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In addition to having a new director, Catching Fire, the high-profile sequel to The Hunger Games, may have a new writer. Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for his screenplay Little Miss Sunshine and who received an Oscar nod for Toy Story 3, is in talks with Lionsgate to re-write the much anticipated sequel.

 

The initial drafts of the script were written by Simon Beaufoy, who penned the haunting Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire. Arndt would be brought on board to assist in polishing up the current script. The script is based on the second novel in Suzanne Collins's dystopian young adult series.

 

Catching Fire is headed toward a late-summer production start. Arndt will have to work at super-sonic speed in order to finish the script, due to the tightly-packed schedule caused by star Jennifer Lawrence’s commitment to Fox’s X-Men: First Class sequel. The squeezed schedule is one of the reasons Hunger Games director Gary Ross stepped down and new director Francis Lawrence stepped in.

 

In related Hunger Games news, Lionsgate has received the green light to release The Hunger Games in China. The dystopian blockbuster, which has already generated $620 million in worldwide box office, will screen in the first half of June. The film will be released in both dubbed and subtitled prints, and is currently one of the only major Hollywood films to be released in China under the landmark revenue sharing agreement announced in February. 

 

 

- Sarah Osman, YH Staff