Woody Harrelson wins coveted role in ‘Hunger Games’

(HMG Celebrity News) – We got a fair amount of positive and negative feedback when we mentioned Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth have joined Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence,  in the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s wildly successful sci-fi young adult books story ‘Hunger Games’. No one seemed to object to Lawrence, who was cast as Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of the best-selling,  But many were not keen on the male leads for the highly anticipated project, which will be directed by Gary Ross.  Hutcherson (“The Kids Are All Right” star) as Peeta Mellark, will compete for the affections of Katniss with her strapping hunting partner Gale Hawthorne, to be played by 21-year-old Liam Hemsworth (“The Last Song”). The latest (very good) casting news has Woody Harrelson stepping in to play the coveted role of Katniss Everdeen’s mentor and is described in the book, as a drunk who was victorious in the 50th Hunger Games, more than two decades before Katniss’ deadly adventures begin.  Stanley Tucci has also been cast as Hunger Games host Caesar Flickerman and Wes Bentley as head gamemaker Seneca Crane, according to Hollywood Reporter.

The teen love triangle movie plays out in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where North America once stood,and comes to a head in a televised, to-the-death match that finds well-practiced hunter Katniss determining her own fate. Shooting starts in May and the movie is scheduled to debut March 2012, as the first in a forthcoming trilogy, based on the books of the same name.