Divergent Faction was lucky enough to attend the Divergent premiere in Los Angeles on March 18th along with a bunch of other Divergent fansites.
Check out photos and video interviews with Shailene Woodley, Veronica Roth, Ray Stevenson, and Tom Holkenborg.
Interviews with Shailene Woodley, Veronica Roth, Amy Newbold, Christian Madsen, Ray Stevenson and Tom
Huge thank you to Jennifer Palmer for representing Divergent Faction in LA.
Neil Burger spoke with Vulture about filming Divergent, power of Shailene Woodley and more.
What would be in your fear landscape?
Just directing a fear landscape! [Laughs.] Trying to figure out the best way to do it! Yeah, that was one of my favorite things going into it, because inLimitless, I had explored some of those trippy effects, psychotropic mindscapes, where we’re trying to represent them in the world of the mind. So I thought this was an opportunity to take it one step further. So the first idea was the aptitude test, to do that infinity mirror room, which is something I had played around with in Limitless as well, and then we were able to do it in a really cool way in this. And then with the birds, it’s like trying to envision what’s your worst nightmare, and what’s really the logic of a dream?
One of Tris’s fears is about intimacy with Four, and Shailene has great chemistry with Theo James. What was it like determining that, testing the two of them together?
It was incredible, actually. We did a worldwide search for Four, and so when we finally found Theo, I saw him, I met him, I thought he was great, and then we put him in a room with Shailene, and did a screen test. And I knew immediately, because they just had this electricity, this energy, where she’s a really strong actress, and it can sometimes overwhelm the actor she’s playing against, because she is so good and she is so powerful, but not here. He was the one that was sort of intimidating her, which was the perfect dynamic for their relationship. She was really infatuated with him, and he was sort of intrigued by her, and it was perfect. I always wonder, because people keep asking me, “Are they together? They’re a couple, aren’t they?” And I’m like, “You know what? They should be.”
Have you read Allegiant yet?
Of course I have, yeah. [Laughs.] I know! I saw that story plastered all over the web — “Neil Burger hasn’t read Allegiant yet,” which always invites death threats, you know. [Laughs.]
Sorry! But because you hadn’t read it when we last talked, you mentioned that you went to Veronica Roth to clue you in before it came out, so you could revise Divergent accordingly. What changes did you make based on those conversations?
I’ll tell you this — when I first got the script of the movie and came on to it, it was kind of sketchy. There were some scenes that weren’t in the script, the zip line, or Christina hung out over the chasm by Eric, and I thought, “Those haveto be in the movie.” They’re such iconic scenes. And I understood why they tried to cut them out when they were developing the script, but they had to be in there. So often, it was trying to fight to get everything into the movie, which was the real challenge.
With Veronica, I was asking her lots of questions about the world, why was it the way it was, and what was going on. I wanted them to go outside the wall. I was thinking that for the end of the movie, I should have them go through the fence, and outside the fence, which in a way they do. And when Four brings the Initiates to visit the fence, they climb up and they look out, and they sort of speculate on what’s out there. And Tris turns to Four and says, “Do you know?” And I wrote something, that he had been out there, that he had ventured out, and wasn’t going to tell what he saw. I asked Veronica, “What if he had been out? What do you think?” And she said, “I don’t think he could have been out there to any degree, venturing into the world, just because of what happens in the third book.”
If the zip line and the Christina-chasm scenes weren’t in the original script, what about Edward’s eye getting poked out?
Not only was that something else that I put back in — and we shot it — but we took it out. We had to keep it moving, and that was a really painful thing to cut, but we did shoot it, and it’s a great scene. It’s one of those things in movie-making, to make the whole better, you sometimes have to kill some of these. It’s called killing your babies.
Let’s talk about the train jumping. What was that like to shoot?
That was one of the bigger challenges to do. I wanted it as much as possible to be real, with the stunts, with everything, with the train. I didn’t want a train sitting stationary on a soundstage, with them jumping on and off against green screen. So we built our own train car, we laid out hundreds of feet of train track, and we also had them climb the real L-tracks. That’s not what they do in the book, it’s something that we added, but I just thought it would be very cool. And they are really running along that train, getting on, and then they are jumping off of a moving train. It’s connected together with some visual effects, but they’re really doing it, and that train is moving. Maybe it was about 15 miles per hour? You have to actually do it at a speed that they can run that fast to get on. You get to 15, and it starts to get a little bit hard.
Did you ever try to do it yourself?
I did! Oh, yeah. It was great. I always feel that way as a director — if they’re going to do it, I have to do it. But I did not get up on that zip line. I would have liked to do that. But the same thing, we strung a zip line through the streets of Chicago, and in all these things, we did them in a variety of different ways and combined them together, but we always did it for real. The zip line was a more complicated thing because it started up on a crane, like 200 feet in the air, so getting up there was no joke.
Click here to check out the rest Neil’s interview with Vulture.
Divergent will be out in theaters this Friday. Have you purchased your tickets yet?
Divergent will be hitting theaters sooner than you think.
Hero Complex will host a free IMAX screening of “Divergent” on Wednesday, March 19, at the AMC Burbank 16 & IMAX in Burbank beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Following the screening, “Divergent” actor Jai Courtney, director Neil Burger and producers Lucy Fisher and Doug Wick will be on hand for a Q&A moderated by Hero Complex contributor Rebecca Keegan.
To RSVP for the IMAX screening, log on to www.latimes.com/Divergent starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday; RSVPs will close as soon as the screening is full.
On March 8th a press conference for Divergent was held in Los Angeles. Thanks to our friends over at Page to Premiere we have all of the videos from the Divergent press conference. The press conference consisted of interviews with Shailene Woodley(Tris), Theo James(Four), Tony Goldwyn(Andrew Prior), Ansel Elgort(Caleb), Maggie Q(Tori), Mekhi Phifer(Max), Jai Courtney(Eric), Miles Teller(Peter), Christian Madsen(Al) and Ben Lloyd Hughes(Will)Watch them all below:
Shailene Woodley talks how she relates to Tris, working with Ashley Judd an Kate Winslet, stunts and more:
Theo James talked Shailene Woodley, working with director Neil Burger,
This interview includes most of the rest of the cast Mekhi, Phifer, Maggie Q, Christian Madsen, Ben Lloyd Hughes, Jai Courtney, and Miles Teller. Miles Teller starts the interviews off with a hilarious statement. Check it out below:
Watch Tony Goldwyn and Ansel Elgort in their father and so interview:
Veronica Roth, director Neil Burger and two producers of the film talked casting, sets and more.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Divergent hits theaters on March 21st. Tickets are now on sale.
Moviefone.com got a chance to visit the set of Divergent. They decided to share 10 things they learned while on the Divergent set.
1. The filmmakers have a respected pedigree
This isn’t a production by Hollywood upstarts hoping to get in on the YA page-to-screen trend. Oscar-winning producers Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon Entertainment have produced prestigious films like “Gladiator,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.” The producers selected director Neil Burger, who has a history of making both action films (“Limitless”) and character-driven dramas (“The Illusionist.”)
Burger says he connected with the story and didn’t want to make just another teen movie. “I mean that was one of things that I was just like ‘Is it going to be another one of these movies?’ Some of which are really good, but I wanted something different. We’ve seen a lot of post-apocalyptic movies; we’ve seen these other young adult movies. So I just thought that there was a way to do it in a much more cinematic way, to tell it visually, and also to tell it in a more real way.”
2. Shailene Woodley (Tris) and Theo James (Four) have sizzling chemistry
As the new trailer makes obvious, the two leads have an undeniable chemistry. While every line they say to each other in the book didn’t make it into the screenplay, the two leads made a point of saying the Big Stuff is there, and it’s fabulous.
“I think their relationship in the book is slightly different, but obviously there’s only a certain amount of scenes that we can play in the movie,” Woodley told us. “So the arc of Tris and Four I don’t think is as full of the certain small nuances. But it’s good guys! Don’t worry it’s good.”
James confirmed that the romantic scene when Tris inspects Four’s tattoos (which the trailer teases) is as pivotal in the movie as it is in the book. “Yes, that scene remains in. That’s an important scene for us as well [as fans],” he said.”The great thing about their relationship at the beginning is that they’re not suddenly in love. I mean obviously they kind of are as soon as they see each other but they have this fractious thing because he’s trying to remain some sort of authority and she’s discovering herself so they are kind of back and fourth.”
3. Boys hit girls. Girls hit girls. Boys hit boys.
Just like in the book, the Dauntless Faction is known for its merciless initiation process, in which the transfer newbies must fight, fight, fight –- and gender is not an issue when it comes to sparring. As one of the story’s baddies, Miles Teller’s Peter had to really sell beating up Woodley’s Tris. “I would never hit a woman for the record,” Teller laughs. “With Shai there’s a certain level of comfort, which is great.”
Zoe Kravitz’s Christina has a memorable fight scene against the much larger and stronger Molly (Amy C. Newbold): “It was pretty intense. It was really tiring doing it over and over again. Like I said, Molly is twice my size, or Amy, so she throws me around and beats the sh-t out of me in this scene… At first they were like the fight sequence was just me being beaten and I’m like ‘Come on give me a few punches please.'”
Newbold, on the other hand, told us she loved the fights: “My fight with Shailene was the first day and then my fight with Zoe was the second day. So I was simultaneously super nervous because I didn’t know what to expect and it just ended up being so fun. I found out I really love to fight.”
