I promise, this is almost over. The Hunger Games casting I mean. When Lionsgate started strategically releasing the cast members who were set to play nameless kids marched to their deaths [1] in a televised battle royal, we debated how to handle it. Eventually we settled on the fact that The Hunger Games is a massive property and it should all be covered. So, once we started, it's kind of our duty to see it through. Finally though, the slow trickle of names is nearing an end. The Hunger Games has begun shooting in North Carolina under the direction of Gary Ross and, in March of next year, we'll finally get to see Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson fight for their lives. I would bet we evensee a trailer of some sort at Comic Con. Only a few key roles have yet to be filled and three of them were just announced. Amber Chaney (far left) will play Lavinia the avox, a girl who is punished by the Capitol by having her tongue cut out and forced to serve others, while Kimiko Gelman (middle) will play Venia and Mad TV's Nelson Ascencio (far right) will play Flavius, two members of Katniss' prep team, which means they'll be working with Cinna [2] (Lenny Kravitz). We'll explain each role a bit more after the jump. All of the roles were announced on the LionsgateNews Twitter [3]. Chaney was on the short lived TV show Somebodies as well as Meet the Browns. Her character, Lavinia the avox, is a servant in the Capital who at one time defied them and had her tongue cut out. When Katniss sees her serving food, she recognizes her as someone from the past. The fact that her name is Lavinia isn't revealed until the later books. Venia and Flavius are two members of Katniss' prep team, meaning they're responsible for how she looks in public. That might not seem significant, but as I said before [4], they're more a commentary on economic disparity. The actors who will portray them have been seen in other things before, though. Ascencio had a small part in Paul and well as a long running stint on MadTV. He also appeared on the classic Larry Sanders Show. Gelman had a recurring role on CSI: Miami and appeared briefly in Minority Report and Albert Brooks' Mother. What's important about these roles is that they all come back in the sequels so these actors definitely aren't just signed for one movie. For those of you who might not know anything about The Hunger Games, have these stories inspired you to maybe read them or just the opposite? [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/district-6-tributes-announced-hunger-games/ [2] http://www.slashfilm.com/lenny-kravitz-katniss-stylist-cinna-the-hunger-games/ [3] http://twitter.com/#!/lionsgatenews [4] http://www.slashfilm.com/portia-octavia-cast-the-hunger-games/

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