The Hunger Games May Shoot In January 2011

Worst part of a good book? The ending. You become so engrossed in the story and the characters that it hurts to have to say goodbye. Luckily, when it comes to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, not only is there a second book and a third on the way, but a movie in the works too.

According to MTV Lionsgate is hoping to announce a director for the movie version of The Hunger Games this summer, go into production in January 2011 and release the film later that year. The information comes from a Scholastic event during which Collins read the last few pages of the second book, Catching Fire, followed by the first few passages of the highly anticipated third book, Mockingjay due out on August 24th.

I’ve read quite a pile of books-turned-movies, but The Hunger Games exceeds them all in terms of big screen potential, by far. Think Harry Potter; fantastic read, but magical on screen. If Catching Fire is nearly as good as The Hunger Games, and I hear it is, we have some serious franchise potential here. Read the plot description below, and do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Hunger Games now.

Panem can be a fantastic or difficult place to live depending on the district you call home. Some indulge in lavish lifestyles while others, like District 12 resident Katniss Everdeen, are forced to go to drastic measures just to have enough food to eat. Regardless, every Panem citizen 12 to 18-years-old is a potential Tribute in the Hunger Games. Once a year, each district is forced to select one boy and one girl to send to the Capitol to take part in the Games. 24 in total are locked in an arena and forced to fight to the death until just one remains, televised for the entire country to see. Katniss certainly has experience going to the extreme to survive, but hunting game in the forbidden woods of District 12 is nothing compared to hunting other kids in the arena, kids who are also hunting her.