Lionsgate Stretching Three The Hunger Games Books into Four Films
Deadline
http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/hunger-games-will-provide-a-feast-for-lionsgate-execs-say/
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Another day, another The Hunger Games story. But this one isn’t about casting; it’s about profits for Lionsgate, whose executives confirmed today that even though the literary franchise created by Suzanne Collins is comprised of just three books, the film franchise will be made up of four features.
Per Deadline Wall Street analysts were told this morning to expect big things from The Hunger Games, a quartet of action films that the studio will release from the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. Specifically, COO Joe Drake said it was “the highest selling film we’ve ever had” at the Cannes Film Festival and overseas exhibitors consider it “the movie that can change their company.” Although Lionsgate wouldn’t disclose its budget for the films, Drake says The Hunger Games could become an “outsized success” for Lionsgate. The studio says it bought the rights before the books became runaway best-sellers, and it has “retained the majority of the upside” in its talent and distribution deals.
From the comments that are already appearing online, it seems fans aren’t convinced there’s enough meat on the bones of the three books to warrant stretching the material into four films. But, hey, that’s Hollywood for you. If Harry Potter and Twilight can get away with it, why not give it a whirl?
The Hunger Games stars Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Liam Hemsworth, Paula Malcolmson, Willow Shields, Latarsha Rose, Lenny Kravitz, Brooke Bundy, Leven Rambin & Jack Quaid (#1), Alexander Ludwig & Isabelle Fuhrman (#2), Ian Nelson & Kalia Prescott (#3), Ethan Jamieson & Tara Macken (#4), Chris Mark & Jackie Emerson (#5), Ashton Moio & Kara Petersen (#6), Sam Ly & Leigha Hancock (#7), Samuel Tan & Mackenzie Lintz (#8), Imanol Yepez-Frias & Annie Thurman (#9), Jeremy Marinas & Dakota Hood (#10), Amandla Stenberg & Dayo Okeniyi (#11), and Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) & Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) (#12).
Look for the film in theaters on March 23, 2012, and be sure to keep your eyes on the official The Hunger Games Facebook page and the official The Hunger Games Twitter feed for updates.
Set in post-apocalyptic America, the movie will introduce heroine Katniss Everdeen, a self-sufficient 16-year-old who lives in District 12, one of the poorer districts in the nation of Panem, what used to be known as North America before its utter destruction several years earlier. Katniss becomes a participant in the Hunger Games, an annual televised tournament where one boy and one girl from each of the nation’s twelve districts must fight to the death until only one competitor, or “tribute,” is left standing.
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