We’ve got a few casting stories to share this evening.  Briefly:

• The ridiculously talented Benedict Cumberbatch is set to join Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the drama adaptation August: Osage County.
• The Killing star Mireille Enos joins the testosterone-fueled thriller Ten with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington.
• The Hunger Games star Alexander Ludwig has signed on for Peter Berg’s Navy SEAL drama Lone Survivor.

Hit the jump for more details.

While The Hunger Games and Bridesmaids picked up the most nominations for this year’s MTV Movie Awards, the Twilight fanbase continued to show they would vote online until their fingers bled.  At last night’s ceremony, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 took home “Movie of the Year” as well as Best Kiss for Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.  However, The Hunger Games and Bridesmaids didn’t go home empty-handed.  Melissa McCarthy won Best Comedic Performance for Bridesmaids (the cast also won “Best Gut-Wrenching Performance”), and The Hunger Games won golden popcorn buckets for Best Male Performance (Josh Hutcherson), Best Female Performance (Jennifer Lawrence), Best On-Screen Transformation (Elizabeth Banks), and Best Fight.

Hit the jump for a full list of winners, and click here to check out the footage from The Dark Knight Rises that played during the ceremony.

We’ve got a few casting stories to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Kevin Hart is joining Kevin James in the comedy Valet Guys.
• Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) joins the cast of Grown Ups 2.
• SNL cast member Taran Killam has joined Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years a Slave.
• Chris Diamantopoulos has been added to Empire State alongside Dwayne Johnson and Liam Hemsworth.

Hit the jump for more on each casting addition.

In The Hunger Games, adapted for the big screen from the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins, actors Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman and Amandla Stenberg play three of the Tributes competing in the Games. Cato (Ludwig) and Clove (Fuhrman) are ruthless killers who are the two most fearsome Career Tributes, while Rue (Stenberg) is the youngest Tribute from District 11, who also becomes a close ally of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence).

At the press day, the three co-stars made it obvious just how tight-knit the cast had gotten while making the film, as they shared stories about training together, the practical jokes they played on each other, what it’s like to interact with fans, and what they learned from this experience. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Calling all Hunger Games fans: we’ve got a good deal of Panem-related material to wade through today. A batch of new images and an IMAX banner from the film have been released, and Lionsgate announced that advanced tickets for the film go on sale tomorrow. Additionally, the studio is planning a national mall tour to give fans a chance to meet the actors from the film at their local shopping mecca. Director Gary Ross, stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and more will be popping up at malls across the country to participate in fan Q&A’s. I’m not exactly sure The Hunger Games needs a mall tour in order to drum up awareness (it feels very 80s pop star), but I guess it gives superfans a chance to interact with the cast.

Hit the jump to check out the images and banner, as well as the full list of participating mall tour cities which includes information on which actors will be at which events. The Hunger Games opens March 23rd.

Fans of Suzanne Collins’ beloved book trilogy The Hunger Games are about to be very happy. This morning posters for almost all of the major characters from the books debuted for Gary Ross’ film adaptation. We’ve got our first look at Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, Amandia Stenberg as Rue, Alexander Ludwig as Cato, as well as some brooding looks at Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. While half-shrouded in shadows, they still seem to have gotten the looks of the characters down pat with Banks and Harrelson looking positively perfect as Effie and Haymitch.

For those unfamiliar, the story centers on Katniss, a young woman who must survive a televised fight to the death between her and teenagers from other the other districts of Panem. In the post-apocalyptic world of the book, North America is now referred to as Panem and is divided up into twelve districts that each specialize in manufacturing a specific good for the nation, which is all under control of the Capitol. It’s a surprisingly riveting book series, and it’s absolutely ripe for a film adaptation. Hit the jump to check out the posters. The Hunger Games opens March 23rd, 2012.

The basic premise behind The Hunger Games is a fight to the death between 24 kids (ages 12-18) — two “tributes” selected from each of the 12 districts of Panem, the dictatorship of the future.  Lionsgate has spent the last month steadily rolling out the young cast that will play the kids, saving two of the most important tributes for today’s final announcement.  You can gauge their relative importance by their names — known not as “Tribute Boy” and “Tribute Girl,” but rather as Cato and Clove of District 2.  Alexander Ludwig (Race to Witch Mountain) will play Cato, Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) will play Clove.  I can’t speak for Ludwig’s talent, but the Fuhrman casting is excellent.  She wowed us all in Orphan in 2009, but  screen credits since have been minimal (The Cleveland Show?).  Fuhrman is perfect for Clove, who is great with a knife and, um… not very nice.

Virtually all of the principal roles are filled: Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, Willow Shields as Primrose, and Paula Malcomson as Mrs. Everdeen.  Find a Cinna (perhaps Lenny Kravitz?) and a President Snow, and you’re pretty much set.  Director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) ought to begin production soon to make the planned March 23, 2012 release date.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis the full tribute casting rundown.

While Jennifer Lawrence is now set in the lead role of Katniss in Gary Ross’ adaptation of The Hunger Games, producers are currently looking to fill out the other lead roles in the cast. Apparently Lionsgate is testing a number of actors today for the two male lead roles in the film: Peeta, a boy from Katniss’ town who reveals his love for her as the Hunger Games (life-or-death games played out in the post-apocalyptic future) begin, and Gale, a character who teaches Katniss the “way of the hunter” while she’s in the games herself.

Actors testing for Peeta include the previously mentioned Hunter Parrish (Weeds), Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) and Evan Peters (Kick-Ass). Testing for Gale are Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song), David Henrie (The Wizards of Waverly Place) among others. Hit the jump to see the full list of actors testing for each part.

Many of the more recent film remakes have stayed pretty truthful to their original counterparts – 2009′s Race to Witch Mountain was the exception.  This film veered very far away from the original, and the similarities were very slight.  Though the film does offer some entertaining family fun and had some general similarities, fans of the original will most likely be left wanting more. My review after the jump: