The Hunger Games is a 2012 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Gary Ross and based on Suzanne Collins's 2008 novel of the same name. It is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series and was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, with a screenplay by Ross, Collins, and Billy Ray. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. Set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem, where a boy and a girl from each of the nation's 12 Districts are chosen annually as "tributes" and forced to compete in The Hunger Games, an elaborate televised fight to the death, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take her younger sister's place. With her district's male tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss travels to the Capitol to train and compete in the games.
Development of The Hunger Games began in March 2009 when Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Color Force, which had acquired the rights a few weeks earlier. Collins collaborated with Ray and Ross to write the screenplay. The screenplay expanded the character of Seneca Crane to allow several developments to be shown directly to the audience and Ross added several scenes between Crane and Coriolanus Snow. The main characters were cast between March and May 2011. Principal photography began in May 2011 and ended in September 2011, with filming taking place in North Carolina.
Jennifer Lawrence stars in the blockbuster adaptation of Suzanne Collins' popular dystopian novel series, which centers on a heroic young woman who leads her downtrodden people in a revolution against the status quo.
