Ashleigh Hill-Buxton
With filming on “The Hunger Games” having already commenced, fans of the book-cum-film series are eagerly awaiting of one of the final castings of the film – that of President Snow, the nefarious head of Panem’s government.
Lionsgate announced yesterday via the film’s official Facebook page that Donald Sutherland (‘M*A*S*H”, ”Ordinary People”, ”Klute” and ”Kelly’s Heroes”) has been cast as the series’ villain, who has eyes “as unforgiving as a snake’s” and who smells of “blood and roses”. Having ruled Panem’s autocratic government for 25 years at the outset of the story, President Snow is quick to transform from distant ruler to heroine Katniss Everdeen’s arch-nemesis throughout the series. So far, comments from followers of the film and book series have suggested that Sutherland was an excellent choice to play such a malevolent character.
“The Hunger Games” is shaping up to be one of 2012’s biggest blockbusters and chronicles the struggle between life, love, humanity and survival faced by heroine 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen throughout the 74th Annual Hunger Games; a brutal reality show set in the dystopian future nation of Panem where each year two teenaged ‘tributes’ from each of its 12 districts are forced into a Survivor-meets-Gladiator deathmatch until only one remains standing. When Katniss’ younger sister Primrose is chosen by lottery to be the female tribute for the impoverished District 12, Katniss offers up herself to compete in her sister’s place – despite knowing that in District 12 “the word tribute is pretty much synonymous with the word corpse” and she will likely return home only in a coffin.
Rumours about the various additions and omissions from the film’s plotline in comparison to the book have also begun to surface in recent days. Hollywood Life has reported that their leaked version of the script details any number of changes including: the removal of a character that plays a major role in the storyline, the expansion of some minor characters and the alteration of several events that may affect the overall outcome of the film as a series. The only comment Lionsgate has made thus far is that the leaked script is not the most current copy and thus, may deviate from initial drafts.
(Editor’s Note : Welcome Ashy to the team; a rather appropriate first story for her)
