Hungry for more money! The Hunger Games sequel faces possible delays as director demands higher fee

A Catching Fire movie update from Dailymail.co.uk...

The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire may face delays hitting screens.

Screenwriter and director Gary Ross has reportedly asked for more money to lead the project than the studio is willing to pay.

Lionsgate studios only started negotiations with Ross three weeks before the first installment came out, and as a result the release date for the second may be pushed back.

At the point when negotiations started, it was already clear that The Hunger Games would be a huge hit.

Ross was paid $3million for The Hunger Games, in addition to five per cent of the film's profits, according to The Huffington Post.

Lionsgate executives are apparently unwilling to comment on the reported disagreement.

Meanwhile Jennifer Lawrence has come under fire for her portrayal as Katniss Everdeen, with reviewers claiming she was too 'big-boned' for the role.

However, the 22-year-old is hardly bothered as she recently laughed off the critics responses calling it 'hilarious.'

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the actress told a friend: 'First, people say how so many actresses in Hollywood look anorexic, and now they are criticising me for looking normal.

She went on to say that super thin body images 'are too often adopted by young girls and women - thanks to what they are constantly being shown as being attractive.'

Critics of the film feel that the Lawrence was larger than the book's original character - who is supposed to be poor and hungry.

According to the Sun Times, one reporter referred to Lawrence as having 'lingering baby fat.'

However, the blonde star clearly has no problem with her own appearance and will no doubt choose to ignore the 'fat' jibes from now on.

But although the film has been extremely successful, and made almost £135 million worldwide in its opening weekend, it has still been met by more controversy including a race row.

Earlier this week it was reported that racist remarks regarding some of the actors in the film had begun appearing online.

According to BBC News, posts were said to be directed at African-American cast members and included tweets such as 'Why is Rue a little black girl? #sticktothebook.'

However, writer of the original book Suzanne Collins was involved in the making of the film, and therefore would have agreed with the portrayal of the characters.

The thriller follows 16-year-old heroine Katniss - a young women that volunteers to take part in a bloody gladiatorial-style competition in which teens fight to the death in a bid to save her young sister.

Set in a futuristic version of America, 'The Hunger Games' are organised by an authoritarian government.

The event sees two children aged 12-18 from 12 districts put forward to battle with a collection of weapons in a specially adapted arena until only one remains.

But yet more controversy has surrounded the film after parents complained that the film was 'too gory for young teens.'

Scenes that have upset some parents include one where a girl screams for her life as she stung to death by killer wasps, another when a young child is skewered with a spear, another battered with a brick and scenes were piles of bodies lay fallen after bloody battles between the combatants.

Posted in: Catching Fire Movie News