"I knew nothing about the book. I have to be truthful. I probably wouldn't have paid any attention to it anyway if it had not been for the script," said Donald Sutherland. "But the script was so elegantly written, just beautiful, and it compelled me with a passion."
Donald Sutherland plays the president in "The Hunger Games," the big-screen version of the best-selling novel that shows a future that is anything but idyllic for anyone but the rich and powerful.
The book was written by Suzanne Collins and adapted for the screen by Gary Ross.
"He's written a great script, Gary Ross," said Sutherland. "He's an extraordinary director, and he has brilliantly created a film that perfectly replicates [the book]. You know, 30 million people have bought these books. And so it's a movie, and 30 million imaginations. And Gary Ross has been able somehow -- I don't know how the devil he's done it -- but to take those imaginations and make a film that replicates it."
"I was a fan before I was the director. I mean, I was a fan of the books, and so to me this is just, it's wonderful to share something with this many people and have them know about it already," said Gary Ross.
"I like people talking about it. I think that's one of the fun things about making a movie: You put this thing out in the world, and conversations happen and stuff like that," said Ross. "It's very gratifying to me."
