I’ve already posted more coverage for The Hunger Games than probably need be done, but it also feels like I’ve done so much it would seem weird if I stopped now. After all, short diversions such as this are the reason I created the Sidebar section of this site in the first place. So what the hell… let’s go with it.
The latest on the Hunger Games front comes from E! Online where Marc Malkin reports “Weeds” star Hunter Parrish has been in talks with Hunger Games producers regarding the role of Peeta, the lead male role in the film based on the Suzanne Collins novel.
Parrish was quoted discussing the support he’s already seen from Hunger Games fans online saying, “You don’t get much better than that… The true fans of the book. So regardless of whether I’m a part of the film or not, I feel honored to just sort of be thought of. I read the books all last year, and I guess they’re starting filming soon.”
Parish turns 24 in May and he is the third name I’ve heard in connection with the role, which includes Alex Pettyfer and Josh Hutcherson, the latter of which seems to only be lobbying for the role and to my knowledge hasn’t yet actually met with producers, which both Parrish and Pettyfer have.
The one thing this report pretty much confirms is that producers are looking at actors around the age of 20-24 for the roles rather than the mid-to-late teens, which would match the characters’ ages in the book. Jennifer Lawrence is currently believed to be the lead candidate for the story’s main role, Katniss Everdeen. Lawrence is 20-years-old.
The Hunger Games will be directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) from a script by Billy Ray (Breach). The film is already set for a March 23, 2012 release.
