Now that the movie is actually filming, we were thinking that director Gary Ross and Lionsgate might finally stop announcing casting decisions on The Hunger Games. But clearly, we were very, very wrong. Still, at least the latest pair of names released has a history – so please welcome rocker Lenny Kravitz and veteran character actor Toby Jones to the film.
It’s too early to say if these really will turn out to be the absolutely final folk to jump aboard the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel series.
Kravitz will be playing Cinna, a fashion stylist who designs the outfits that heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) wears when fighting the titular games in the dystopian tale. He becomes one of her closest allies. According to Ross, who spoke about his casting with the LA Times, the musician impressed him thanks to his work on Precious. The director comments that his performance there was “quiet and strong and understated and open-hearted; all qualities which define this character.”
Jones, meanwhile, will crop up as Claudius Templesmith, the arena announcer who helps audiences keep track of the Games’ action.
For those keeping track, the Hunger Games cast now includes half of North American Equity and beyond. Okay, it actually features Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, and a host of young near-unknowns playing the various “tributes” – the kids who are made to take part in the violent blend of propaganda and iron-fisted governmental crackdown.
Ross is cranking the cameras in North Carolina and we’ll see the result of his and his cast/crew’s labours on March 23 next year.