Steven Soderbergh is helping make The Hunger Games?

For a guy who’s supposedly tired of making movies, Steven Soderbergh sure does seem to work a lot.

Soderbergh has two completed movies awaiting release and another handful in development, but he’s spending his free moments assisting longtime chum Gary Ross in bringing the adaptation of THE HUNGER GAMES to life. The Playlist points out crew tweets that cheer Soderbergh’s presence on the set in the role of second unit director.

(Info drop: Second unit directors, which function separate from the director, are generally entrusted to handle footage including action, FX and stunt work, in addition to establishing shots and other footage that doesn’t require the principal actors. Guys like Barry Sonnenfeld and David R. Ellis came up through second unit, and a few of your favorite action scenes were likely shot (at least in part) by second unit directors/stunt coordinators rather than the above-the-title director.)

THE HUNGER GAMES is currently blasting through production to make its March 23, 2012 release.

The HUNGER GAMES synopsis: “Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.”

The Lionsgate movie stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Toby Jones and Lenny Kravitz.