Lawrence, Steinfeld and more compete for Hunger Games

By Matt Maytum
published

Virtually every well-known actress around considered for lead

The role of Katniss Everdeen, lead in Gary Ross' adaptation of teen sci-fi The Hunger Games , has attracted the attention of virtually every young actress in Hollywood.

According to a source of EW.com, around 30 actress have met or read for the role, including 2011 Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence ( Winter's Bone ) and Hailee Steinfeld ( True Grit ).

Also in contention are Lyndsy Fonseca ( Kick-Ass ), Emma Roberts ( Scream 4 ), Emily Browning ( Sucker Punch ) and Kaya Scoderlario ( Skins , Wuthering Heights ), as well as the younger, but mega-talented, likes of Chloe Moretz ( Kick-Ass , Let Me In ) and Abigail Breslin ( Little Miss Sunshine ).

The actresses up for playing 16-year-old Katniss span in age from 14 (Moretz) to 24 (Fonseca), and, according to the source, there is currently no front-runner.

The Hunger Games is based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, which imagines a post-Apocalyptic future America in which young people are selected to fight it out the death for the purposes of televisual entertainment.

So basically it sounds a little like Schwarzenegger's The Running Man , but with added angst.

Gary Ross (who has a mixed track record with iffy Seabiscuit and ace Pleasantville ) is calling the shots on the movie, which is pencilled in for a March 2012 release.

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.