Catching Fire Movie News - The Script is Already Finished

The script for the Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire is already finished, Simon Beufoy talked to LA Times. Read the statement from LA Times below.

You might not think there’s much left for a Hollywood screenwriter to accomplish after penning a sequel to “The Hunger Games.” But for Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar-winning scribe behind “Slumdog Millionaire,” there’s plenty of work ahead now that he’s finished adapting Suzanne Collins’ novel “Catching Fire.”

“I’m done [with ‘Catching Fire’] and getting back to several different projects,” Beaufoy told 24 Frames from his home in London on Thursday.

If you have watched the interview by MTV to Elizabeth Banks during the 2012 Movie Awards,  she said that she has the script already. By all means, shooting will begin soon and I hope Mr. Beaufoy will be able to incorporate the key scenes in the book.

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Catching Fire Movie News - Script Gets Rewritten by Award Winning Writer Michael Arndt

Read the article below to get some juice on the script for Catching Fire. From The Mary Sue.

Last week, Lionsgate made their official announcement stating that director Francis Lawrence would be taking over from Gary Ross on the Hunger Games movie franchise. But an interesting development happened this weekend. It seems the studio is looking for rewrites on the script for Catching Fire and has chosen Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt for the job.

So we already knew Lawrence was set to direct Catching Fire but Lionsgate put out the official word last week. “Lionsgate, the cast, and filmmakers are all thrilled to have Francis Lawrence come on board as director of Catching Fire. Suzanne [Collins'] brilliant book is the intense story of the birth of the rebellion and Katniss’ emotionally charged journey as she takes on the mantle of the Mockingjay, and we all think Francis is the perfect director to bring the story to life,” said Erik Feig, Lionsgate’s President Of Production.

“From the very beginning of this brilliant trilogy’s journey from page to screen, our first priority has been to stay true to the heart and soul of Suzanne Collins’ powerful stories. From my first conversation with Francis, I knew he would make a great partner for both me and Suzanne. His passion for Catching Fire and inspired ideas for a faithful adaptation make him the perfect director for this movie. I know this will be a wonderful collaboration and I cannot wait to get started,” said producer Nina Jacobson.

Collins wrote the screenplay for the adaptation of her novel The Hunger Games with Ross but Lionsgate decided to go with someone else for Catching Fire because they wanted to start production before the first film even hit theaters. They chose Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy for the gig but now it looks like they have changes in mind.

The Hollywood Reporter says Ardnt, “who won an Oscar for his Little Miss Sunshine screenplay and penned Toy Story 3, is in talks with Lionsgate to work on the high-profile sequel.” They continue, “The sequel is barreling toward a late-summer production start. While Lionsgate doesn’t yet have a deal with Arndt, if he signs on, he will have to work double-time to get the script ready due to a squeezed schedule caused by star Jennifer Lawrence’s commitment to Fox’s X-Men: First Class sequel.”

I was looking forward to seeing what Beaufoy had to offer but I’m equally excited someone like Arndt will put his ingredients into the bread as well. Though there’s no word how much of Beaufoy’s work will be kept or exactly how much Arndt will be doing either.

Catching Fire will hit theaters Nov. 22, 2013.

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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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