Don't tell me "bull", because it's not. Lawrence may have been nominated for an Oscar, but for a film that a very small percentage of the "mainstream" audience saw. And I'm sorry, but just being nominated for an Oscar doesn't immediately make you a big name or give you instant cred that can always carry someone to anything they want. Can you even tell me the name of the girl who was nominated for Whale Rider without looking her up or tell me anything of major note she's done since? Mystique was her biggest role before HG, and even that, while good and a shot in the arm that franchise needed, still underperformed by that franchise's standards. Go back and look at the complaining some people did before she was even cast, even on here, when people would suggest her. Most of the complaints boiled down to "I don't know who she is, I think they should pick a bigger name." And with Hutcherson, same thing. Terebithia and Zathura were 5 and 7 years ago, respectively, when he was a kid and much different looking to the point where I've seen many people find it hard to believe he's the same person. Zathura also waaaay underperformed when compared to Jumanji especially as it was promoted as a spiritual sequel to it, and Terebithia opened well but faded fast, especially after it was criticized for being mis-marketed as all the fantasy parts they promoted only made up a small part of the movie.
And to put it bluntly, most mainstream film-goers don't give a crap about "indie cred". It's all "what good stuff have I seen you in lately", and if lately isn't within the last year, they forget it. Especially for a movie that hasn't come out yet like Red Dawn, who only had a trailer released a week ago. Outside of the vocal fans on the internet, which make up a remarkably miniscule percentage of mainstream, and the critics whose job it is to watch and review those movies, most film-goers don't care. It's a sad truth, but not a wrong one.
And using an example like Ryan Reynolds only helps my point. I like the guy, but like I said, he carries around the stigma of being the wise-cracking, jokester actor. SO many people immediately disliked his casting as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern because they felt that persona didn't fit the character at all, and they either went into the film already disliking him, or chose not to see it at all. Yes, the movie overall was crap, but he didn't do anything to help it. And Finnick does not fit that persona either. There are a few times he makes jokes, but overall he's much more sly and serious of a character than what Reynolds is thought of being right for.
So yes, by most standards, Hutcherson and Lawrence were much, much smaller names than what they are now before they were cast in their roles. Finnick and Johanna are arguably the two biggest new roles in Catching Fire, and like I said before, history shows that casting a smaller or unknown actor in these kinds of roles leads to much more success, as they don't carry any kind of stigma a bigger name would carry in how the mainstream audience already expects them to play their roles, and they can come into the film fresh and enjoy the performances with a more open mind and enjoy the film overall that much more. Malone is still not that big of a name, probably right on par with Lawrence and Hutcherson pre-HG, and Clafin is still mostly just a "Oh, it's that guy" actor with his rather small, forgettable roles in two big films that anyone would even know him from. So they both have a lot of leeway with the mainstream audience and that much more of a chance to succeed, as well as fail. A big name is in no way necessary for any kind of role to be a success, no matter how much you like the actor in question or would have liked to see them get the part.
