Unfortunately (Or fortunately depending on your opinion) Gary Ross will reportedly not be returning to direct the sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. Therefore the inevitable internet conversations about who to replace must begin. It is time for us to come up with our dream list of directors. All of whom are probably cursed from getting the job due to us mentioning them and discussing how great it would be should they be given the job. Below are my suggestions for who should and could get the job. Most of the suggestions are made with logic in mind and that is why the likes of Nolan,Tarantino, Spielberg, Aronofsky and Scorsese are not mentioned below
Steven Soderbergh.
This was a possibility I had not considered until I saw the MTV equivalent of this article and it makes perfect sense. He was the second-unit director on The Hunger Games and therefore is perfectly placed to take the reins from Ross for the sequel. Haywire showed that he could give us brutal, easy to follow, action without excessive blood, which means he can perfectly maintain the balance I personally believe Ross set, of portraying the intensity of the games and world, without doing so at the expense of the age rating the studio believes the film requires to be commercially successful. Surely the first port of call for the studio and in my eyes, the number one candidate out of the realistic options. All of his films have a distinct style and that coupled with his experience working on the franchise should place him as the frontrunner. Whether he would accept it or not is another thing.
This was a possibility I had not considered until I saw the MTV equivalent of this article and it makes perfect sense. He was the second-unit director on The Hunger Games and therefore is perfectly placed to take the reins from Ross for the sequel. Haywire showed that he could give us brutal, easy to follow, action without excessive blood, which means he can perfectly maintain the balance I personally believe Ross set, of portraying the intensity of the games and world, without doing so at the expense of the age rating the studio believes the film requires to be commercially successful. Surely the first port of call for the studio and in my eyes, the number one candidate out of the realistic options. All of his films have a distinct style and that coupled with his experience working on the franchise should place him as the frontrunner. Whether he would accept it or not is another thing.
James Cameron
This suggestion may seem incredibly unrealistic (And admittedly it is) however there are some logical reasons why Cameron may be attracted to the material and why Lionsgate would be wise to choose him. In all Cameron films there are strong female protagonists, whether it is Ripley in Aliens (Who Jennifer Lawrence cited as an inspiration for her performance as Katniss) or Sarah Connor in Terminator, James Cameron movies always have a strong female lead. Therefore through the character of Katniss, there is instantly something that connects to Cameron’s body of work. Apart from post converting his old movies and diving to the bottom of the ocean, it would appear that Cameron has time to kill until the Avatar sequels roll around. In terms of his salary given the huge box office success of the first film and the guaranteed success of the second, Lionsgate could afford him with their minds at ease. Also everything Cameron touches turns to gold, yes he would probably make it in 3D but just imagine what he could do with The Hunger Games world. Visually and in terms of the character, Cameron would be a great choice.
This suggestion may seem incredibly unrealistic (And admittedly it is) however there are some logical reasons why Cameron may be attracted to the material and why Lionsgate would be wise to choose him. In all Cameron films there are strong female protagonists, whether it is Ripley in Aliens (Who Jennifer Lawrence cited as an inspiration for her performance as Katniss) or Sarah Connor in Terminator, James Cameron movies always have a strong female lead. Therefore through the character of Katniss, there is instantly something that connects to Cameron’s body of work. Apart from post converting his old movies and diving to the bottom of the ocean, it would appear that Cameron has time to kill until the Avatar sequels roll around. In terms of his salary given the huge box office success of the first film and the guaranteed success of the second, Lionsgate could afford him with their minds at ease. Also everything Cameron touches turns to gold, yes he would probably make it in 3D but just imagine what he could do with The Hunger Games world. Visually and in terms of the character, Cameron would be a great choice.
Kathyrn Bigelow
From James Cameron, to his ex-wife. Again this name has been suggested in articles of a similar ilk however it is a name which should be on everybody’s lips when it comes to directing Catching Fire. Given Katniss is a female protagonist, it would be wise to hire a female director. While the likes of MTV have cited Debra Granik, due to her directing of Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, her lack of big-budget, high profile film experience may count against her. Bigelow on the other hand is fresh off an Oscar win for The Hurt Locker, however development on her Unititled Osama Bin Laden Project may prevent her from giving her take on Catching Fire. With The Hurt Locker as evidence there is no doubt she could portray the intensity of the story and it would be good to see more female directors behind these huge franchise films.
