<P> In October 2010, scripts were sent to the actors, and casting occurred between March and May 2011 . The first role cast was of the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen . As many as 30 actresses were in talks to play the part, with Jennifer Lawrence, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, and Chloë Grace Moretz being mentioned most . The role was given to Lawrence . </P> <P> The roles of Peeta Mellark, Katniss' fellow tribute, and Gale Hawthorne, her best friend, began casting later that month . Top contenders for Peeta included Josh Hutcherson, Alexander Ludwig (later cast as Cato), Hunter Parrish, Evan Peters, and Lucas Till . Contenders for Gale included Robbie Amell, Liam Hemsworth, David Henrie, and Drew Roy . On April 4, it was reported that Hemsworth had been cast as Gale, and Hutcherson had been cast as Peeta . </P> <P> Filming for the franchise began on May 23, 2011 and finished on June 20, 2014 . </P> <P> Suzanne Collins and Louise Rosner acted as executive producers on the first two films . Other executive producers of the first film include Robin Bissell and Shantal Feghali . Co-producers are Diana Alvarez, Martin Cohen, Louis Phillips, Bryan Unkeless, and Aldric La'auli Porter . Color Force and Lionsgate collaborated on all four films . It was announced on November 1, 2012 that the studio had decided to split the final book, Mockingjay (2010), into two films: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 1 (2014) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay--Part 2 (2015), much like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--Part 1 (2010) and 2 (2011), and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 1 (2011) and 2 (2012). </P>

What is the correct order of the hunger games books