I'm still waiting to hear the official word from Gary or Lionsgate... a lot of stuff in that article was extremely inconsistent with pretty much every interview Gary has ever done.
If that stuff in there is true, then I've lost a lot of respect for him. He was constantly talking about how excited he was to get started on Catching Fire.
While many have expressed their devastation at the news that director Gary Ross would not be returning to direct its sequel, Catching Fire, a source close to the situation tells Celebuzz that “nothing is official.”
After some lengthy negotiations, many are citing Gary’s film-making eye to be the main reason he would consider not coming back, not money.
Gary has directed a number of varying projects from Pleasantville to Seabiscuit, and The Playlist is reporting that the “burning desire simply isn’t there to spend another couple of years with Katniss in the Capitol.”
We know that we’re rooting for Gary to come back, Catching Fire just wouldn’t be the same without him!
What do you guys think? Do you want Gary to direct CF? Or would you like to see someone else take a shot? Sound off in the comments!
The Playlist says that Ross’ decision to pass on Catching Fire stems from a desire to press ahead with a different, original project that he’s more passionate about – one which, ironically, is expected to snag him a bigger payday than what Ross might’ve fetched for directing the second Hunger Games flick. Still, by all accounts, money was not the primary motivating factor for Ross’ departure.
Truth be told, Lionsgate had already taken precautions for an event like this. The studio recruited Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours fame) to start working on the Catching Fire script, back when Ross was still busy working the promotional circuit for Hunger Games. Hence, the ball’s already off and rolling on this tentpole production.
Couple that with Fox’s newly announced 2013 start date for filming on X-Men: First Class 2 - which will free up Jennifer Lawrence to reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire this fall – and (for now) it doesn’t appear that Ross leaving the Hunger Games sequel will trip up the film too much on its way down the production pipeline.
Fan reaction to the news concerning Ross’ vacating the director’s chair on Catching Fire will probably be somewhat mixed, as far the immediate response goes. On the one hand, most people seem to agree that he did an admirable job of translating Suzanne Collins’ popular dystopian sci-fi thriller into cinematic form; on the other hand, some of Ross’ stylistic choices with Hunger Games (specifically, the disorienting shaky cam/editing approach) left many viewers feeling disgruntled.
That said: a directorial switch-up can be very tricky when it comes to franchise fare – especially when studios trade in a respectable filmmaker who leaves a recognizable artistic fingerprint on the series (see: David Slade with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse or Bryan Singer with X2) for someone who delivers more of a generic take on the property (see: Bill Condon with Breaking Dawn or Brett Ratner with X-Men: The Last Stand). Suffice it to say, Lionsgate is gambling that it can avoid making a similar mistake with the Hunger Games franchise, by letting Ross go.
We’ll be sure to let you know when a replacement director for Ross on Catching Fire has been found. In the meantime, be sure to check out our Catching Fire: 5 Things The Hunger Games Sequel Needs To Do post, for our own suggestions on what the sequel’s director ought to do in order to improve on Ross’ first HG film.
One thing I did NOT like about the movie, is the lack of explanation of the mutts
ditto. I think they effed that up royally haha. It was such an abstract and unique quality in the book and then for them to just be random dogs on screen for several seconds was really disappointing for me. At least Cato's death salvaged the scene. His final speech really surprised me.
One thing I did NOT like about the movie, is the lack of explanation of the mutts
How would they explain it without killing the "intensity" of the scene?
easily after they are taken back, a news report with Caeser, "Katniss and Peeta avoided the two Mutts which were genetically created blah blah, insert holograms and more explanation, However Cato was not as lucky..." 45 second tops scene.
One thing I did NOT like about the movie, is the lack of explanation of the mutts
How would they explain it without killing the "intensity" of the scene?
easily after they are taken back, a news report with Caeser, "Katniss and Peeta avoided the two Mutts which were genetically created blah blah, insert holograms and more explanation, However Cato was not as lucky..." 45 second tops scene.
just this. It was a great adition to explain the tracker jackers and so on...they could also have the part when katniss recognizes some of them...having them atack and then flashbacks to the tribute´s faces...it would have been cool
They could have very easily explained the mutts. They even had the perfect opportunity in the movie. When we saw those holograms of the mutts for the first time in the Games room, they could have had holograms of the dead tributes beside them and the Gamemakers would have been selecting features from the tributes bodies like their eyes and dragging them onto the holograms of the mutts - thus, creating the mutts as it were. No need for clunky cutaways to Caesar explaining, a simple visual would have sufficed. There could maybe even have been lines for Seneca requesting that they pick certain features from the tributes. Like Rue's afro. "We need some more 'fro action on that mutt, people."
