By Hillel Italie, National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The next "Hunger Games" book is coming out next month, and a movie version is now being planned.
Lionsgate is working on an adaptation of Suzanne Collins' "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," a prequel to her three "Hunger Games" novels that will be released May 19. Collins' Dystopian series, which includes "The Hunger Games," "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay," has sold tens of millions copies worldwide and is the basis for four Lionsgate movies that earned nearly $3 billion and starred Jennifer Lawrence as the heroine Katniss Everdeen.
For the new movie, Collins will serve as executive producer and write the film's treatment. The screenplay will be by Michael Arndt, an Oscar winner for "Little Miss Sunshine," a nominee for "Toy Story 3" and one of the writers for the adaptation of "Catching Fire." Francis Lawrence returns as director after making the three previous "Hunger Games" movies. Nina Jacobson will again produce, along with Brad Simpson.
A movie deal has long seemed inevitable. When Collins' book was announced last year, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman Joe Drake told the AP that the company had "been communicating with her during the writing process."
But with movie productions halted by the coronavirus pandemic, no release date has been set and casting has not begun. The film will take place in Collins' fictional Panem, and center on 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, the future president, played in the earlier movies by Donald Sutherland.
"Lionsgate has always been the cinematic home of 'The Hunger Games,' and I'm delighted to be returning to them with this new book," Collins said in a statement Tuesday. "From the beginning, they have treated the source material with great respect, honoring the thematic and narrative elements of the story, and assembling an incredible team both in front of and behind the camera. It's such a pleasure to be reuniting with Nina, Francis, and Michael to adapt the novel to the screen, and having them share their remarkable talents, once again, with the world of Panem."
Drake said in a statement that Collins' new novel is "creatively thrilling and takes this world to complex new dimensions that open up amazing cinematic possibilities."
"We're thrilled to reunite this filmmaking team with this very unique franchise, and we can't wait to begin production," Drake said.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More