The Hunger Games Casting

I have been watching with great interest to see who they cast in the movie of the fabulous series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
I will go so far as to say that this series has been the best thing I have read since the Harry Potter series!  Big call I know - but then it's well deserved.

Obviously it has struck a chord with millions of readers around the world and Lionsgate have jumped on board and are turning it into a film.

Hunger Gamers around the world have been weighing in with who they think would make the perfect Katniss Everdeen with candidates such as Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) high on the list but it was announced on Thursday that the part has officially gone to .... Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)

Jennifer was nominated for Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards for her portrayal of Ree Dolly in 'Winter's Bone.

Apparently author  Suzanne Collins couldn't be happier with the casting. "Jennifer's just an incredible actress. So powerful, vulnerable, beautiful, unforgiving and brave," she said in a press release. "I never thought we'd find somebody this perfect for the role. And I can't wait for everyone to see her play it."

The novel has sold over 3 million copies in US and is the first of a three-part series, so you can see why this is such a huge deal for Jennifer. The films have the potential to be as big as 'Twilight,' and we all know what happened to the stars of that series.

The movie will be directed by Gary Ross, and is slated to be released on March 23, 2012.

Katniss Everdeen is in my list of Top 10 Book Heroines and although Jennifer looks far from my idea of Katniss in the first photo, I think this one will give you a better idea of how she will look in the movie. 

Next up - who will play Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorne?