Donald Sutherland: 'I want Hunger Games to stir up a revolution'

[pnwmom]

28. The director says the author was present at all the auditions and approved the choice of Lawrence.

http://movieline.com/2011/03/17/gary-ross-defends-jennifer-lawrence-casting-says-hunger-games-author-approves/

"To Suzanne, Jen is the perfect realization of the character who is in her head," Ross said, telling EW that Collins was present at every single audition for the role of Katniss Everdeen in the 2012 franchise-starter. (Which included an audition by Nikita star Lyndsy Fonseca, who admitted that she'd read for Ross and Tweeted her congrats to Lawrence.)

SNIP

Asked about the apparent ethnic elements in Collins' description of Katniss, Ross waved off the issue and suggested that, while supporting characters Rue and Thresh are clearly African-American according to Collins' original vision, Katniss is ambiguous. Just ambiguous enough to be played, conveniently enough, by a blond Caucasian woman.

"Suzanne and I talked about that as well. There are certain things that are very clear in the book. Rue is African-American. Thresh is African-American. Suzanne had no issues with Jen playing the role. And she thought there was a tremendous amount of flexibility. It wasn't doctrine to her. Jen will have dark hair in the role, but that's something movies can easily achieve."


ON EDIT:

From the author herself:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/21/hunger-games-suzanne-collins-jennifer-lawrence/

As the author, I went into the casting process with a certain degree of trepidation. Believing your heroine can make the leap from the relative safety of the page to the flesh and bones reality of the screen is something of a creative act of faith. But after watching dozens of auditions by a group of very fine young actresses, I felt there was only one who truly captured the character I wrote in the book. And I’m thrilled to say that Jennifer Lawrence has accepted the role.

In her remarkable audition piece, I watched Jennifer embody every essential quality necessary to play Katniss. I saw a girl who has the potential rage to send an arrow into the Gamemakers and the protectiveness to make Rue her ally. Who has conquered both Peeta and Gale’s hearts even though she’s done her best to wall herself off emotionally from anything that would lead to romance. Most of all, I believed that this was a girl who could hold out that handful of berries and incite the beaten down districts of Panem to rebel. I think that was the essential question for me. Could she believably inspire a rebellion? Did she project the strength, defiance and intellect you would need to follow her into certain war? For me, she did.