Tucci and Harrelson Join "The Hunger Games"

I was wary of jumping on the bandwagon of another popular book series, having learned my lesson after the whole Twilight debacle a few years ago.  But I recently bought a cheap Kindle copy of The Hunger Games just out of curiosity and it turns out Suzanne Collins' post-apocalyptic, reality show-meets-Gladiator-for-kids tale is actually quite good. 

The movie version of the first book in the series directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) is about to start shooting, and a few new cast announcements were made this week.  First up, Deadline is reporting that the always-terrific Stanley Tucci has signed on to play Caesar Flickerman, the TV host of The Hunger Games.  And in another case of perfect casting, Woody Harrelson has joined the cast as the District 12 Hunger Games mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Tucci and Harrelson join an already enormous cast, which so far includes Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, and Liam Hemsworth.  The Hunger Games takes place in a distant future where children are forced to compete in a fight to the death in a televised arena.  Harrelson's Abernathy character is a former winner of the games who must mentor Lawrence and Hutcherson - which proves problematic, as Abernathy is usually drunk.

The Hunger Games is scheduled to open in theaters on March 23, 2012.