Fantasy Casting: Katniss!

Our final bit of casting is probably the most important role in the whole shebang. I can't imagine a situation in which the filmmakers wouldn't cast Katniss first. The girl they pick to play her will probably determine a lot of the other roles as well.

Unfortunately I have not been able to stay away from predictions for the part of Katniss. It seems like pretty much every girl with dark hair (and some without) who is between the ages of 13 and 25 has been suggested for this role! You can't look at a red-carpet picture of a girl without someone saying "is it Katniss?"

I find this pretty funny but also interesting. Some people with suggest an actress solely because of her appearance, with no idea how good of an actress she is. Others will want someone who is a good actress, despite her appearance. (Dakota Fanning, REALLY?). I have decided to only put forward one name (I had a couple of others lined up) and if I get any other suggestions, I will write about them and put them up with a link to their imdb page. Sound good?

My pick for Katniss is Hailee Steinfeld. She just blew me away in True Grit. She was sharp, tough, and took herself very seriously (a bit like Katniss might). There is one scene, near the beginning of the movie, where she is bargaining with a businessman to sell back the horses her father had bought. The dialogue was amazing, but with a less believable actress it could have sounded a bit Dawson's Creek.

While she is not an "unknown" as many fans are wishing, she has proven herself to be able to hold her own on screen with the likes of Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. I know she is only 14 now, but by the time they start filming, she should be very close to 16.

Your suggestions:

Elizabeth Gillies, age 17

Kaya Scodelario, age 19 (she was one of my original picks, but I haven't really seen her in anything)