The role of Katniss Everdeen, lead in Gary Ross' adaptation of teen sci-fi The Hunger Games , has attracted the attention of virtually every young actress in Hollywood.
According to a source of EW.com, around 30 actress have met or read for the role, including 2011 Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence ( Winter's Bone ) and Hailee Steinfeld ( True Grit ).
Also in contention are Lyndsy Fonseca ( Kick-Ass ), Emma Roberts ( Scream 4 ), Emily Browning ( Sucker Punch ) and Kaya Scoderlario ( Skins , Wuthering Heights ), as well as the younger, but mega-talented, likes of Chloe Moretz ( Kick-Ass , Let Me In ) and Abigail Breslin ( Little Miss Sunshine ).
The actresses up for playing 16-year-old Katniss span in age from 14 (Moretz) to 24 (Fonseca), and, according to the source, there is currently no front-runner.
The Hunger Games is based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, which imagines a post-Apocalyptic future America in which young people are selected to fight it out the death for the purposes of televisual entertainment.
So basically it sounds a little like Schwarzenegger's The Running Man , but with added angst.
Gary Ross (who has a mixed track record with iffy Seabiscuit and ace Pleasantville ) is calling the shots on the movie, which is pencilled in for a March 2012 release.
