From budgets and salaries, to the accident that sent star Jennifer Lawrence to the hospital, the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter features director Gary Ross and never-revealed details about the fast-approaching pop culture phenomenon, in theaters March 23.

The first of four parts in Suzanne Collins‘ massively popular book series The Hunger Games, about two dozen children randomly chosen to compete for survival, opens March 23 on more than 4,000 screens across the country. The film’s reception could determine whether its stars — Jennifer Lawrence, 21; Josh Hutcherson, 19; and Liam Hemsworth, 22 — ascend to Kristen Stewart–Robert Pattinson–Taylor Lautner superstardom and fill the gap opening as Twilightheads toward its final chapter

For Lionsgate, which has struggled recently at the box office (Abduction, Conan the Barbarian), Games is its first major test since acquiring Summit Entertainment, the studio behind The Twilight Saga franchise, in January — a move that yokes together execs responsible for the most recent youth phenomenon with those hoping to launch the next. Games’ success could impact the future of many at Lionsgate, all eager to claim credit for the Collins adaptation, now that the film division has named Summit’s Robert Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger to run it.

PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes of THR’s Hunger Games Cover Shoot

“After the trailer launched Nov. 14, we had 8 million views in the first 24 hours,” says Lionsgate Films president Joe Drake. “We were the number one Twitter trend on the planet. Since then, the book sales have jumped 7.5 million copies. That kind of data gives us enormous confidence.”

PHOTOS: The Hollywood Reporter Cover Stories

Continue reading 9 Untold Secrets of the High Stakes ‘Hunger Games’

Bradley Cooper may be best known for starring in The Hangover, which has become the biggest comedy franchise of all-time (he’s current negotiating a $15 million payday to return for a third installment), but outside of that series, the newly minted A-lister has shown a laudable commitment to making low- to mid-budget dramas. In addition to last year’s Limitless and this year’s Sundance entry The Words, Cooper recently shot Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines and David O. Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook, and Vulture hears that his next project will be in the same vein: an adaptation of the period novel Serena, which will reteam him with his Silver Linings co-star Jennifer Lawrence.

Set up at Mark Cuban’s 2929 Entertainment and based on the 2008 book by Ron Rash, Serena takes place in 1929 North Carolina, where young newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton move to build a timber empire. Their ambition is all-consuming and dangerous — neither is afraid to kill or destroy anyone who opposes them — but they’re turned against each other when Serena finds she can’t bear children and then launches a deadly vendetta against her husband’s illegitimate son. It’ll be a juicy role akin to Lady Macbeth for Lawrence, who’s got The Hunger Games coming out this March; indeed, Angelina Jolie once flirted with making Serena with director Darren Aronofsky. Instead, Academy Award winner Susanne Bier (In a Better World) will direct, and shooting is set to begin soon.

Source: nymag.com

Contact Music has an article on Jennifer in where she talks about people in general being desensitized to heartbreak using Kim Kardashian’s marriage breakdown as an example.