Another week, another update on the casting of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Since the biggest characters were all cast last year, we're nowhere near the pandemonium that accompanied The Hunger Games casting, but it's still a relatively big deal as the second adaptation in the franchise based on Suzanne Collins' novel trilogy fills out new supporting roles.  Today, the latest thespian to official join the sequel cast is the one and only Amanda Plummer, who will be playing Wiress.

We've known for quite some time that the final novel in Suzanne Collins' Panem trilogy would be split into two separate movies wrapping up The Hunger Games.  It worked for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it's pretty much guaranteed to work for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, so Lionsgate is taking the opportunity to make extra truckloads of money with Mockingjay parts 1 and 2.  We've known that since before The Hunger Games reached theaters, but now Lionsgate has set release dates for both halves of the novel, so we know just when Mockingjay will wrap things up.

Just short of a month ago, word emerged that Lionsgate and director Francis Lawrence were all kinds of keen on Oscar-winner and Awesometwon resident Philip Seymour Hoffman to play a crucial supporting role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Since the casting of the first film involved so many false leads and wild speculation, the ensuing month of silence led many to assume that the busy actor wasn't down for a trip to the dystopia of Panem.  Not so, as it seems Hoffman is now committed to the role of Plutarch Heavensebee.

Everybody remembers the three-ring circus that was casting on The Hunger Games.  Just because the central roles like Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are taken care of doesn't mean that the sequel, officially titled The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, can't at least provide an echo of the deafening cacophony that accompanied every bit of news, rumor, and speculation on the first film.  For example, after numerous breathless reports of shortlists and alleged candidates, Jena Malone has been offered a crucial supporting role in Catching Fire.

Lionsgate scored by far the biggest theatrical hit in its history with The Hunger Games, as the film has now grossed $391.9 million domestically and continues to attract repeat viewers.  For the last few months, we've been focused on Catching Fire, the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' second novel in the series set for theatrical release in November of next year. 

While fans have been justifiably upset by the absence of director Gary Ross on the sequel, today brings happy news: The Hunger Games will be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download this August 18th.

Lionsgate has officially announced that they've found a director for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, with Francis Lawrence set to take over as helmer in the place of Gary Ross. 

Ross, who directed the phenomenally successful film adaptation of Suzanne Collins's dystopian novel, opted not to return for the first of three planned sequels, citing the rushed schedule required to meet an already-announced November 2013 release date.  As the release date loomed and scheduling issues became paramount, Lionsgate needed to find a Catching Fire director, and needed to do so post haste.

Pop quiz, hotshot.  You're Lionsgate, the mini-major studio that has scored the biggest hit in its history with The Hunger Games, which has now grosses more than $534 million globally.  With a release date already announced for Catching Fire, the first of what will likely be three sequels, and some scheduling complications, you discover that The Hunger Games director and co-writer has surprisingly opted not to return.  Who do you pick to replace him and make that all-important release date?

In two weeks of release, The Hunger Games has now grossed $384.3 million dollars globally, while also earning a pretty ecstatic response from critics, fans of the novel by Suzanne Collins, and general audiences.  So you'd think that co-writer and director Gary Ross would be eager to return to the futuristic dystopia of Panem.  Evidently not, as Ross has opted not to direct the sequel, Catching Fire.

After opening to the third-biggest domestic debut weekend of all time, legitimate pop culture phenomenon The Hunger Games has grossed $368.0 million globally.  It's done so in under two weeks of theatrical release.  So with by far the biggest hit in its history, Lionsgate is naturally keen to continue the series with Catching Fire, the already announced adaptation of Suzanne Collins's novel.  But apparently it's not a guarantee that Gary Ross, who co-wrote and directed The Hunger Games, will be back for another round.

Synopsis: From the director of Chocolat and the Oscar-winning® screenwriter of Slumdog Millionaire comes the inspirational comedy Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. When Britain's leading fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) is approached by a consultant (Emily Blunt) to help realize a sheikh's (Amr Waked) vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert, he immediately thinks the project is both absurd and unachievable. But when the Prime Minister's overzealous press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) latches on to it as a "good will" story, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible.

Cast: Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Amir Waked, Kristin Scott Thomas

Director: Lasse Hallström

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Inspirational

Release Date: March 30, 2012 (wider release)