4. It’s not like “The Hunger Games”
Although the cast and crew understands why “Divergent” is often compared to other movies based on popular young-adult franchises, they were quick to point out the many differences between the setting, the characters and storyline.
Newbold stresses how in “Divergent,” the violence isn’t supposed to be gratuitous, it’s about demonstrating your propensity for bravery: “In ‘Divergent,’ all of the initiates have chosen this and in that way they feel that it’s a characteristic that they are close to — this idea of bravery — and it’s something that resonates with them. So I think that’s a little different than your name being pulled out of something and being thrown into this arena where you have to kill.”
5. It’s not like “Twilight” either
Woodley stressed how Tris and Four are not Bella and Edward. “One of the main aspects that attracted me to Divergent was ‘their’ relationship. It’s not one of those teenage dramatic relationships where it’s love at first sight and she’s swooning over him and he’s there with her and then he withdraws and she has to chase him,” she said. “There’s no drama [or love triangles.] I feel like it’s very real and very personal and realistic to how a lot of relationships are. It’s very different than the Bella/Edward relationship. They’re completely on the opposite sides of the spectrum.”
6. Dystopian Chicago really is Chicago
Unlike “The Hunger Games,” which takes place mostly in unidentified rural regions of a dystopian North America, “Divergent” is set firmly in Chicago, so the producers decided to shoot in the Windy City as well.
“We wanted to do something that was more real, not raw in a gritty way, but raw in an immediate and intimate way. So one of the things we wanted to do was shoot on the streets of Chicago and we didn’t want to do CG skylines or digital landscapes,” Burger told us. “So I thought it’s set in Chicago and Chicago is this monumental place, why not use that? That’s the skyline, it’s already here, give or take a few building that might’ve been lost in the war. It’s pretty much the same. So the idea of shooting a movie that’s set in the future but on the streets that are familiar.”
7. Book fans need to prepare for differences between the book and the film.
Every director of an adaptation struggles with pleasing the hardcore book fans and creating a film adaptation that’s simultaneously faithful and fresh. Woodley says she hopes book fans will understand the differences.
“Obviously the book is what — 400 pages? The script is 90 pages, and there are some things in the book that logic-wise wouldn’t make sense in a theatrical way, so we had to switch the way we are presenting it,” she explained.
For example, in the movie it’s obvious that Four is more than two years older than Tris, as it’s written in the book. James thinks this was a necessary change: “I think for Four to have that experience as a leader and as someone of high skill that he is, that he joined two years ago and now he’s this f—ing legend, I think it makes more sense that he’s been there a bit longer, only a few more years.”
8. The young cast bonded over boot camp and concerts.
In addition to working out together for hours each day before shooting started, the young cast also got the chance to hang out at Chicago venues. Cast-member Christian Madsen explains how Zoe Kravitz hooked everybody up with tickets to see Erykah Badu. “Day two after I got here we went to see Erykah Badu at the House of Blues. Zoe got everyone tickets… I just remember stuff like that and we were dancing. No one really knew each other but by the end of the night everyone was into each other.”
Being her father’s daughter, Kravitz says it made sense to take everyone to the show: “It’s the first thing I do when I go to a new city; I want to go see music,” she tells us. “I was like ‘Dude, Erykah Badu’s playing!’ No one was excited as I was, and I was like ‘You don’t understand, she’s amazing!’ So we got everyone to go. Theo and Christian, the next couple of days like every time I would go to their apartments they would be listening to Erykah Badu.”
9. There’s a strong “Hunger Games” connection
Zoe Kravitz, who plays Tris’ fellow Dauntless transfer BFF Christina, is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz (Cinna in “The Hunger Games”) and the real life bestie of “X-Men: First Class” co-star Jennifer Lawrence aka Katniss Everdeen. Kravitz reached out to Jen to see what she was getting herself into.
“I spoke to Jen more about it. She was just like ‘Do it!’ and super supportive,” Kravitz told us. “It’s obviously changed her life quite a bit for the best, she’s killin it. It’s crazy I never expected to be in a big franchise film I was surprised when I did ‘X-Men’ and then ‘Mad Max’ and now I’m doing this. It’s really crazy for me.”
10. Everybody Loves Shai
The consistent refrain from every single person we met on the set, from the producer and director to the costume designer and stunts coordinator is that Woodley is a rare combination of talented, humble and generous. Perhaps that explains why she hits it off so well with her co-stars. Miles Teller, who plays her “Divergent” antagonist Peter, was previously her love interest in “The Spectacular Now,” and Ansel Elgort, her brother in “Divergent,” plays her first love in the upcoming “The Fault in Our Stars.”
Teller reveals about his friendship with Woodley: “Me and Shai have an interesting relationship, but that’s love you know? For a couple of months you’re so in love with that person and sometimes you’re on edge a little bit… If I could work with Shai once a year for the rest of my career than I think we’d be doing some good stuff together.”
