It appears a director has been found for the second installment of “The Hunger Games” franchise. With off and on news filtering in about whether big time helmer Gary Ross would return for another round with Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, Lionsgate seem to have found their man for “Catching Fire.”
And just who is this lucky, soon to be mega-famous, director: FRANCIS LAWRENCE.
Haven’t heard of him? He’s the guy who directed Will Smith in “I Am Legend,” and put Reese Witherspoon up on a pachyderm for “Water for Elephants.” Can he repeat Ross’s success of four
Josh Hutcherson is being honored for his work with the LGBT community with a Vanguard Award at this year’s GLAAD Awards. Hutcherson helped found the organization Straight But Not Narrow a few years ago to encourage straight kids to befriend LGBT youth rather than bully them.
Hutcherson is the youngest recipient of the Vanguard Award. In February, the actor said that the SBNN mission is close to his heart: “It hits close to home for me. I have a bunch of gay friends in Los Angeles. My roommate’s gay. I lost two uncles when I was young to AIDS, so
Before ‘The Hunger Games‘ there was ‘Detention‘ starring ‘Journey 2 The Mysterious Island’s” Josh Hutcherson and comedian Dane Cook. Now that ‘The Hunger Games’ is out in theaters, so comes ‘Detention,’ next week! – check out the official trailer below:
Diehard fans of “The Hunger Games” may want to check out the three signed final posters Lionsgate is currently auctioning for charity. Each studio-certified poster is signed by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz and Gary Ross and comes with a signed letter of authenticity.
Also up for auction are “The Hunger Games” books signed by Lawrence, Hemsworth, Ross, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson; nine flaming mockingjay posters, which are signed by Ross, Hemsworth, Hutcherson, Harrelson, Banks and Wes Bentley; and three Mockingjay pins.
During a chat with Ryan Seacrest, actor Josh Hutcherson revealed a few key snippets about the forthcoming “The Hunger Games” sequel.
Hutcherson said that the next flick, “Catching Fire,” will include more of the “unspoken tension” between his character Peeta and Gale, who is played by Liam Hemsworth. Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy just began working on the script with author Suzanne Collins and director Gary Ross. “They have a release date already of November next year, probably start shooting end of summer, beginning of fall,” he added.
“The Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence has the cover of the April 12 issue of Rolling Stone, and in the teaser for the accompanying story, her costars describe their first impressions of the actress.
Josh Hutcherson recalled their first conversation fondly, saying, “When I got cast, she called me up for one of those five-minute ‘Excited to work with you, blah, blah, blah’ things. The conversation started with her saying, ‘Think about a catheter going in — ouch!’ and then turns into a 45-minute rant about zombies and the apocalypse.”
Before ‘The Hunger Games‘ there was ‘Detention‘ starring ‘Journey 2 The Mysterious Island’s” 
