When it was first announced that "The Hunger Games" books would be adapted to the big screen, fans of the series were obviously excited. However, as with most novel-to-feature-film projects, there was some apprehension over whether the movies would do the books justice; namely, if the story's bloody details and death scenes would make it into the final cut.
Well, fear not, "Hunger Games" fans: Director Gary Ross is here to reassure you that they have.
"Is it violent? Yes. Do we back off from what it is? No, we don't," Ross told Entertainment Weekly. The latest issue of EW features interviews with the cast of "The Hunger Games," and a cover with stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth.
Along with what to expect from the film, the piece discusses how the actors signed onto their respective roles. For Kravitz, who was working on his album and living out of a trailer in the Bahamas, the decision to join was a no-brainer: His daughter Zoe was good friends with Lawrence after they worked together on "X-Men: First Class."
"I love that girl. The minute I met her she became a part of the family," said the musician.
Others, however, weren't as willing as Lenny was. When Harrelson was first approached for the role of Haymitch, he turned it down.
"I didn't know about the books until after they offered it," Harrelson told Moviefone last month. "And I took a while to respond. But then I started reading one of the books and, the first book, I really liked. But, I thought about it and I just didn't think -- I didn't think there was enough to do. Do you know what I mean? It's not a huge part or anything. I'm happy to do smaller parts -- I don't have a problem with that -- but it just didn't seem like there was enough to do. I turned it down, but then Gary called me and said, 'Dude, you've got to do this. I don't have a second choice. You've got to play Haymitch.' And I was like, 'Well, when you put it that way... let's do this damn thing.' And I'm so glad that I did, because, you know, it's really was one of the best experiences and just a great group."
Head over to EW.com to check out the "Hunger Games" cover. You can read the full story when it hits newsstands Friday.
[via EW]
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