Hunger Games Catching Fire: Thoughts on Casting

So - the whole crew here at Cinnamon Geek has been pretty terrible about writing posts this month. The goal was to have a post a week and clearly we haven't been too great about that. I apologize on my behalf. I've had some personal things going on that have really distracted me from writing. I do have some ideas in the works though and I've been trying to put those down but they've required some extra research or follow up work. Hopefully the groundwork I'm doing on those comes together soon so I can finish those up and post them here. As for the other two - well, I'll let them make their own excuses. For now - here's a post I should/could have put up weeks ago on The Hunger Games Sequel. 

SPOILER FILLED POST

I am ridiculously excited for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Not only was the second book my favorite of the trilogy, but I think the clockwork arena is extremely creative and I'm excited to see it come to life. Catching Fire also introduces us to 22 new tributes and several characters from the Capitol so there are a lot of new roles to fill. I've been watching the Hunger Games Facebook page very closely for any casting news and I wanted to give my thoughts on who's been cast. I had written up a summary on all of the tributes, but I realized it was a little too long and some of the actors were a little obscure. If you would like all of that, I can do a follow up with the rest of the tributes.

Character: Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker
Book Description: "Just then Portia appears with a large man who looks vaguely familiar. She introduces him as Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Head Gamemaker" (80).
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman
What You May Know Him From: Moneyball, Ides of March, Doubt, Mission Impossible III, Capote, Cold Mountain, and a million other things. His IMDB page is huge and he has an Academy Award so I'm sure you've seen him in something...
Thoughts: I love this casting. I think PSH is a fantastic actor and that this character gives him an opportunity to show that. When I was reading the books, I pictured someone taller and fitter, but that's the thing about a character with almost no physical description - your mind can do whatever it wants to do (although Haymitch will always look like Hagrid to me and I still can't fit Woody Harrelson in there..). Anyway, I have no doubt that PSH will do a great job with this role.


Character: Enobaria, District 2
Description: "Enobaria looks to be about thirty and all I can remember about her is that, in hand-to-hand combat, she killed one tribute by ripping open his throat with her teeth. She became so famous for this act that, after she was a victor, she had her teeth cosmetically altered so each one ends in a sharp point like a fang" (224).
Actor: Meta Golding
What You May Know Her From:  The Chicago 8, Leslie Seale; Dark Blue, Melissa Curtis; Criminal Minds, Jordan Todd; CSI, several guest spots; Day Break, Jennifer Mathis
Thoughts: I pictured Enobaria as Zoe Saldana when I first read the character. I haven't seen Meta in anything, but looks-wise she sounds perfect. The only exception would be the pointy teeth - she's so beautiful that it will be a frightening contrast but I believe that's also fitting for the character description.



Character: Beetee (Bolts), District 3
Description: "Beetee, the man, is older and somewhat fidgety. He wears glasses but spends a lot of time looking under them" - CF pg 226 (in addition to the joint description under Wiress).
Actor: Jeffrey Wright

What You May Know Him From: Casino Royale, Source Code, Quantum of Solace
Thoughts: There had been a lot of talk of Tony Shalhoub (Monk) being cast for this role so I hadn't really put my mind around anyone else getting the part. However, this seems like a really great casting. A lot of Jeffrey's parts so far have been small but he's done a great job with them. I could definitely see him filling this role of a quieter but more intelligent character. I don't want to spoil Mockingjay for anyone but as the series develops, you learn more about his character. I think Jeffrey will be able to tackle those new facets as well and show a more complex side to Beetee.




Character: Wiress (Nuts), District 3
Description: "The two tributes from District 3 [...] are small in stature with ashen skin and black hair. The woman, Wiress, is probably around my mother's age and speaks in a quiet, intelligent voice. But right away I notice she has a habit of dropping off mid-sentence, as if she's forgotten you're there" (226).
Actor: Amanda Plummer
What You May Know Her From: So I Married an Axe Murdered, Rose; Pulp Fiction as Honey Bunny/Yolanda
Thoughts: Wiress is a little (read very) crazy, hence earning her nickname, Nuts. If you've seen the two movies above, you know that Amanda Plummer can definitely pull off crazy. Ethnically, she's not what I pictured for the role, but she will nail this character who is on a brink of a complete psychological collapse.


Character: Finnick, District 4
Description: "Finnick, the handsome bronze-haired guy from District 4 who was crowned ten years ago at the age of fourteen" (191). "Finnick Odair's famous sea green eyes are only inches from mine" (208). "I can't argue that Finnick isn't one of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet" (209). There were about 709,089,009 other descriptions I could have picked from the book, but basically, this guy is good looking and important.
Actor: Sam Claflin
The only thing I saw him in was Snow White and the Huntsman and I thought he was really good in that. Then again, when most of your screen time is with Kristin Stewart, it's not very difficult to look like a decent actor. Looks-wise, he is probably not the most Finnicky person I could picture. His dark hair and pale skin doesn't shout "I spend all of my time in the ocean" but that's a pretty easy fix for Hollywood (the three main actors in this series all have naturally different hair colors than their characters). He definitely is a great looking guy and it will be interesting to see what he does since I'm not sure he can pull off the many layers of Finnick's character. Prince William was a pretty one dimensional role, and off the top of my head, I can think of at least 4 different dimensions to Finnick. I'm not saying Sam can't do it, but the roles I've seen him in haven't given me the background information I need to make a judgement.  He does kind of remind me of James Marsden earlier in his career (when he was type casted as the douche until people realized he was actually a pretty good actor... then again I just looked at his IMDB and I think I only love him because his character in 27 Dresses is exactly the kind of guy I would date), who actually would have been perfect for the role if he was 10 years younger... but I digress. The jury is out on this one.


