Now that Gary Ross has officially stepped down as director of "Catching Fire," next year's sequel to current super blockbuster "The Hunger Games," Hollywood is embarking on its own version of The Hunger Games, with every director in the business engaging in a cutthroat battle to determine who will land the job. May the odds ever be in your favor, right?
Well, according to The Los Angeles Times, Lionsgate has put together a wish list of directors they're interested in talking to — and you literally won't believe some of the names on it.
David Cronenberg's "Catching Fire," anyone?
Yes, you read that correctly: David Cronenberg is reportedly at the top of Lionsgate's list of candidates, a possibility that is both intriguing and kind of terrifying, as anyone who has seen "Crash" can attest (it's about people who have a sexual fetish for car crashes... seriously). But given the nature of the 'Hunger Games" trilogy, Cronenberg's dark, visceral cinematic style could be an unexpectedly good match for the material.
Cronenberg isn't the only big name being considered by Lionsgate, though; they're also looking at "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" director Alfonso Cuaron as a possibility; not only does he have a proven track record of taking over popular young adult franchises, he also has the most acclaimed dystopian sci-fi film of the new century on his resume in "Children of Men."
Of course, it's still too early in the process to guess who will end up behind the camera for "Catching Fire;" besides Cronenberg and Cuaron, Lionsgate is apparently looking at five or six other people, including "Babel" director Alejandro González Iñárritu. But with filming set for this fall, chances Lionsgate will narrow the field down pretty quickly and eliminate the weaker candidates.
Hey, it is "The Hunger Games" after all. That's just the way the game is played.