I don’t know about you, but this makes me even more excited to see Divergent on March 21st.
The LA Times has just released 3 new Divergent stills. You will find one still above and the other two stills in the article.
In the article Shailene Woodley, Veronica Roth and director Neil Burger all talk about Tris.
One still features Tris and Four on a Dauntless train:
When the director and producers of the dystopian action-adventure film “Divergent” sought inspiration for the movie’s teenage heroine, they didn’t turn to “The Hunger Games’” Katniss Everdeen or “Twilight’s” Bella Swan, as might have been expected. Instead, the filmmakers recalled James Dean’s Jim Stark, the rebellious protagonist who defies his parents and his peers in 1955′s “Rebel Without a Cause.”
“He just doesn’t feel at home,” director Neil Burger said. “So he goes looking for something more.”
“This is a sort of dream city,” said producer Douglas Wick of the film due out March 21 from Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the box office giants “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games” — films that reached heights that executives are optimistic “Divergent” can attain. “It is a city that saved the world from great chaos. It is a city that has great harmony and the factions worked — but that system is starting to fray, which is our story.”
At the heart of that story is Tris, played by rising star Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants,” “The Spectacular Now”).
Tris is born into Abnegation, the faction that values selflessness, but her personality test reveals she is divergent, having an aptitude for multiple factions — something that is not allowed in the rigidly divided society. She hides her divergence and decides to join Dauntless, the faction based on bravery.
Her choice lands her among a group of tattooed warriors, including love interest “Four” (Theo James), and sees her leaping on and off trains, ziplining, shooting and knife-throwing, and facing off against other kids as part of a brutal initiation into the faction. But as it becomes more difficult to hide her divergence, Tris realizes that the faction system is flawed.
“She starts out questioning where she fits into society, and then by the end of the movie, she’s questioning society itself,” Burger said.
“She really is very, very self-sufficient and is her own kind of warrior in terms of she wanted to do her stunts herself,” producer Lucy Fisher said. “She has a huge amount of inner strength. … She’s very mature beyond her age, as is Tris.”
For Woodley, the draw was the story’s universal appeal, she said, and its parallels with the world we live in.
“It’s not just about young people figuring their way through life,” she said. “It’s about young people being in really adult situations, and they’re treated like adults, which is how adolescents are these days. Everybody’s incredibly smart, and there’s not a lot of movies that do that age range justice.”
That’s just what Roth was aiming for. And though she doesn’t necessarily consider Tris a role model — she can be impulsive and self-destructive — she is guiding her own story.
“Tris is a character with a lot of agency and a lot of power,” Roth said. “One of my rules for myself was Tris has to be somehow responsible for what happens to her, for better or for worse; no acts of God.”
To read the full article from the LA Times click here.
Divergent hits theaters this year on March 21st.
Last week Movies.com , Fandango, BuzzSugar and others got to visit Divergent’s edit bay in Los Angeles.
Want to know what they saw?
Fear Landscapes
Later on in the narrative, there’s another serum that’s pivotal to the latter half of the dauntless initiation process, the fear landscapes. Burger explained, “[Tris’] first half of training is physical, fighting and shooting, all that and the knife throwing. And then the second half of training is psychological, having to face your worst fears.” Burger noted that while those fears are very specific in the book, in his film, they expand them. “They’re very contained in the book and we kind of set them out – some of them – in the real world, or in sort of a bizarre real world. We put her outside the fence in certain places.”
2. KNIFE TRAINING
The Scene
Inside the Dauntless compound, Eric (Jai Courtney) leads the initiates in knife-throwing training. Christina (Zoe Kravitz) points out that Tris is “kind of good at this.” Al (Christian Madsen), on the other hand, is having a tough time and Eric notices. Eric insists that Al retrieve his knives even though the other initiates are still throwing. Eric sees Al hesitate and asks, “Are you afraid?” Al bluntly replies, “Of getting stabbed by an airborne knife? Yeah.” Eric doesn’t appreciate his honesty and insists that Al stand in front of the target while Four (Theo James) gets set to hurl knives at him.
But Tris steps in and tells Eric, “Anyone can stand in front of a target. It doesn’t prove anything.” That only enrages Eric further and he insists that Tris take Al’s spot. She gamely takes position and Four throws, his knives landing closer and closer until one nicks her ear, drawing blood. At that, Eric declares, “Points for bravery, Stiff. Not as many as you just lost for opening your mouth.” He ends the practice session leaving just Tris and Four behind. Four admits that he meant to cut her because Eric wouldn’t have let her off without a scratch. He points out, “You’d still be standing there if I hadn’t hit you,” to which Tris replies, “Am I supposed to thank you?” Says Four, “If I wanted to hurt you, I would have.”
Head on over to Movies.com to read the full article.
Divergent Faction 