When Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") was cast as Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming "The Hunger Games" adaptation, fans took the net to express their outrage, prompting author Suzanne Collins to publicly defend the decision.
Well, with Monday's announcement that Josh Hutcherson ("Bridge to Terabithia") and Liam Hemsworth ("The Last Song") would be playing Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorne respectively, the online outrage began anew.
Cue the defense.
This time Collins was joined by director Gary Ross and producer Nina Jacobs. According to Entertainment Weekly, Collins released a statement regarding Hutcherson, saying, “I was fortunate enough to be in the room with Gary Ross when Josh came in to audition. Three lines into the read I knew he’d be fantastic. Josh totally captured Peeta’s temperament, his sense of humor and his facility for language. I’m thrilled to have him aboard.”
Ross added that he feels Hutcherson can embody "every aspect" of Peeta's character.
Menwhile, Jacobs said, “Gale is a young man who uses words very sparingly, so the onus was on the actor we cast to capture him by showing, not telling. This was accomplished so beautifully in Suzanne’s writing, and Liam was able to translate it so naturally to the screen. At the same time, Gale’s journey across the three books transforms him, and Liam’s performance left no doubt that he would take us there.”
Of course, these statements shouldn't come as a huge surprise. If Ross and Jacobs didn't feel the actors were right for the roles, they wouldn't have cast them. Neither sport big enough names or resumes to speculate they were cast for any other reason.
Collins' opinion obviously holds a bit more weight in this regard, and it's interesting we don't have a direct quote from her about Hemsworth.
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