Catching Fire Will Be Released in Italy by Universal

Variety has reported that Universal Pictures Int'l will release "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" in Italy. Lionsgate co-chairmen Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman announced the deal on Tuesday. UPI takes over from Warner Bros., which released the first instalment in Italy in May. Here's more on the press release:

"The Hunger Games" has grossed $3.7 million in Italy and nearly $650 million at the worldwide box office.

"We are delighted to expand our successful international partnership with Universal to Italy on this exciting franchise," said Lionsgate Intl. prexy Helen Lee Kim, who orchestrated the deal with Wachsberger. "We have enjoyed a productive relationship with Universal in several territories on such recent Lionsgate and Summit films as the 'Step Up' franchise, 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' and 'The Cabin in the Woods.' " 

"Catching Fire," helmed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, is expected to lense in September and will be released worldwide on November 22, 2013. 

In Cannes last month, UPI was one of a handful of majors flexing its acquisition muscle on the independent market. Distrib locked multi-territory deals for Spike Lee's "Oldboy," and Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman starrer "Last Vegas." 

Both pics were picked up from former Lionsgate motion picture group prexy Joe Drake's new outfit, Good Universe.

Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

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Hunger Games DVD Release Date and Catching Fire Script News

A press release from Lionsgate (via Wall Street Journal) on the much anticipated DVD/Blu-ray release of the Hunger Games movie plus news about Suzanne Collins' involvement in Catching Fire. 

As "The Hunger Games" approaches $400 million in domestic box office receipts, the studio behind the film is busy plotting the series' three remaining installments—and already running into a few hurdles.

In addition to hunting for a new director, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is working to develop a script for the second film, "Catching Fire." The studio must also plan "The Hunger Games" home-video release and figure out how to roll out the remaining three films in a way that dovetails with the finale of the "Twilight Saga" franchise, which Lions Gate acquired when it bought Summit Entertainment.

For "Catching Fire," now in preproduction and expected to hit theaters in fall 2013, Lions Gate—also known as Lionsgate—lost the director of the first film, Gary Ross, who issued a statement earlier this month saying he couldn't work on the studio's time table.

Lions Gate, which said at the time that it was sorry Mr. Ross had chosen not to direct the film, is now close to a deal with Francis Lawrence, whose previous projects include "I Am Legend" and "Constantine," according to people familiar with the matter.

Given the monumental success of the first film in the series, Lions Gate has at stake the potential for billions at the box office and beyond. "The Hunger Games," which cost $80 million to make, has grossed $360.2 million at the domestic box office during its first five weeks, with world-wide receipts now totaling $577 million. And it became the first film since 2009's "Avatar" to top the box office for four consecutive weeks.

"It's an anchor tenant" for the next several years, said Lions Gate Vice Chairman Michael Burns, referring to the series.

That performance may help Lions Gate join the elite ranks of Hollywood's most powerful entities—the six studios known in the industry as "majors." Speaking at this week's CinemaCon trade show, John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, noted that "The Hunger Games" had the biggest March opening ever, at the same time that Lions Gate acquired rival independent studio Summit.

"We may just be witnessing the arrival of a seventh" major movie studio, Mr. Fithian said.

One issue that is under control: All the primary "Hunger Games" cast members are signed up for the entire four-film series, so none are likely to follow Mr. Ross to the exit.

But the studio has yet to finalize a script, now being written by "Slumdog Millionaire" writer Simon Beaufoy. The author of the series, Suzanne Collins, will have input, as she did with the script for the first film.

"I would call it a collaborative effort," said Rob Friedman, Lions Gate motion picture group co-chair, referring to Ms. Collins's participation. "Suzanne has always been very, very involved."

The massive success of "The Hunger Games" will doubtless create momentum for the sequels—a good thing for the studio, since it probably won't be able to rely on the same marketing playbook it used for the first film.

A central component of the marketing strategy for "The Hunger Games" was boosting book sales, particularly as new titles in the series were rolled out. With no new titles remaining, Lions Gate will focus on pumping up book sales internationally, in hopes that it can draw an even more global viewership for "Catching Fire," Mr. Friedman said.

The studio will also rely on the DVD release of "The Hunger Games" to fuel anticipation for "Catching Fire," a strategy it credits with helping make the second "Twilight" film an even bigger success than the first. Due to the first film's exceptional box office performance, the studio is considering pushing the DVD release to five months after its theatrical opening, as opposed to the usual four-month window, according to people familiar with the matter. That time frame would also allow it to take advantage of back-to-school momentum in the retail environment.

Mr. Friedman vows to be "very aggressive" in pushing DVDs at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retail outlets.

Still, while plans proceed full-steam-ahead for "Catching Fire," Mr. Friedman cautioned against looking too far into the future. "We're still in the afterglow" of "The Hunger Games," he said, before quickly correcting himself. "We're still performing great, so we're still in the glow, I should say."

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Hunger Games' Josh Hutcherson Hopes Director Francis Lawrence Will Stay to the Tone with Catching Fire

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta

An interview by MTV with Josh Hutcherson about Director Francis Lawrence for Catching Fire.


Gary Ross “brought so much to the movie that it’s going to be hard for Francis [Lawrence] to come in,” he tells MTV News.

