Comments on "The Hunger Games" casting...

So lately I’ve been following the casting process of one of my favorite book series, The Hunger Games, and boy, have I had a few surprises.

I agree with the casting choices for the most part; I think Jennifer Lawrence is a great choice for Katniss Everdeen, I think she will play the part well. I’m a little disappointed with the choice for Peeta Mellark, Josh Hutcherson; I would have preferred this beautiful boy from Beastly and I Am Number Four:

Alex Pettyfer <3

…*sigh*…At first I was really disappointed but now that I’ve thought about it, I think Hutcherson will be able to pull off the role nicely. I wish him luck. I am far less-than-satisfied with the choice for Gale Hawthorne. I don’t think Liam Hemsworth fits the part at all. I would have liked someone more along the lines of:

Drew Roy

…and CINNA?! I was absolutely quite dumbfounded when I heard that Lenny Kravitz was casted as Katniss’ stylist. And a bit…disgusted. He doesn’t seem right for the part at all (even more so than Hemsworth for Gale), and I wondered to myself if the casting director even read the book, let alone took the time to think about who would be right for the role. In my opinion, Kravitz is too big. Too masculine. Cinna needs to have certain feminism to him, but not as much as popular fan choice Adam Lambert. Please, no. I was thinking of Prince Caspian:

Ben Barnes. Can’t you just see him with gold eyeliner? <3

Finally, I’d like to comment on Portia, Peeta’s stylist. Latarsha Rose has been cast for the role. They almost hit it for me, but not exactly. Rose is pretty and has the calm face I was looking for, but my number one choice for Portia was Tamina from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time:

Gemma Arterton


So those are my thoughts. As for the other leads and the tributes, I think they’re all fairly good choices. I look forward to seeing what else they come up with. Regardless, I can’t wait to see this movie.

My pretend casting of "Shiver"

Recently, a friend of mine showed me some videos on YouTube made by Shiver fans of pretend casting for the book's upcoming movie (SO excited!!). She asked me to put together my own cast, so I did, and that’s what I’m going to share with everyone today.

*Full credit and my thanks go to the others who put together their videos; I have used some of their choices.

~*~*~*~

AIANARIE'S PRETEND CAST

FOR SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater

Sam – MATT PROKOP
Casting Sam was extremely difficult. I couldn’t find anyone who fit the picture of him that I had in my mind. Finally I stumbled upon this cutie, from High School Musical and Furry Vengeance. I ultimately chose Matt because he looks almost exactly as Sam is described in the book by Maggie. I love his pouty face. :o)

Grace – DEBBY RYAN
Grace was another toughie. I wanted to find a girl that is cute but not too cute, with a face that radiated youth, curiosity, but also strong will. Grace has a great sense of humor, and I think that is another important aspect to casting her. You may recognize Debby from The Suite Life on Deck and 16 Wishes.

Beck – JUSTIN CHATWIN
Justin is a favorite amongst fans of Shiver for the role of Beck, and I have to agree. He seems to fit the part seamlessly.

Isabel – TAYLOR SWIFT
Taylor immediately sprang to my mind when I began looking for an actress to fill those designer shoes. I have no doubt that she would make a flawless Isabel.

Jack – JAKE ABEL
This character wasn’t too hard to cast, but I found that there were many choices to choose from and any of them would make an excellent Jack. I ended up choosing Jake Abel from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief because he had that very jock-like appearance that I saw in Jack.

Rachel – EMMA WATSON
Emma was another fan favorite. I like this choice because her accent would really make Rachel stand out, and that’s exactly how Rachel is. She’s talkative, scatterbrained, and just plain funny. Emma would be absolutely hilarious.

Olivia – ANNASOPHIA ROBB
Olivia was the last character I casted. I know her part seems easy, but really it wasn’t (for me, anyway). I wanted to find an actress who had a very thoughtful, introspective look to her face.

Shelby – DAKOTA FANNING
Shelby was probably my least favorite character in the book, and I wanted to find an actress who would show everything I disliked about her in a less smoldering way. Almost everyone else picked a model-gorgeous girl to play Shelby, and I think that rivals Isabel’s role too much. I like Dakota for this part because she is pretty and has that passive, uninterested look to her face that is perfectly reminiscent of Shelby.

Grace’s Mom – JENNIFER ANISTON
For whatever reason, Jennifer seems to me a perfect choice for Grace’s artsy mother. Plus, she looks a lot like Debby Ryan, who I casted as Grace.

Grace’s Dad – PATRICK DEMPSEY
I don’t have a lot to say about why I chose Patrick for Grace’s father, I just like the fit. I think he could pull off the absentminded father who’s trying to be a businessman role quite nicely.


~*~*~*~

I hope you enjoyed this! Please leave your comments; I would love to hear what you have to say.