Ever since Lionsgate picked Jennifer Lawrence as the lead for " The Hunger Games " last month, the studio and director Gary Ross have been furiously casting this dark futuristic teen drama, which makes sense since the first installment of the trilogy comes out in 11 months. Because it's mostly full of roles for young actors, a lot of the names haven't been blog-worthy, but not today's news: Elizabeth Banks has signed on for the film to play Effie Trinket.
Banks' involvement had been rumored for more than a week, but she made it official today on Twitter , thereby validating the creepiness of thousands of Internet stalkers who obsessively follow attractive Hollywood starlets.
As for the character's she playing, Effie is the escort of Katniss Everdeen Lawrence's character who The Hollywood Reporter refers to as "a showbiz type.
Effie escorts the tributes from District 12 to the capital for training and media interviews and then to the games. She's fashion-forward and likes wearing wigs, even bubble-gum pink ones. At first, she detests her job, doing her best to be promoted to a better, richer district. But as time goes by, Effie gets attached to her District 12 acquaintances. And she's someone who can do serious quite well: One of our favorite performances of hers is still as Laura Bush in "W.
But with "Hunger Games," her acting ability is probably just as important as her marquee value: While several of her cast members will be in big movies later this year -- Lawrence, for instance, will be in "X-Men: First Class" -- Banks is the only person who has a track record for being in hit films.
