Despite talking at length recently about his plans for Catching Fire, Gary Ross’ deal to direct is not yet official.

The Hollywood Reporter received some behind-the-scenes details on the situation:

And negotiations for him to do the first movie were “a terrible experience,” says a source with knowledge of the discussions, because Ross is a seasoned filmmaker (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) and Lionsgate isn’t accustomed to paying seasoned-filmmaker fees. He ended up taking a relatively low $3 million to write (with Billy Ray and novelist Suzanne Collins) and direct. But he will collect a very remunerative 5 percent of backend.

Sources say Ross, 55, would like a significant raise for a second Hunger Games, but Lionsgate didn’t kick off negotiations with him until about three weeks before the first film’s March 23 opening. By then, with tracking suggesting a huge opening weekend, Ross and his CAA reps were in no hurry to bargain.

Considering how keen Ross is on being a part of the franchise, we imagine things will get worked out in the end. THR‘s insiders, too, believe it to be certain that he’ll come on board whether he and Lionsgate come to a happy agreement or not.