That was a book, this is now a movie. The fact that they are picking people with name recognition who are in high demand is what is significant. This is a business, and they are going to make multiples and multiples of cash on this effort. The fact that the cast is excellent is only a positive.
3) What color hair a character has is completely irrelevant. What matters is the characters themselves. What choices they make and what words they say.
They cast a young girl who just got nominated for Best Actress for crying out loud. Not even Best Supporting, but Best Actress. Then a kid who was in another Best Picture contender that made a huge profit. The third person was in a movie that made more money than those two combined.
Besides, the only people who are upset by this are the people connected to those who lost out in casting.
everyone in the book from her town is a different color skin than any of the people being cast ….
BUT however i love josh hutcherson and agree that he is a good choice for peeta because i think he will play the role beautifully. the other choices so far – i don’t know about…
This is the biggest FAIL since Charlie Sheen’s Warlock Tour. I will not support this doomed project.
The only “fail” here is you having no casting sense. Phenomenal choices by Debra Zane and Gary Ross. **APPLAUSE** Finally there will be GOOD actors to support a huge book franchise. well done, i say.
I remember hating Heath Ledger when he was cast for Batman, too. I think ill actually see the movie this time before judging. Charlie Sheen for Haymitch, now that would be interesting.
I have seen Mr. Hemsworth in nothing, so I really have no opinion about that, but I really like the idea of The Hutch as Peeta. Good casting.
Gotta give it to deadline. Establishing yourselves as the ‘go-to’ for Bona fide news.
I like Hutcherson and fans have told me that his look and demeanour would make for a good Peeta.
For God’s sake Josh is terrible! Hunter Parrish as Peeta would be a thousand times better.
AGREED!
Wow, not who I was expecting. They’re not even trying to make them look as they were described in the books, huh?
EXACTLY my point too…
Terrible casting all around! None of them are right. What a disappointment.
I completely agree. Terrible..
I am not thrill wirh Jennifer as Katniss and was willing to wait to see how she does, but Josh and Liam I will not get pass. They have now choosen (IMO), wrong in the 3 most important roles. I will wait to rent the DVD.I am sure it will out on DVD next summer. I can wait. $1 at my library.
I am very disappointed. Hunter should hve gotten the roll.Josh will look horrible with blonde hair. And Liam with dark hair as well. OMG I’m not gonna wanna see this movie anymore. Lionsgate you suck. Thanks for ruining an amazing trilogy.
Maybe they’ll be smart and not dye their hair just to match descriptions. Casting based on looks is silly.
Hunter is a TV ACTOR…TV…
So what? Jennifer Lawrence was also a TV actor. Now she’s an Oscar-nominated actress. Same goes for Michelle Williams, Johnny Depp and many others.
Melissa Leo, an Oscar-winner, and Julianne Moore, nominated, started out in TV SOAPS! The horror!
If they whitewash the District 11 characters (Rue, Thresh, et cetera) I’m done.
Gary Ross gave an interview to EW where he specifically said that Rue and Thresh were African American, so they’re staying true to that.
If anyone one want’s to learn how to ruin a movie by miscasting, just look at what Gary and Colorforce have done to date with this, what could of been amazing movie. Pull the plug on this stinker now, and call it Euthanasia.
How can you say that? Did you watch films in 2010?
Josh Hutcherson in KIDS ARE ALRIGHT = f’ing awesome.
Jennifer Lawerence in WINTER’S BONE = f’ng amazing and Oscar nominated.
Liam Hemsworth in THE LAST SONG (yes I saw it) = A not so great movie but a guy who has a lot of potential and girls would dig.
He was not that great in the kids are all right, entirely replaceable lol.
Actually, I know there’s nothing wrong with casting off of buzz but neither of these can properly fit the roles. At the end of the day, I’d rather have competent actors and Josh has proven so, while Liam leaves much to be desired.
Ugh, what a disappointment. I was willing to give Jennifer Lawrence the benefit of the doubt since she was nominated for an oscar even though she looks nothing like the underfed, olive skinned, dark haired petite katniss described in the books. But this is ridiculous!! Josh is a decent actor, but paired with Jennifer he looks like her younger brother not a love interest. I think he only would have worked as Peeta with someone younger, like Hailee. This is just laughable now. I can’t even imagine the two of them as a couple. As for Liam, I actually think he would have been better as Peeta. I can’t see him as Gale at all but at least he has the height of a hunter. Honestly, in the book I was always a fan of Peeta and Katniss, but with Josh and Jennifer, it is going to be hard to root for Peeta except out of pity.
I have to agree with you on this! I was actually thinking that when I saw the pictures. Poor Peeta.