No one supported Gary Ross more than “Hunger Games” star Josh Hutcherson, who called Ross “my guy” right before the director exited stage left.

Well, with Ross out and Francis Lawrence in to direct the franchise’s second film, “Catching Fire,” the actor is just hoping that the same magic can be captured without Ross there waving the wand.

“I have spoken to Gary. And I literally don’t think I’ve talked to somebody on the phone and they’ve sounded more upset than he was,” Hutcherson told MTV News at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. “He was so disappointed that he couldn’t do it. Unfortunately, with the scheduling and the timing, he just didn’t have the time to write the script and prep it the way he wants to, the way his work ethic allows him to be as great as he is, which made me extremely sad.

“Gary, I think, brought so much to the movie, and he created that whole world that was so close to the book and so perfect in so many ways that it’s going to be hard for Francis to come in, for sure,” he added. “But Francis is extremely talented and everyone I’ve talked to says he’s the best guy in the world. So I think he’s going to bring a lot. I haven’t spoken to Francis. I’ve spoken to Gary.”

Given how epic “The Hunger Games” is, Lawrence makes for an interesting choice. He’s no stranger to making visuals that go big or go home, whether as a music video director who has created show-stopping clips for the likes of Beyoncé and Britney Spears or as a film director (“I Am Legend,” “Water for Elephants“). With Ross already having created a certain vision for the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ books, Hutcherson is hoping there’s a way to meld Lawrence’s with it.

“I think he’ll stay true to the first one. Gary’s already established a tone and a theme and kind of a whole world. So I think Francis will operate within that. I hope so,” he said. “At the same time, if I were directing, I’d want to bring my own thing to it. So I hope he brings something different to it, which I’m sure he will.”

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It's Official! Francis Lawrence Will Direct Hunger Games Sequel, Catching Fire

It's already official guys, Francis Lawrence (not related to Jennifer Lawrence) will direct Catching Fire, the sequel to the smash hit the Hunger Games. Find out the story below:

"The Hunger Games"sequel "Catching Fire" will likely be directed by Francis Lawrence, a filmmaker whose résumé includes the big-budget event film "I Am Legend" and the intimate drama"Water for Elephants," a person close to the production but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed. According to that person, the studio has yet to close the deal.

Independent studio Lionsgate offered Lawrence the job on Thursday, little more than a week after "Hunger Games" director Gary Ross departed in a dispute over financial terms and the amount of time he would have had to prepare to make the sequel, which starts production in August and will hit theaters in November 2013.

Lionsgate considered a number of directors for the job, including Tomas Alfredson ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), Tony Scott ("Unstoppable") and Stephen Daldry ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"). By Wednesday, the negotiations were down to Lawrence and Bennett Miller, the Oscar-nominated director of"Moneyball" and "Capote."

Lawrence had been considered the leading candidate, however, because his schedule was open; Miller was supposed to begin shooting another movie, "Foxcatcher," this fall. In addition, he has experience with the type of special effects necessary to make "Catching Fire."

Bringing in a new director to a popular franchise is a tricky proposition, though Lionsgate subsidiary Summit did it successfully with its "Twilight" series. In Lawrence, the studio apparently believes it has found a director capable of balancing the high-octane action, personal relationships and social commentary that many critics praised Ross for capturing in "The Hunger Games."

Lawrence will have to move quickly to prepare to start shooting "Catching Fire." Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy is currently working on a script for the film.

The 42-year-old Lawrence was born in Austria and worked on music videos and commercials before making his feature film debut in 2005 on the comic-book adaptation "Constantine," starring Keanu Reeves.

Originally published on latimes.com.

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Catching Fire Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy Said that the First Draft of the Hunger Games Sequel is Finished

The Hunger Games is just about to open in theaters but work is continuing behind the scenes on the sequel, Catching Fire.

News is out today that Oscar winning screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy has finished the first draft.

Hollywood Outbreak talked to Beaufoy about adapting the book for the screen:

“It’s very, very different from the way I normally adapt which is to read the book twice and then put it to one side,” says Beaufoy, who has already submitted his first draft for Catching Fire. “You can’t do this (with Catching Fire) because you’ll get firebombed by the fan base. I never see changing a novel a lot into a screenplay is disrespect at all really to the novel or the novelist. I see it as the opposite. You are making something different. And to do that you have to be quite free with the material. I had many concerns with taking on Catching Fire because my usual approach is to be very free. But what I hadn’t realized was that Suzanne Collins used to be a TV writer and film writer. She sort of adapted it already. The novels are very filmic structurally already. Luckily I haven’t had that battle in my head where I thought I had to discard everything, which is good because the fan base is incredibly loyal to everything.”

Beaufoy explains why he would describe The Hunger Games trilogy as “bold” storytelling saying the book really takes teenagers on at face value and respects the world they live in:

“They are completely at home with the level of violence and the complexity of the political satire that’s going on in that book, which makes it a really titan adaptation.  I really have no words because it is bold and it’s teenagers killing each other with spears, which you know, is not Harry Potter.  They don’t get up.  Nobody waves a magic wand and you’re alright again. Once you’ve been shot with an arrow through the heart, you’re dead.

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