From James Cameron, to his ex-wife. Again this name has been suggested in articles of a similar ilk however it is a name which should be on everybody’s lips when it comes to directing Catching Fire. Given Katniss is a female protagonist, it would be wise to hire a female director. While the likes of MTV have cited Debra Granik, due to her directing of Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, her lack of big-budget, high profile film experience may count against her. Bigelow on the other hand is fresh off an Oscar win for The Hurt Locker, however development on her Unititled Osama Bin Laden Project may prevent her from giving her take on Catching Fire. With The Hurt Locker as evidence there is no doubt she could portray the intensity of the story and it would be good to see more female directors behind these huge franchise films.
Alfonso Cuaron
He directed a Harry Potter film, so why not a Hunger Games film? Post-production on his upcoming film, Gravity, may prevent him from directing Catching Fire. Cuaron did a great job in Prisoner of Azkaban of delivering a dark tale without making it inaccessible for younger audiences and that is the exact balance required in Catching Fire. As a sci-fi man, it is likely he would be attracted to the world of the story and perhaps shoot it and bring it to life in a similar way he did with, Children of Men.
He directed a Harry Potter film, so why not a Hunger Games film? Post-production on his upcoming film, Gravity, may prevent him from directing Catching Fire. Cuaron did a great job in Prisoner of Azkaban of delivering a dark tale without making it inaccessible for younger audiences and that is the exact balance required in Catching Fire. As a sci-fi man, it is likely he would be attracted to the world of the story and perhaps shoot it and bring it to life in a similar way he did with, Children of Men.
David Slade
He has experience with big-budget, franchise, book adaptation films on Twilight, having directed Eclipse (Arguably the best in the series) and has credible critical chops having directed the likes of Hard Candy. He has worked with young, female leads in both those films (Ellen Page and Kristen Stewart) and actually made his Twilight film reasonably dark, suggesting he will be able to maintain the brutality and tension of the situation, whilst also satisfying the demands of studio executives and ratings boards.
He has experience with big-budget, franchise, book adaptation films on Twilight, having directed Eclipse (Arguably the best in the series) and has credible critical chops having directed the likes of Hard Candy. He has worked with young, female leads in both those films (Ellen Page and Kristen Stewart) and actually made his Twilight film reasonably dark, suggesting he will be able to maintain the brutality and tension of the situation, whilst also satisfying the demands of studio executives and ratings boards.
Gavin O' Connor
Having rewatched Warrior twice this weekend (Once with director’s commentary) I think Gavin O Connor would be a surprising yet worthy choice to direct Catching Fire. In that film he got superb performances out of the likes of Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte, whilst also directing superb action sequences, all of which were built up to and executed perfectly. He understands letting a story and characters breath and given the inexplicable commercial failure of that film, it would be nice to hand him the keys to a huge, big budget, franchise movie.
Having rewatched Warrior twice this weekend (Once with director’s commentary) I think Gavin O Connor would be a surprising yet worthy choice to direct Catching Fire. In that film he got superb performances out of the likes of Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte, whilst also directing superb action sequences, all of which were built up to and executed perfectly. He understands letting a story and characters breath and given the inexplicable commercial failure of that film, it would be nice to hand him the keys to a huge, big budget, franchise movie.
Danny Boyle
Initially had him in the dream list in the opening paragraph, then I thought a bit. Simon Beaufoy has written the first draft of Catching Fire. Simon Beaufoy wrote Slumdog Millionaire, the film for which Danny Boyle won an Oscar. Boyle has done children's cinema and book adaptations before with Millions. Add that to his desire for each of his films to be different and the fact that his planned film about an art thief is in VERY early stages of development, surely he should, along with Soderbergh, be a top, realistic, choice for Lionsgate.
Initially had him in the dream list in the opening paragraph, then I thought a bit. Simon Beaufoy has written the first draft of Catching Fire. Simon Beaufoy wrote Slumdog Millionaire, the film for which Danny Boyle won an Oscar. Boyle has done children's cinema and book adaptations before with Millions. Add that to his desire for each of his films to be different and the fact that his planned film about an art thief is in VERY early stages of development, surely he should, along with Soderbergh, be a top, realistic, choice for Lionsgate.
Out of those seven suggestions I see Soderbergh, Connor and Slade being the most likely. Bigelow is an outside shot and Cameron, Boyle and Cuaron will probably not even enter the conversations being had at Lionsgate. Vote in the poll below, who out of these suggestions you would like to see direct Catching Fire and give us your more in-depth written thoughts in the comments below. Also read my review for The Hunger Games here. Be sure to discuss this in our forum and spread the word to your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
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