Last week I finished reading “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and now I am about halfway through book two, “Catching Fire”. Knowing full well Lionsgate is preparing a filmed adaptation of the trilogy, and that casting rumors have been surfacing since the project was announced, I can’t help but think about which actors would be a good fit for the lead roles.
Producers and director Garry Ross (Seabiscuit) are also trying to figure out who they’ll pick to carry the franchise, testing young female actors ranging from ages approximately 14-21 years-old to play the athletic master of the bow and arrow, Katniss Everdeen. Recent Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) is said to have all but signed on the dotted line, but let’s look at who else was under consideration: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In), Lyndsy Fonseca (Kick-Ass), Emma Roberts (Scream 4), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones), Kaya Scodelario (Clash of the Titans), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) and Shailene Woodley (“The O.C.”).
A lot of familiar names on that list. I can only imagine if Katniss was in her mid-to-late twenties in the books rather than 16 we would probably be seeing names like Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, etc. You know, the same names that are up for every single role in Hollywood every time a hot female lead role is up for contention. Because heaven forbid they go through the work of trying to find a fresh face.
It’s somewhat ironic Hailee Steinfeld was in the mix, and not because I don’t think she’s a good actress. To the contrary, I think she’s excellent. But I think it shows the lack of work ethic already being put into this franchise. Steinfeld exemplifies work ethic. The work ethic put in by Joel and Ethan Coen and their team of casting directors. Steinfeld was one of more than 15,000 girls that auditioned for True Grit and after she earned the role she was so good she earned an Oscar nomination for her performance. On top of that, the film has earned $169.3 million to date.
While Steinfeld earned that Oscar for Best Supporting Actress I’m pretty sure you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that didn’t consider her the lead of the film. This tells me that while Ross and his team of casting directors are busy settling on a name we’ve all heard before for The Hunger Games, a potentially perfect actor to play Katniss is probably out there just waiting to be found, but that would, of course, require a little more legwork.
Such has become the norm in Hollywood and I’ll admit the Internet doesn’t help matters. From the moment the project was announced websites began casting Katniss. I even did the same thing upon hearing there would be a new Tomb Raider film. But the Internet isn’t a group of casting directors. If it were, Nathan Fillion would be playing Drake in David O. Russell’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Jon Hamm would be the title character in Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel, Phillip Seymour Hoffman would be playing the Penguin in The Dark Knight Rises (a character not even in the film) and Johnny Depp would be playing every other role ever mentioned in Hollywood.
Online commenters and bloggers don’t have access to unknown talent. That’s why we resort to considering names we’ve seen before, trying to figure out what actors fit the character we’ve pictured in our heads from reading the books. If it were up to me, no way Jennifer Lawrence would be Katniss. I’d probably go with the age and physically-appropriate Saoirse Ronan, but perhaps her role in Hanna hurt her chances.
Then for Peeta Mellark there’s talk of Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four, Beastly) and now Josh Hutcherson (The Kids are All Right) has thrown his hat in the ring. Ugh to both.
Truth be told, for both of these characters, I’d like another fresh face. Find me the next Hailee Steinfeld and a new young actor. Fill the supporting roles with name talent. Abigail Breslin was considered for Katniss, cast her as Rue. I just like the idea of finding new faces and surrounding them by quality actors in smaller roles. If the day of the A-list actor is dead, then let’s bury it for good. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon certainly got top-billing in True Grit, but Steinfeld stole the show.
And when I say “quality actors” in smaller roles, I’m not talking about the likes Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed for Cato and Clove, a pair of tough competitors in The Hunger Games. Show me you’re making a movie with an interest in quality not an interest in opening weekend dollars by casting faces recognizable to the Twilight crowd. After all, true quality bleeds dollars, especially when it’s made for mass consumption, and True Grit proved you don’t need to make it all in the first weekend.
It took True Grit twelve weeks to hit nearly $170 million after $36 million and a number two slot over its opening weekend. The Hunger Games will make more than that regardless on its opening weekend, and the comparison is apt, at least if the same kind of care is taken to what should be a gritty, hard-PG-13 rated feature. If it’s made with any care we won’t have to question whether or not the sequel will be greenlit as seems to be the trend with every franchise starter as of late including recent releases such as The Green Hornet, TRON: Legacy and I Am Number Four.
While the Internet commenters, myself included, will most likely complain and/or have our two cents about casting decisions when it’s a role we’re interested in seeing performed on the big screen, those same people are also open to new and fresh faces. There’s more than just one Hailee Steinfeld in this world, go find her. The Harry Potter bunch managed to find Evanna Lynch for her role in that franchise and boy did she prove to be a breath of fresh air. To that effect Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all satisfied their roles in the Harry Potter franchise and none were known prior to their casting.
I guess I’m just tired of seeing good roles filled with names that feel more “safe” than anything else. Lawrence may be great in The Hunger Games (she certainly was in Winter’s Bone as well as the little seen The Burning Plain), but the more I think about it the less it seems like a choice made because they didn’t have any other “names” to look at. The Coens put out a casting call in December 2009 and on February 23 announced Hailee Steinfeld. The Hunger Games adaptation was announced last November, had they followed the same path we’d already have a Katniss and they’d be well on their way.
Perhaps it’s unfair to hold other filmmakers to the standards set by the Coen brothers, but one can dream.
