If you are like me, you are counting down the days till The Hunger Games hits theaters. But if you have read the books you are probably a little frightened of what they might do with the beloved trilogy. (There have been very few times when a film adaptation wasn’t off base from its source). However, according to a recent sit-down with the director of the film, Gary Ross, we know a little better what to expect from the adaptation.

Firstly, Ross spoke about how impressed he was with the author’s work both on the novel and as a screenwriter for the adaptation.

“She wrote the last draft of the script with me,” Ross said. “We collaborated. We were in a room together! We locked ourselves up in a room and literally wrote the last draft of the script together. It was a blast. I hadn’t worked with anybody else as a team since Anne Spielberg on ‘Big,’ so just being in a room with someone was a phenomenal experience. Just having the electricity of two writers was great.”

He also spoke about the fears about how close the movie would follow the novels. Since it is always known that movies can’t include everything in the book, its always a worry on what they will cut out and what they will have to change to make it fit on the big screen. Ross made a point to assure fans that the movie was as faithful a version as it could be taking in to consideration the difference in mediums.

“It’s very, very faithful in the literal sense, but it’s even more faithful in the tonal sense. My job is to give you that same visceral feeling you felt when you read the book,” Ross explained, adding that he wants audiences to experience the film from Katniss’ perspective. “[I want you] to feel that same kind of urgency, feel that same uncertainty she feels, to feel uncertain about Peeta’s motivations — that’s essential.”

He also quelled worries that there will not be any major deviations from the book to film for fans to worry about.

“Oh no. No, no, no. It’s a faithful adaptation. There are obviously differences, because I’m adapting a book to the screen, but no,” he said. “It’s not like Peeta leaves the story or anything like that.”

The Hunger Games film follows the first book in the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. The official description is below:

In the ruins of what was once the United States, the nation of Panem, hosts a brutal game of life and death called The Hunger Games. A competition in which contestant, or tributes, from each of the 12 districts compete to the death until only one is left alive to be the victor. Each district must give up one girl and boy to the Games each year. The Games serve as a reminder to the 12 districts of the unsuccessful rebellion that happened 74 years prior. The story follows Katniss Everdeen, who becomes a tribute to the games after she takes the place to spare her sister Prim. She competes in the games against the other distri, as well as Peeta Mellark, the boy tribute from District 12, who has secretly loved Katniss since childhood, and who once did her a kindness she never could forget. Haymitch Abernathy is a drunk and the only living victor from District 12, mentors both Katniss and Peeta before and during the Hunger Games.

You can see the video interview with Director Gary Ross courtesy of MTV below: