Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been cast as Plutarch Heavensbee in the Catching Fire movie adaptation.

In The Hunger Games film sequel, Hoffman’s character serves as Head Gamemaker; the leader who oversees the design and management of Panem’s yearly battle to the death.

Here’s more from the release: “The actor and filmmaker just wrapped a Broadway run as Willy Loman in the revival of Death of a Salesman for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. He will next be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and the indie film A Late Quartet alongside Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken.”

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The New York Times reports that filmmaker Francis Lawrence has come on board as the director for the next installment of The Hunger Games movie series, Catching Fire. Lawrence started off his Hollywood career directing music videos. He has since progressed on to movies including literary adaptations such as Constantine (2005) and Water for Elephants (2011).

Here’s more from the article: “Mr. Lawrence said in a statement that he ‘fell in love with the characters’ of Ms. Collins’s novels, as well as ‘the themes and the world she created,’ adding that ‘this chapter opens all of these elements up in such a thrilling, emotional and surprising way.’” MTV reports that star actors Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson feel sad that Gary Ross did not sign up to direct the sequel film. However, they both look forward to working with Lawrence.

Lawrence is not the only new addition to The Hunger Games movie crew. Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who adapted Slumdog Millionaire (2008), penned the first draft of the script for Catching Fire. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate is negotiating with Michael Arndt, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind Little Miss Sunshine (2006), to polish Beaufoy’s draft.

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Inside Movies got interviewed The Hunger Games director Gary Ross. He explained why he cast Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen–a choice criticized by fans yesterday.

Ross explained: “This is a girl who needs to incite a revolution. We can’t have an insubstantial person play her, and we can’t have someone who’s too young to play this. Suzanne [Collins] was incredibly adamant about this. Far from being too old, she was very concerned that we would cast someone who was too young. In Suzanne’s mind, and in mine, Katniss is not a young girl. It’s important for her to be a young woman. She’s a maternal figure in her family.”

Ross said he appreciated fans’ passion, but he also needed to satisfy Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins. Now Ross must find actors to play Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Prim Everdeen, and other characters.

Winter’s Bone actress Jennifer Lawrence will play Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film adaptation. As of this writing, fans have left more than 380 comments on Facebook, many protesting the choice.

We’ve included some of the comments below. Some complain that Lawrence (pictured, via) is too “old” because she is 20-years-old. In the first book, Katniss is 16. Others find fault with her appearance; Lawrence has blond hair, milky-colored skin, and blue eyes. Author Suzanne Collins describes Katniss as being a brunette with an olive complexion and gray eyes.

Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga, has said in past interviews that his hiring was met with initial fan protest. These days, Pattinson enjoys great popularity and has even gotten mobbed during outdoor movie shoots. What do you think?

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Director Gary Ross beat Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), and Susanna White (Nanny McPhee Returns) in his bid to direct The Hunger Games adaptation. According to an L.A. Times article, the director brought more than just his resume to the interviews.

Here’s more from the article: “when Ross met with Lionsgate for the first time, he brought a persuasive piece of video — interviews he’d shot of his kids’ friends explaining why the books mattered to them, and what they loved about the series’ heroine, Katniss Everdeen. ‘What was amazing was how insightful these kids were about this book and about Katniss as a character,’ says producer Nina Jacobson. ‘It was so clear that Gary was interested in what the fans cared about.’”

Author Suzanne Collins recently talked about the process of writing the first draft of The Hunger Games movie script. Back in October, Jacobson predicted that the film will have a PG-13 rating. (Via io9)

In a recent interview, Suzanne Collins gave readers a peek at the process of adapting The Hunger Games for the screen–recognizing that changes are usually a necessary evil in the adaptation process.

Shelf-Life offered this quote from Collins who recently undertook the script-writing process: “Obviously, you have to let things go, but it’s more than a question of condensation. You want to preserve the essence while making the film stand on its own. It’s an art in itself.”

After Collins wrote the first draft for The Hunger Games script, screenwriter Billy Ray took over for revisions. Before she wrote books full-time, she worked as a writer for children’s television shows on Nickelodeon.

The first Hunger Games‘ film adaptation will have a budget of $60 million. The question now becomes: ‘Is that enough?’

Shelf-Life observed that the first Twilight movie cost $37 million to produce. They noted that most of the book is set in the Hunger Games arena–which is primarily forest and won’t require a huge special effects budget. Shelf Life decided:  “So basically, we’re looking at a movie that’s 75% The New World, 15% October Sky, and a mere 10% Blade Runner. $60 million sounds about right!”

What do you think? Below, we’ve listed the budgets for other literary adaptations of children’s book series to compare and contrast.

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Plenty of celebrities–from Kristen Bell to Elizabeth Banks–have tweeted about Suzanne Collins‘ Hunger Games trilogy. But, not all of them have their very own talk show. That’s what sets Tyra Banks apart from all the rest. You can read Banks’ Twitter book review in the image embedded above: “Soooooo good!!!”

Shelf Life poked fun at the review: “That is especially impressive, since six o’s and three exclamation points is the highest possible score in Tyra’s rating system. (By comparison, she thought Twilight was ‘Soooo good!!’ and she broke with critical consensus by only giving the new Franzen a tepid ‘Soo good!’)”

Oprah Winfrey chose Jonathan Franzen‘s Freedom as this year’s book club pick. Could Banks review books in a post-Oprah world?  Some feel that with or without Oprah, publishing will go on.

Powell’s Books has won Scholastic’s Mockingjay in-store display contest. The bookstore constructed a 17-foot cornucopia to beat out the rest of the competition. Their prize? A visit from Suzanne Collins at their West Burnside location on Sunday, November 7th.

Powell’s staffer Suzy Wilson had this statement in the release: “A visit from The Hunger Games series author, Suzanne Collins, is better than birthdays and snow days! We are ecstatic for the legions of Mockingjay fans in our area—many of whom waited for hours for the midnight release—to have won the Scholastic contest. It is an amazing opportunity for all those passionate readers to meet their favorite author. The celebration continues, and costumes are not required…but welcomed.”

Publishers Weekly has the Powell’s Books a picture of the staff in costume. New York City’s Books of Wonder hosted a Collins visit during a Mockingjay midnight release party. Owner Peter Glassman offered these thoughts on the trendiness of YA series, ” I think what’s really great is that adults aren’t afraid anymore of being seen reading kids’ books. It’s okay for a grown-up to enjoy children’s literature.”

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When Suzanne Collins wrote the initial adaptation of The Hunger Games, screenwriter Billy Ray took over for revisions. Entertainment Weekly obtained an early copy of his now-completed script, comparing the script to the original.

Spoiler: It’s shaping up to be a PG-13 experience. The story features a battle royale between teenage players and the idea of minors acting out such violence is a concern. In fact, when you order the pictured box set the product description does say “Ages 12+.”

“‘It’s always going to be an intense subject matter, but you can tell the story with some restraint,’ said producer Nina Jacobson in the Entertainment Weekly article. ‘The only people these books are not for are those under 12. The movie will be the same.’”

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