Hunger Games Movie Directors
 David Slade |
 Sam Mendes |
 Gary Ross |
We all waited patiently (kind of) for the release of Mockingjay – dying to know how the Hunger Games trilogy was going to end. We love this series and now we’re all waiting for the Hunger Games movie to be made. It seems the process is about to take another major step forward. In an exclusive for Deadline, they’ve been told that Lionsgate will be meeting with three elite directors next week before making a decision. They say Gary Ross, Sam Mendes and David Slade are the front runners.
As Deadline points out, Hunger Games has been talked about as the next Twilight, in so far as the film could reach multiple audience quadrants. But as they also point out, the big bosses at Lionsgate are watching their dollars closely and they wonder if Lionsgate will want to “step up and make a pricey deal with a big name director and commit a budget between $60 million to $80 million for a film that stars a bunch of teenaged unknowns?”
For anyone who has ever read Hunger Games, they already know that if done right, the story should make a gripping, roller coaster ride of a movie. So long as they walk that fine line between depicting the darker aspects without glorifying the fighting and inherent violence, then it should be intensely compelling. Today’s news makes the whole thing a little more real.
So let us know what you think of the directors that Deadline has named or even how you feel about a Hunger Games movie? Here’s who they are:
David Slade is a British director who began his career making music videos. His first movie was Hard Candy. He then directed the vampire movie 30 Days of Night before Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight series. It’s believed he’s in negotiations to direct a sequel for the X-Men origins series.
Sam Mendes is an English stage and film director. His first film was American Beauty. He also directed Road to Perdition, Jarhead and Revolutionary Road.
Gary Ross is an American writer, actor and director. He is best known for his films, Pleasantville and Seabiscuit.
As much as I love David Slade’s work, I think if he directed Hunger Games it would constantly get compared to Twilight– which I dont think is fair. It is it’s own trilogy and deserves to stand on its own. The only similarity between the two is the realization of strength and a common love triangle that exists in most books.
Cant wait till the ball get rolling on The Hunger Games.
All three of those directors look stellar…but I do wish they’d also grabbed a female director for the lineup. Sigh.
@alt323 me too!
‘Sam Mendes is an English stage and film director. His first film was American Beauty. He also directed Road to Perdition, Jarhead and Revolutionary Road.’
Oh, and you forgot to mention he won an Academy Award (aka an Oscar) for Best Director.
Out of the three I think David Spade would be the only one to take it to the next level. As much as I agree with the first commenter about the movie being compared to Twilight, I think it already is and I don’t think it will stop the real fans from coming out to see it.
i totally agree with jaybunzy0. the hunger games is its own amazing series. david slade would be a f antastic director. . . . but he still might have some ideas from twilight and want to mix them with the already perfect hunger games series. but sam mendes and gary ross would be just as good. so i dont see any problem with sam or gary. they wont jepordise the hunger games script and action!
I have no doubt that any of these three can do it, but I have to admit there isn’t one that sticks out more than the other. My biggest worry is that the movies do not reflect the novels to their real premise, and end up being an inflated and romanticized version of them.
Honestly, I’d love to see Sam Mendes give it a shot, but I’m not sure The Hunger Games is a right fit for him. His strength stylistically is his ability to dramatize subtle but realistic situations, with a slow pace and calm tone. However it also doesn’t mean that he isn’t capable of directing a possible blockbuster and still maintain that level of realism that Suzanne Collins is trying so hard to preserve. Honestly, I think it could be an incredible achievement and a great thing for the franchise. I know the big guys in Hollywood love a spectacle (that’s where the money’s at), but the combination of a strong script and gifted director is what film is really about.
i just want the director to do good and pick a good cast