The mutts were one thing that did really underwhelm me in the movie.
cato´s death was also cut down...but it saved it I agree....alex was great!
You really think they'd have Katniss and Peeta stand there for hours listening to his screams? I know they did in the book, but Katniss didn't have a clear shot. In the movie, it taking place next to them. That would be too much.
By the way, on the mutts, he did talk about them in a recent interview.
“We made the decision that they not be specific tributes, because if we did it, we would have been a massive digression at a moment in the movie where I didn’t think it could have afforded that. You’re hurdling toward the end and that would have taken a tremendous amount of room at a time when we didn’t have it. However, I will say that all the mutts, if you really look at them, they’re really half-human and half-dog. If you put a mutt’s face next to a dog’s face, and next to a human face, you really will see that they’re a hybrid of the two. And so we were specific about that. The important thing about the mutts to me was, not specifically that they were tributes, but that they were a creation of the Capitol designed for this particular instrument at this particular moment in the games. And because we had the games and were actually able to show their creation, we were actually able to show them being birthed in that game center and then revealed in the games. We had the ability to do something by cutting away that a novel isn’t when it’s constantly maintaining Katniss’s point of view.”
Comments
http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/gary-ross-officially-departs-hunger-games-sequel-catching-fire/
http://screenrant.com/hunger-games-catching-fire-gary-ross-sandy-163533/
Indeed. :-B
Mysterious thing time.
But life continues so let's speculate on who's directing CF!
The perfect Johanna
If that stuff in there is true, then I've lost a lot of respect for him. He was constantly talking about how excited he was to get started on Catching Fire.
G.G.
While many have expressed their devastation at the news that director Gary Ross would not be returning to direct its sequel, Catching Fire, a source close to the situation tells Celebuzz that “nothing is official.”
After some lengthy negotiations, many are citing Gary’s film-making eye to be the main reason he would consider not coming back, not money.
Gary has directed a number of varying projects from Pleasantville to Seabiscuit, and The Playlist is reporting that the “burning desire simply isn’t there to spend another couple of years with Katniss in the Capitol.”
We know that we’re rooting for Gary to come back, Catching Fire just wouldn’t be the same without him!
What do you guys think? Do you want Gary to direct CF? Or would you like to see someone else take a shot? Sound off in the comments!
Mysterious thing time.
I think it's appropriate to call Collins the queen of conflict.
Hope you like it!
Truth be told, Lionsgate had already taken precautions for an event like this. The studio recruited Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours fame) to start working on the Catching Fire script, back when Ross was still busy working the promotional circuit for Hunger Games. Hence, the ball’s already off and rolling on this tentpole production.
Couple that with Fox’s newly announced 2013 start date for filming on X-Men: First Class 2 - which will free up Jennifer Lawrence to reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire this fall – and (for now) it doesn’t appear that Ross leaving the Hunger Games sequel will trip up the film too much on its way down the production pipeline.
That said: a directorial switch-up can be very tricky when it comes to franchise fare – especially when studios trade in a respectable filmmaker who leaves a recognizable artistic fingerprint on the series (see: David Slade with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse or Bryan Singer with X2) for someone who delivers more of a generic take on the property (see: Bill Condon with Breaking Dawn or Brett Ratner with X-Men: The Last Stand). Suffice it to say, Lionsgate is gambling that it can avoid making a similar mistake with the Hunger Games franchise, by letting Ross go.
We’ll be sure to let you know when a replacement director for Ross on Catching Fire has been found. In the meantime, be sure to check out our Catching Fire: 5 Things The Hunger Games Sequel Needs To Do post, for our own suggestions on what the sequel’s director ought to do in order to improve on Ross’ first HG film.
Oh, and new TV spot:
Hope you like it!
Hope you like it!
The mutts were one thing that did really underwhelm me in the movie.
Hope you like it!
Hope you like it!
“We made the decision that they not be specific tributes, because if we did it, we would have been a massive digression at a moment in the movie where I didn’t think it could have afforded that. You’re hurdling toward the end and that would have taken a tremendous amount of room at a time when we didn’t have it. However, I will say that all the mutts, if you really look at them, they’re really half-human and half-dog. If you put a mutt’s face next to a dog’s face, and next to a human face, you really will see that they’re a hybrid of the two. And so we were specific about that. The important thing about the mutts to me was, not specifically that they were tributes, but that they were a creation of the Capitol designed for this particular instrument at this particular moment in the games. And because we had the games and were actually able to show their creation, we were actually able to show them being birthed in that game center and then revealed in the games. We had the ability to do something by cutting away that a novel isn’t when it’s constantly maintaining Katniss’s point of view.”