Gary Ross Will NOT Be Directing ‘Catching Fire’
4/6/2012UncategorizedArianna
The Playlist is reporting that Gary Ross has left negotiations and will not be directing Catching Fire. We are all so saddened by this news if it’s true. The DWTC staff loves Gary Ross and the amazing work he put into the Hunger Games.
UPDATE: We have gotten confirmation from Lionsgate that this information has NOT been confirmed by the studio, so consider it a rumor until something official pops up.
The Playlist has learned that Gary Ross has officially exited the franchise and will not direct the sequel, formally giving Lionsgate and Summithis notice earlier this week, that he will not be coming back.
Though recent trade reports have spun the story as being an issue mostly about money, that’s pretty much a small part of the motivation. Ross has never been a filmmaker that repeats himself (going from satire in “Pleasantville” to horse racing drama in “Seabiscuit” and action in “The Hunger Games“) and we’re told the burning desire simply isn’t there to spend another couple of years with Katniss in the Capitol (evidently, he also liked the first book best). And while the lowball salary offer probably didn’t help, Ross already has a fairly lucrative career as a screenwriter (and rewriter) and money isn’t really the issue. Simply put, the filmmaker is looking to change things up for this next effort.
While the details on what that project will be are still coming together, we’re told it will be something he has written that (ironically) will earn him a better payday that he would’ve received on “Catching Fire.” Essentially, it’s a win-win for Ross, who gets to move on to a project he developed for this fourth feature, and will allow him to do something different.
If Gary Ross is definitely not on board, which director would you like to see direct Catching Fire? Let us know in the comments.
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21 comments
Maritza R
on said:
If he’s not going to do it then I would like to see Steven Sodderburgh do it….
Chelsea
on said:
Well, I’ll first say that I *hope* this is just rumor. Because Gary Ross will lose a lot of the respect I have for him if he jumps ship on this. If he’s not doing it…I don’t know. First and foremost, I feel like it has to be someone who’s read and enjoyed the books; not someone who’ll do it because it’s pretty much guaranteed to do well and boost their career.
Deb
on said:
If he’s not enthused about the rest of the series, then I’m not so sorry to see him go. But I hope they find someone who IS enthused; it would be a shame if the rest of the movies were ruined by people who don’t care about the material.
I think Joss Whedon might be a good choice, he at least has experience with awesome female protagonists.
WinterPrimrose
on said:
Ok I really hope this isn’t true. I really liked Gary Ross and so did Suzanne Collins and the rest of the cast. If we get a crappy director and Catching Fire turns out bad, I blame Gary. He should’ve come into this knowing he would do the rest. He wanted to do the first one so badly, why not finish what he started?
Moira
on said:
I hope this is a rumor…
Cait
on said:
As long as it’s not Michael Bay. Anyone but Michael Bay.
.__.
Michaela
on said:
I trust Gary Ross. He gets the material. My guess if he is out, lionsgate is going to go with some crummy director that only knows how to produce movies that make money (not movies that are good). You dont just get a director everyday that is passionate about the movies source material. Even worse is the fact that it might mean suzanne collins gets cast out of the filming process. In that case the movie could stray far away from the source material. Not to mention the casting will suck…finnick will probably just end up being some hot guy with no acting abilities that any girl that isnt super hormonal is going to hate. I know this sounds pessimistic, but sequels rarely turn out better than the original in the first place. And movie studios want money, not necessarily good movies. This will probably also mean the movie will be in 3D for extra cash. For now i will leave all these complaints as this one comment and try to hope for the best. I will however worry again if one of these things happens: a bad, indifferent director; a terrible actor as finnick; or catching fire in 3D. If any of these things happen, then i know the message-the most important part of these books-is lost. Poor jennifer, josh, and liam. If catching fire turns into an emotionless pointless blockbuster, they cant get out of it.
Migillicutty
on said:
You know, if he doesn’t want to/can’t direct Catching Fire, fine. But I’m really ticked that he pretended to be so passionate about the series- the WHOLE STORY- for so long, and now it turns out that he was just saying that. >:(
Drea
on said:
Ain’t even mad. Give it to someone who won’t make half the movie the shaky cam extravaganza, and will make the script a little more believable ala “Oh my god, is that real?” and “Damn you, Gale!”
I don’t know why people are freaking out about this though. It’s not uncommon for movie series to NOT have the same director for a series.
Rin Aelius
on said:
Sadly, this is very true. Many people I know who are casual fans said their two problems were the camera work and how cheesy some of the lines were…
Kevin
on said:
Christopher Nolan, of course! He’s the best director I know, though it’s pretty pretty unpropable he’d want to do this. But David Yates is a no go for me, he’s the perfect example of a book to cash turner, not book to art.
Ryan
on said:
Please do not be true!!!! This would just ruin my hopes for the next movies… I was really starting to believe that this franchise could be one single vision, each separate, but yet cohesive. Gary did such a great job with the first film, and it would have been great to see him stay until the end.. I really hope that this is just a rumor, because I think it could be tragic if Gary doesn’t come back…
Dan
on said:
Good I want someone new.
I have a problem with a guy who does post interviews and says he got everything he wanted in the film when there are buckets of stuff missing that was critical to telling the story. Frankly I think doing the other two books is beyond his abilities. A lot of fans are just so giddy that a film actually got made they are looking at it through rose colored glasses.
Chelsea
on said:
I…I wouldn’t say that there are “buckets of stuff missing”. Let alone material critical to the story…
Kevin
on said:
I agree with Chelsea, the only things left out, that I noticed, were Madge and The Avox’s back story and those were not crucial to the story in my opinion. I think Dan means they underdeveloped certain things, like Katniss and Rue’s relationship and the fake romance that didn’t look true, nor fake but I don’t think any other director would have gotten that right.
Dan
on said:
Thanks Kevin that is more to the point of what I meant. I’m sorry the scene after the games when Peeta is basically going to die from his leg wound. Them going into the hovercraft and her losing it because they separate them to the point she needed to be sedated.
That was a pivotal point to the reader (IMO) that the whole fake relationship wasn’t so fake. Hell I know a lot of people who didn’t read the books that have no idea what is going on with the Peeta / Katnis relationship it was just not developed enough in the movie.
While the books are about so much more then the romance story it is integral to the books, again in my opinion.
If you honestly think that was conveyed in the movies to people who have not read the books I think you need to look a little closer.
Kati Blowers
on said:
I think that Peter Jackson should direct the movie. He did an outstanding job directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy and I would be delighted for him to direct Catching Fire.
Zoe
on said:
Um hello no one else and I mean NOONE ELSE can direct this it was help crated by Gary Ross if he left all would crash and burn!!!!!!!
Amanda M.
on said:
Agreed!
Zoe
on said:
Thanks!
Leonie
on said:
i hate it when they keep alternating between different directors, they each bring completley different styles of directing the film and it sucks. compare it to the different styles of how the twilight series was filmed ? they were the same general ideas but were like different each movie and it left me wondering if i was watching the twilight saga at all ?they should just keep gary
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