Production starts on 'Catching Fire'

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Lionsgate says principal photography began Monday in Georgia on "Catching Fire," the sequel to the blockbuster film "The Hunger Games."

The movie is to be shot primarily in existing locations in and near Atlanta, the studio said. Production will move to the beaches and jungles of Hawaii before wrapping in late December.

Set for release Nov. 22, 2013, the movie will star Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.

"We are so excited to be embarking on this adventure with [director] Francis Lawrence, who has already exhibited immense creative vision and resourcefulness in casting the film and planning its look and feel," Lionsgate's President of Production Eric Feig, who is overseeing the making of the movie on behalf of the studio, said in a statement Monday. "The stakes are raised in every way in this second story, and we are thrilled to get the production underway in these perfect locations, with our excellent returning cast and some world class actors in new roles."