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The Hunger Games Director Apologises To Fans For Cuts

Gary Ross has admitted he found it hard to select scenes from the book...

Josh Hutcherson - were cut by its distributor Lionsgate in order to achieve a 12A rating in the UK.

Speaking of the edits, The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) stated that Lionsgate UK "chose to make cuts in order to achieve a 12A classification. A number of cuts were made in one scene to reduce an emphasis on blood and injury.

"These cuts, which were implemented by digitally removing sight of blood splashes and sight of blood on wounds and weapons, were made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy.

"An uncut 15 classification was available. These cuts were made in addition to reductions already made following an earlier 'advice' viewing of an incomplete version."

Now, director Gary Ross has admitted he found it difficult to select which scenes from Collins' novel were suitable for the big-screen adaptation, revealing he had to axe the moment when leading lady Katniss Everdeen (played by Lawrence) meets an Avox.

Ross told our US Team: "It was just that there was no room for that in the storytelling, unfortunately. The William Faulkner line is, 'You have to kill your darlings'. That was one that unfortunately fell by the wayside. I was sorry about it."

He went on to claim that he did add more scenes to the movie that were not in the book, including a riot scene after Rue's death.

Ross explained: "I thought it was important that you begin to start to [uuid=fcfc27ba-888d-40e0-b545-d726a53d1821]make the turn into Catching Fire[/uuid], that you see the seeds of the rebellion, you see what Katniss has caused,"

The Hunger Games hits cinemas on 23rd March.

CHECK OUT PICS FROM THE HUNGER GAMES HERE!

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