LA Times Hero Complex recently talked to Francis Lawrence about taking over for Gary Ross and the challenges of making a faithful adaptation.
But condensing a 143-page script into a 2-hour, 15-minute movie is going to call for hard decisions. “It’s a real challenge to keep everything in,” Lawrence acknowledged. “There are a few scenes that didn’t make it.”
“I really liked the book, and I really wanted to make the book. I didn’t want to reinvent,” he said. “There is always some true adaptation to be done when you are distilling a 400-page book to a two-hour movie, but I think everybody will be really excited.”
Based on what we’ve seen already in trailers and TV spots, I think he’s right. Personally, I find that everything looks just like I imagined it would–really can not wait to see this film!