Now that Liam Hemsworth got this, which young 20 something actors that actually seem like they can legitimately kick ass are left for upcoming new franchises? I’m not being a bitch, I’m actually curious. There doesn’t seem like that many that could pull off real action… that I know of.
Stephanie Hunt would be a great choice in should be in more stuff. She was just in the Californication series with Zoe Kravitz, singing and playing bass with her. Devin in the Friday Night Lights series. She is a talent. Excellent looks.
What’s with all the fans jumping ship so easily??? I’m a huge fan of the books and I read the script and thought it was a terrific adaptation. It beefs up Gale’s role (which is necessary, since he’s barely in the first book and they need to establish the love triangle early on), and it beefs up Prim’s role in some really nice ways. Obviously they had to cut things from the book for sake of time, but there weren’t any huge things that I felt were missing.
I’m super curious about how the film turns out, and even though I’m not a fan of Hemsworth, I’ll give the movie a shot and make a decision based on the actual movie rather than the fact that the actors hair colors don’t match the characters in the book.
(Seriously, what’s the obsession with their hair color? Why is *that* such an important defining thing for people when they talk about casting these characters. Isn’t their chemistry with Katniss imminently more important???)
I think Hutcherson will make a good Peeta. Ever since The Kids Are All Right, I’ve been excited to see him in beefier roles.
Now onto the next important debate…….who will be Prim? Who will by Haymitch? Effie? Cinna?
(I vote for Elle Fanning as Prim. She looks like a young Jennifer Lawrence.)
Hair color is only part of it. Casting Katniss as a white blonde-haired chick instead of how Collins described her changes the racial subtext of the trilogy. That’s what people are upset about.
Katniss and racial subtext = one thing. But fans seem to take this to the nth degree, complaining that Peeta is supposed to be blonde and Gale is supposed to have brown hair and they got it all wrong and they’d better dye their hair, etc., and it seems to me that this kind of nitpicking is pointless and has little to do with the actual story. If their hair color was an actual plot point, I’d get it. But it isn’t. That was what I meant.
Not crazy about either of them in those roles (this on top of the wildly miscast Jennifer)…I would definitely agree that these two should swap roles…Hutcherson, who seems tougher and more physical, should be Gale…while Hemsworth seems a better fit for the blonde, sensitive, lovelorn Peeta. The gross miscasting for this film seems almost deliberately perverse…as if they’re trying to sabotage the film before it even goes into production.
Sure when you think of the wavey blonde hair, big blue eyes, stocky, love interest of 5’8″ Jennifer Lawrence AKA Katniss…… how can you not think of 5’5″ brown hair, brown eyed, skinny Josh Hutcherson. ????? Duh Obvious.
Right… Debra Zane and Gary Ross know nothing about casting. Where are your Oscar nominated movies?
Wow, you have it COMPLETELY wrong! Gary ross and Debra zane are professionals and YOU are not. They know what they are doing and Suzanne Collins herself was there and knows who could portray her characters the best!
I know their appearence is off putting to some people, or just not how they imagined them, but looks are only important to an extent, but having a grasp on the character oges above that, at least for me
Also when we see them in full hair.makeup.costume it will change a lot of minds, as it did for Heath ledge as the joker, oralando bloom in lord of the rings, and rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander.
Go Josh and Liam!!!! SO excited for this movie!!!!
this is horrible….
So begins the decline of Lionsgage. They should have stuck to what they know best…
I’m really quite pleased about Josh Hutcherson. Here’s a boy that has proven himself as a good actor and I feel this will be his biggest break yet. He’s not amazingly good looking which it sort of how I imagined Peeta. Because ultimately, it’s Peeta’s heart and character that won me over.
However, I’m a bit sceptical as to how I imagine they have interpreted Gale’s character. Liam Hemsworth is big, bulky, ‘hunky’ and not a very talented actor…. Let’s just pray Liam pulls some talent out of the bag for this one!
I’m still mad about jennifer being cast as katniss who is supposed to look a bit mixed, with olive skin and dark hair. Now they seem to have ruined the casting with two boys who look MUCH longer than her. She is wildly miscast and now so are these guys. Though, if they re-cast her, these guys might have a shot. Man, what is Hollywood doing these days??
Oops I meant *older* than her
Elle Fanning as Prim is great! I love her.
Jennifer Lawrence was not my choice for Katniss but I saw her great performance in Winter’s Bone so I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Even worse? I don’t think these two actors (Liam and Josh) are anywhere near her acting abilities, much less have the necessary chemistry with her. Poor choice of leading men. They should have devoted the same intensity they had in the search for Katniss to these two critical characters as well.