Now that the anticipation for Mockingjay, the third and final book in The Hunger Games trilogy, is over -- fans are starting to turn their attention to the movie adaptation of the first book.
Lionsgate is producing The Hunger Games for the big screen. Author Suzanne Collins has already written a first draft the screenplay and handed it off to veteran screenwriter Billy Ray for polishing.
Now, according to an article in The Daily Beast, Lionsgate is beginning the search for a director to helm the project. After that, the next likely step will be casting and finding a location to film the movie.
The trick in finding a director -- as with writing the screenplay -- is finding someone who can accurately portray the events in the book, without going overboard on violence. The book, after all, tells the story of teens forced to fight to the death for televised entertainment in a futuristic, dystopian society.
“The book’s ethics are clear and we will find a director who can handle the material in the right way,” Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson told The Daily Beast. “Suzanne was rightly concerned that it had the potential to be turned into something she hated, glorifying the violence the book is meant to critique.”
Lionsgate and producers agree that the film should aim for a PG-13 rating, so as not to alienate the books' original target audience of 12- to 18-year-olds.
“It would be wrong to make the R-rated version of it," Jacobson told The Daily Beast.
A PG-13 rating would certainly allow the series' teen audience to enjoy the movie -- while staying true to the violent events that take place in the book, and opening the film series up to its older fans.
According to previous reports, Lionsgate is hoping to begin filming in January or February with theatrical release set for later in 2011.
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