April 12, 2012

Gary Ross Won't Be Directing 'CATCHING FIRE', Lionsgate Has A Shortlist Of Replacements


Earlier this week it was announced that Gary Ross wouldn't be returning to direct the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. There had been rumblings of "problems" during the production which didn't help when Steven Soderbergh ended up offering his services as second unit director. Ross' shaky-cam shooting style was said to be the biggest flaw of the film. So it's not surprising to see the studio searching for a new visionary director. Hunger Games is now a franchise and needs to evolve that could mean different directors with each new film. The film has already earned for Lionsgate and they need to keep the production moving or risk losing Jennifer Lawrence to the X-Men First Class sequel.

24Frames reports the studio already has a shortlist of directing candidates which includes Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Gravity),  David Cronenberg (Cosmopolis, Eastern Promises) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Biutiful, Babel). Alfonso seems like the best choice since he's come into an established franchise before with the Prisoner of Azkaban and is currently one of the best science fiction directors working today. Alejandro has the awards pedigree with multiple films earning Oscar nominations and wins. However, he's never made the jump to blockbusters so it could be interesting to see him take on Catching Fire, even more science fiction. Oddly enough, while Cronenberg seems the weirdest choice of this group he was previously offered to direct films like Return of The Jedi, Robocop (original) and Top Gun.

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