Director Gary Ross beat Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), and Susanna White (Nanny McPhee Returns) in his bid to direct The Hunger Games adaptation. According to an L.A. Times article, the director brought more than just his resume to the interviews.
Here’s more from the article: “when Ross met with Lionsgate for the first time, he brought a persuasive piece of video — interviews he’d shot of his kids’ friends explaining why the books mattered to them, and what they loved about the series’ heroine, Katniss Everdeen. ‘What was amazing was how insightful these kids were about this book and about Katniss as a character,’ says producer Nina Jacobson. ‘It was so clear that Gary was interested in what the fans cared about.'”
Author Suzanne Collins recently talked about the process of writing the first draft of The Hunger Games movie script. Back in October, Jacobson predicted that the film will have a PG-13 rating. (Via io9)