Neil Burger talks Scenes that were almost Cut from Divergent

In a recent interview with MTV, Divergent director Neil Burger revealed that he added scenes from the book back into the script after they had been been left out of the initial draft.

Click the photo to watch the full interview:

“Obviously a movie is a little bit different than a book and certain things will be changed and people will be like, ‘Where’s the…’ but mostly we have it in,” Neil told VH1’s Sabrina Rojas Weiss while chatting about the film at San Diego Comic-Con.

“Actually, I added quite a few things back from the script that was first presented to me,” he continued. “I was like, ‘Where’s the zip-line? Where’s Christina being hung over the chasm?’ So we worked those back in, which the movie is stuffed full of events, but they’re events that we love from the book.”

We’re glad Neil decided to say faithful to pivot scenes in the book when he came on board!

Lionsgate Promises “Divergent” Not the Same as “Hunger Games”

Lionsgate is producing both “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent.” Many fans have had their worries about the two franchises being under the same roof, and apparently, so has Wall Street! According to Deadline New York, early last week Lionsgate Executives sat down with Wall Street analysts to discuss a projected, potential profit for the company with the upcoming movie version of “Divergent.” This is a very important step in the process of making sure that “Divergent” is successful at the box office.

Deadline reported that the CEO of Lionsgate connected the success of THG to Divergent by saying, “Divergent’s book sales ‘are approaching the 3M mark and continue to compare favorably to The Hunger Games and Twilight franchises at a similar point in their trajectory.” Acknowleding the concerns outsiders have of Divergent being just another Hunger Games, Lionsgate execs went to work quickly to put fans, and investors’ fears to rest. 

Check out this excerpt from the report on Deadline:

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairman Rob Friedman says he recognizes key differences in the stories, and their fan bases. In Divergent “the society is different,” he says. Hunger Games “is about the society that’s striving for survival” while Divergent “is about the way a society is surviving with distinct personalities and how those personalities interweave with each other.”

It’s nice to see Lionsgate acknowledge that Divergent focuses on personalities and character development and interaction! What do you think, are you still concerned? If you have any concerns, share them with us in the comments!

Emmy Award Winner Chandler Massey Auditioning for Will

Emmy Award winning actor Chandler Massey, best known for his role as Will Horton on television soap opera Days of Our Lives, has sent in an audition for the role of Will in Divergent.

Chandler Massey

Divergent Fans received a great tip from a fan that led them to Chandler’s audition video:

Recently a video audition was posted on YouTube made for Divergent Movie’s Will featuring Chandler Massey. We have seen the video and confirm it’s existence, but before we got this post up, the video was made private.

Physically, Chandler seems like a good match to Will’s description! Do you think he could play the part convincingly?

Rumor Control: Alex Pettyfer is Not Officially Four

Alex Pettyfer

After media rumors claiming that Alex Pettyfer has landed the role of Four in Divergent spread like wildfire this afternoon, Summit took to the official Divergent Facebook page to shoot it down:

Hey everyone! Despite what rumors you’re hearing, there has not been an official casting decision for Four, or anyone other than Shailene Woodley.

Stay tuned to this page for official news – we’ll let you know as soon as we have confirmed information!

Summit has not even confirmed that Pettyfer is in talks for a role in the film, though they did announce that Kate Winslet was in talks to join the cast last week. We’re hoping that the trend would continue if this story were true.

Kate Winslet in Talks for Divergent

Kate Winslet

Variety is reporting that Kate Winslet is in talks to join the cast of Divergent! Summit has confirmed that this is true, though they cannot confirm Winslet is on board yet!

“Though Summit and Neil Burger’s “Divergent” is still on the lookout for its male lead to pair with Shailene Woodley, it may have found a major co-star for her with Kate Winslet in talks to join the movie…
Though Winslet is no stranger to starring in a big-budget-tentpole, this would mark her first opportunity at a possible franchise.”

There’s no official word on what role Winslet might be up for, but we’re guessing it’s either Erudite villain Jeanine Matthews (or possibly Tris’ mother, Natalie Prior.)

What do you think of the possibility of Kate in the film?

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Shailene Woodley talks Divergent at Sundance

Josh Horowitz from MTV News caught up with Shailene Woodley at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where she was promoting her new film The Spectacular Now, and got the first big interview about her involvement in Divergent!

Click the photo to see Shailene explain why she decided to take on Divergent:

Click to see the interview!

On why she loved Divergent:
“It’s very metaphorical for things that are going on today, specifically things that I’m passionate about and things that I want to make public and things that I want to educate people on, so I think it’s a really great platform not only artistic, but also on a human level…”

But why she also had her concerns before taking the project:
“I’ve been acting for 16 years and it was never something that I wanted to do, to be in a big blockbuster film, especially one that was similar to ‘The Hunger Games’ or ‘Twilight’.” (in the sense that they’re big blockbuster films)

Divergent Movie to be Filmed in Chicago

Divergent diehards will be pleased to know that filmmakers are being true to the book and filming in Chicago!

