After months of speculation, Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence has landed the lead role in the feature adaptation of The Hunger Games. The film will be directed by Gary Ross and is based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. The 20 year old actress fought off some of Hollywood’s most talented up and comers to play the fictional heroine Katniss Everdeen.
Some of the actresses Lawrence beat out include fellow Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Nikita co-star Lyndsy Fonseca. Lawrence has some big shoes to fill and some high expectations to meet.
Last week it was announced that Lawrence was the frontrunner to land the part of Katniss with her only real competition being Steinfeld. A few days ago a decision was made and Lawrence supposedly signed on the dotted line Wednesday evening. Not only will she appear in The Hunger Games, but she’s expected to star in the sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay as well.
The Hunger Games centers on a world where the country has fallen into pure anarchy. Instead of states, there are districts, and each district sends children to compete and fight to the death in The Hunger Games tournament. Most of the characters, like Katniss, are underfed and underweight, which is one of the complaints people have regarding Lawrence’s casting.
Lawrence is tall, blonde haired, blue-eyed, and has a round face. This is the exact opposite of the character Katniss who’s small, with dark hair, olive skin, and a slender face. All of these issues are cosmetic and can be cured with a diet, hair dye, and contacts. This isn’t the first time fans have been in an uproar over casting. Twilight lovers hated the idea of Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen before actually seeing him on screen. Look at how well that turned out?
At the moment, Lawrence’s most well known role to date is Ree from Winter’s Bone. What do you think of her landing the part of Katniss? Do you think she can pull it off?