Character: Mags, District 4
Description: "She's quickly replaced by a volunteer, an eighty-year-old woman who needs a cane to walk to the stage." - CF pg 191.
Actor: Lynn Cohen
What You May Know Her From: Sex and the City, Magda; Eagle Eye, Mrs. Wierzbowski; Munich, Golda Meir
Thoughts: I had been picturing Betty White or Cloris Leachman but I think that's mostly just because they are higher profile actors. I've only seen Lynn in SATC (embarrassing, I know) and she was great in that. I actually had to double check to see if she was American as an accent wouldn't be fitting for this role.


Character: Johanna Mason, District 7
Description: "Johanna Mason. From District 7. Lumber and paper, thus the tree. She won by very convincingly portraying herself as weak and helpless so that she would be ignored. Then she demonstrated a wicked ability to murder. She ruffles up her spiky hair and rolls her wide-set brown eyes." - CF pg 214.
Actor: Jena Malone
What You May Know Her From: Pride & Prejudice, Lydia Bennet; Saved!, Mary; Donnie Darko, Gretchen Ross; Suckerpunch, Rocket
Thoughts: Where do I start... I was really hoping Kristin Bell would get this since she's one of my favorite actresses celebrities human beings. I got in more than one debate about she clearly has the range to play someone who can appear weak but is also capable of chopping you in half with an axe and not batting an eyelash. Heroes...hello?!?! Anyways - I sadly had to move on from that dream when I heard about this. I have seen Donnie Darko about thirty-seven thousand times and Saved! was a go-to for a while too and those two characters are pretty similar... and don't shout Johanna Mason to me. Lydia Bennet is closer but there's still no worry about her soullessly murdering you or stripping just to get a rise out of people (actually, scratch that - you translate P&P to modern times and that would totally work). I just don't see the edgy side of Johanna Mason in Jena Malone (fyi - I have not seen Suckerpunch). I didn't see the looks either until I saw this photo. That helped a little, but it's going to be really tough for me to get past that whimpering pregnant teenage hanging out with McCaulay Culkin in a wheelchair. Who was that punk friend? THAT girl sounds more like Johanna Mason to me. I'd really love to see the audition tape for this one and see how that director made this decision.



Character: Seeder, District 11
Description: "The woman, Seeder, looks almost like she could be from the Seam, with her olive skin and straight black hair streaked with silver. Only her golden brown eyes mark her as from another district." - CF pg 214. It's also mentioned that she's one of the few older contestants who has stayed in shape. She's one of the few victors that Katniss half trusts and it seems like Seeder is more thoughtful and considerate than the others.
Actor: Maria Howell
What You May Know Her From: That horrible lady in The Blind Side that tried to get Sandra Bullock in trouble for helping Michael Oher
Thoughts: Physically, the description sounds more like what I might look like 30 years, but I'm don't really have a problem with casting a different race for a smaller role. I'd say that Maria Howell looks a little young for a role that's going silver but then again, I know 20-somethings with a few greys so it's possible. I think Maria did a great job in The Blind Side even though I clearly did not like the character. Based on what I've seen of Maria, she carries herself with an intelligent, quiet strength that I think will play well into this role quite well.

And who's left...

Character: Annie (she might not even be in this one as her small appearances could be edited out until the next movie like they did with Plutarch), District 4
Description: "A hysterical young woman with flowing brown hair is also called from 4" - CF pg. 191. "Annie's the one who went mad when her district partner got beheaded. Ran off by herself and hid. But an earthquake broke a dam and most of the area got flooded. She won because she was the best swimmer." - CF pg. 347.
My Dream Casting: I know it would never happen but I think Natalie Portman or Anne Hathaway would nail Annie. They both can do that shining positive spirit but also play characters who have just completely fallen apart. I keep picturing the scene in Dark Knight Rises where Selina Kyle is pretending to be terrified by a bar fight and thinking "That would be a perfect Annie."

Characters: Morphlings, District 6
Description: "We seem particularly riveting to the pair from District 6, who are known morphling addicts. Both are bone thin, with sagging yellowish skin." - CF pg213.
My Dream Casting: Wouldn't it be great to get some washed up super models for this? I bet Janice Dickenson would nail this. These characters basically just get really high and paint flowers all over their bodies. They don't get names so the parts aren't going to go to two big actors but it would still be fun. I actually really loved the morphlings because I felt like they just had this innocence about them since they were so doped up.


Character: Cecilia, District 8
Description: "The woman from 8 who Effie calls Cecilia, who looks about thirty, has to detach herself from the three kids who run up to cling to her" - CF pg 191.
My Dream Casting: It could be fun to get a TV mom for this part. I'm trying to rack my mind for some in the thirties though... Someone like Lauren Graham but younger? Erika Christensen could work? The part isn't huge so probably not but I like the idea of casting someone that people already identify in a motherly way.


Anyways - I'm excited for this!!! It will be interesting to see how the characters adapt to the roles. I did think some of the parts would go to bigger actors but I suppose there are already quite a few big checks to write so I'll take it. I think this has the potential to launch some careers (Meta, Sam - I'm looking at you) and I hope these actors nail their parts - mostly just because this was my favorite book of the series and I want it to be an amazing movie.

And just to keep you entertained - here are some shots from filming. To no one's surprise, Finnick already has his shirt off.