Forgoing what would have been a major payday, Gary Ross has decided against directing The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire.  Last week rumors had Ross leaving the franchise, and then over the weekend other stories indicated that Ross and Lionsgate would be able to reach an agreement that would allow the director to return for Catching Fire.  In a statement he released late today Ross announced his decision and gave his reason for leaving: “As a writer and a director, I simply don’t have the time I need to write and prep the movie because of the fixed and tight production schedule.”

 

Ross is referring to Lionsgate’s strategy to maximize The Hunger Games movie franchise by limiting the amount of time between installments.  Catching Fire is scheduled to debut in theaters on November 22, 2013, and to make that opening, shooting has to begin this August.  Scheduling can be a nightmare for the studios, which have to deal with the schedules of lots of key personnel.  It is not just the director--cast availability is also a major issue, especially since Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence is in heavy demand for other projects.  Fox recently postponed shooting of the sequel to X-Men: First Class from the fall until early 2013 in large part to accommodate Lawrence’s schedule (see “Hunger Games Sequel Delays X-Men: First Class Sequel”).

 

Will Ross be missed?  Perhaps but the other two most successful movie franchise built on YA novel properties, Harry Potter and Twilight, both experienced numerous directorial changes with no appreciable effect on their box office results.