According to an anonymous source speaking to The Chicago Sun-Times, Governor Pat Quinn’s Illinois Film Office, as well as film studio Cinespace, worked hard to win over the filmmakers. The convincing allegedly took months, but the filmmakers “fell in love” with several locations around the city.

No news on the exact locations where they will be filming, but we’re hoping major book hotspots like the Hancock Building and Navy Pier are among them!

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Evan Daugherty Talks Action and Sexual Tension in Divergent Script

Evan Daugherty

Bookish was luckily enough to interview Divergent screenwriter Evan Daugherty recently, at which time he discussed the challenges of adapting the book for the screen and why the project originally caught his eye!

Bookish: So you obviously read some popular stuff being shopped around–why did you choose to adapt ”Divergent?”

ED: It’s a mutual thing of feeling out whether your take on a piece of material meshes with what the studio wants to do. The things that drew me to ”Divergent” were the specifics of Tris’ character. She starts off in that incredibly sheltered, selfless, peaceful world and then basically she decides to join the equivalent of the Navy Seals. That’s a big character arc, it’s fun to track that. And “Divergent” differentiates itself by being in the vein of some movies that I really like, sort of the military training movie–like “Top Gun” or a guilty pleasure of mine which is “GI Jane.”

Bookish: What has been the biggest adaptation challenge for you?

ED: Tracking Tris from where she starts to where she ends. It’s tricky because the book is a very packed read with a lot of big ideas. So, distilling that into a cool, faithful two-hour movie is challenging. Not only do you have to establish five factions, but you have to acknowledge that there’s a sixth entity, which is the divergent, and you also have the factionless. So there’s a world that really has to be built out for the big screen…the movie is going to do it a little more efficiently.

Bookish: And of course, there needs to be emphasis on the all-important romance between Tris and Four.

ED: I respond to the fact that it is an action-heavy YA book, and I know–having talked to Veronica about it–she’s very proud of that fact. I get hung up on the toughness of the movie but of equal importance is the love story between Tris and Four. It’s inherently and inextricably linked to Tris’ character journey. There will be plenty of sexual tension and chemistry, but it’s important that all of that stuff doesn’t just feel like it’s thrown in, but that it all helps Tris grow as a character.

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Four Actors Who Auditioned Four in Divergent

TheFilmStage.com has reported that four actors have done chemistry reads with Tris Prior actress Shailene Woodley for the role of Four in the upcoming Divergent film!

“Although no one has come out on top, actors include Brenton Thwaites (who is starring opposite Angelina Jolie in the upcoming Maleficent), X-Men First Class and Stoker star Lucas Till, Monte Carlo‘s Luke Bracey, as well as Jack Reynor, who led the TIFF drama What Richard Did (which we quite liked) and joins Vince Vaughn in the upcoming comedy The Delivery Man.”

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, “Chemistry readings” refer to a stage of the audition process in which people being considered for the part act out a scene with the main actor to ensure that that work well together.

Please keep in mind that while these are the only auditions that have been reported, they’re almost certainly NOT the only auditions that will take place, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that one of these four guys will be our Four!

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Veronica Roth Sounds Off on Shailene Woodley as Tris and Director Neil Burger

Soon after Summit Entertainment officially confirmed that actress Shailene Woodley was in the final negotiations to play Tris (meaning the role is hers, as long as she signs the paperwork), Divergent author Veronica Roth has come forward with her very positive opinion on the matter via her blog:

From the moment I heard that she was being considered, I have been nothing but enthusiastic. My priority has always been, first and foremost, that the role of Tris be well-acted, and Shailene has proven how talented she is, as anyone who has seen The Descendants can attest. And physically, what’s most important to me, far and away more important than other aspects of her appearance, is that Tris does not look like an action hero– she looks like a slight person with youthful, delicate features, someone who shocks you with how strong and capable she becomes. To me, that is exactly the look Shailene has, exactly the look I’ve always had in my mind. From what I’ve seen, I’m confident she will be able to capture Tris’s particular mixture of vulnerability and strength, and that surprising moment when a seemingly unremarkable girl from Abnegation transforms into a powerful yet flawed young woman.

Veronica also shared her thoughts on Director Neil Burger, who has kept her involved in the film’s creative process:

Neil Burger directed The Illusionist and Limitless, both movies that I enjoyed immensely, both visually dynamic and interesting. Soon after the deal was closed I got the opportunity to speak with him on the phone. I was nervous beforehand– handing over your work for someone else to interpret is always nerve-wracking, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

But by the time I hung up– an hour and a half later!– I felt very reassured. Neil knew the books remarkably well, and asked some amazing questions about the world and the story, and generally demonstrated tremendous respect for the books and for my answers. I actually found myself wishing he had been around while I was writing, to help me think through the particularities of the world of Divergent! I’m sure I would have been more efficient if he had. Like I have before, I’m feeling like my work is in good good hands. (Cue the Allstate logo.)

We have approval from the author herself, which will hopefully help calm all the naysayers! Shailene Woodley has got a bit of a reputation from starting off on a very poorly written show, but her work elsewhere has shown that she has some really acting chops!