Shailene Woodley (Tris) and Ansel Elgort (Caleb) have fun between takes.
MEETING KATE WINSLET
While the Dauntless cast was together in Chicago from the beginning, other actors arrived only as their scenes were being filmed. The one who arrived last was the one they were most eager to meet.
Producer Lucy Fisher says, “There was kind of a mythical buildup to the arrival of Kate Winslet, who is admired and respected and a little bit feared by the rest of the cast. She arrived in character with six-inch heels, and she wore them the whole time, and at first she was a little purposely distant, I think. Just to show that Jeanine was not one to be tangled with.”
Winslet was five months pregnant while shooting, but that didn’t slow her down or soften her tone as Jeanine. In scene after scene, her frozen demeanor captured the camera and dominated the characters around her. Her performance was commanding and strong.
Lucy Fisher says, “I’d say that for us as producers one of the best moments was watching her arrive with her eight or ten wigs, and getting to figure out how she wanted to look. And we’d seen the Erudite costumes on Erudite people already, but never on an Erudite Oscar winner, marching in and taking charge. What she can do with a glance or a toss of her head, before she even speaks . . . it kind of knocks everybody around and raises everybody’s game.”
Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) intimidates even the toughest members of Dauntless.
Makeup artists prepare Kate Winslet’s (Jeanine Matthews) hand for a big scene.
Winslet’s schedule didn’t allow her to stay on set as long as the other actors, but she regretted not spending more time with them. “I have just been here for a very intense three-week period,” she said when it was over. “But these guys have all been at it for three months. And so, for me, it’s been wonderful to get this concentrated chunk of time, but it’s also been quite sad, because I’ve been slow to get involved with the fantastic rapport on set, this great camaraderie which is very much Neil Burger’s doing. He crafted these relationships, very early on, with all of the actors.”
Winslet saw a lot of herself in Shailene Woodley and made sure to encourage her through the long days of work. “She reminds me a lot of myself when I was twenty-one, you know,” says Winslet. “You have to have a determination and a focus to be able to pull something off like she is. I remember feeling like that, feeling as though I had to be the one that led the troops on, and she very much has that spirit. I have absolutely been there, and it’s like preparing for a marathon.”
* * *
“THE FIREWORKS OF WATCHING A PREEMINENT ACTRESS OF HER GENERATION UP AGAINST A PREEMINENT ACTRESS OF THE NEW GENERATION . . . WE JUST STAND AND WATCH IN WONDER.”
—PRODUCER LUCY FISHER
* * *
DIVERGENT FANS IN THE HOUSE!
The reality of adapting a beloved book—such as Divergent—in the age of social media is that nothing is really secret. Although the filmmakers tried to keep production details confidential, it was inevitable that information would slip out in a project with so many people and moving parts. Soon it was all over Divergent fan sites that the film’s working title was Catbird, and as observant fans saw Catbird signs crop up around Chicago, they posted the information on Facebook and Twitter. Before long, the fans had a rough idea of where the cast and crew would be in coming days. Some sets were completely closed to fans, of course, but some were right out in the open, like the Abnegation village. When the fans appeared there, the actors were generous with their time, welcoming visitors and taking photos with them whenever possible.
In addition, the production made some large casting calls for extras in the Chicago area, to play nameless members of the different factions. Fans who fit the descriptions flocked to play, as one press release described them, “people with severe/fierce/intimidating appearance—athletic or bodybuilder a plus,” or “people with a sweet disposition, hippie, mother-earth-type vibe or bohemian look—longer hair preferred (both men and women).”
Loyal Divergent fans pose with Shailene Woodley (Tris) and Theo James (Four).
Executive producer John Kelly says, “People want to know what we’re doing. People want to know where we are shooting. They want to see the sets. They want to see what the actors are wearing. We’ve had them meet the actors, and they go crazy. And it’s just so sincere that you’re so excited about what this is going to be like when it’s all said and done. We have to do the best job of making this book into a movie so all these fans go to see it again and again.”
Rather than shutting out the fans, then, the film team invited them to spread the word that the film was capturing the spirit of the book . . . and more.
THE PERFECT CAMEO
Author Veronica Roth appeared as a Dauntless faction member in the zip line scene.
As she was writing her first novel, Veronica Roth did not anticipate that someday there would be a film version of her book . . . or that someday she would appear as an extra in that film! But Roth was up for the challenge, and it drew her even more deeply into the process of making the film.
For this book, she participated in a brief Q and A about the experience.
WHAT ROLE DID YOU PLAY?
I am a Dauntless member who is about to go zip lining—in the scene, a group of us burst through a door, breathless, and look out over the city, and then zip lining starts and we all cheer on Tris as she goes.
WHERE DID YOU SHOOT THIS SCENE?
On a Cinespace soundstage! It was a fake Hancock building rooftop surrounded by green screen.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE?
For me, it was mostly . . . scary! I have never had any desire to do any acting—ever. I’m terrible at it and I’m very uncomfortable on camera, which is not the best combination for a movie cameo! So I had to summon some bravery that day. My job was to burst through the door first, then pause and look around with mixed breathlessness and wonder, then walk to a railing—and when we were shooting, I kept just making a beeline for the railing, basically running away from the camera. But everyone was incredibly kind and patient with me—Neil kept coming over to help me out, and Artist Robinson, one of the assistant directors, gave me a few pep talks. Eventually I think we got a take or two they could use, which is a relief! The best part of the day, though, was wearing the costumes and getting “tattooed” (I got one on my neck!), quite literally becoming a part of the movie I had, until that day, been watching from the sidelines. It was one of the last days of shooting, and scary and uncomfortable though it sometimes was, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
DID YOU HAVE ANY LINES?
It is with great relief that I tell you no. I did not have any lines.
Dressed as Dauntless, author Veronica Roth shares a laugh with Shailene Woodley (Tris) and director Neil Burger.
WHAT KIND OF DIRECTION DID NEIL GIVE YOU?
He told me to focus on a single goal at a time—he suggested, in this case, that my “goal” after bursting through the door be “to catch my breath.” He was trying to get me to shut out all my busy thoughts and focus on one thing at a time and make it genuine. It was great advice! But what I most appreciated about it was how calm and patient he was, even though I was clearly slowing filming down. It made me feel a lot more comfortable.
WHAT DID YOU WEAR?
I wore the standard Dauntless gear: black boots, black pants with mesh pockets (similar to the ones Shailene is wearing on the cover of Entertainment Weekly), a grayish-black sweater. The scene takes place after the Dauntless play Capture the Flag, so we were all wearing these grayish vests with little lights attached to them for the game. And, of course, my beautiful neck tattoo, and some Dauntless-style earrings made of nuts and bolts.
As an extra, author Veronica Roth looks on during the zip line scene.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE?
Being an extra is hard! It involves a lot of waiting, wearing heavy costumes in warm rooms, reacting to fake things on green scre
ens, maintaining high levels of energy for long periods of time . . . and no one wants to be the one who screws up the take, so you have to focus. I’ll never think of movie extras the same again!
Author Veronica Roth’s mother appears as an Erudite extra in the film. Seen here with costume designer Carlo Poggioli and in scene.
IT’S A WRAP!
Filming in Chicago finished in the middle of July 2013. Neil Burger still had many months ahead of him, cutting and editing the film, but the rest of the Divergent team was moving on to new projects until they came together again to promote the film. Kate Winslet was expecting a baby; Shailene Woodley was about to start filming The Fault in Our Stars (where Ansel Elgort, who played her brother in Divergent, would play her love interest); Veronica Roth was just months away from publishing Allegiant, the final book in the Divergent trilogy, which was certain to soar up bestseller lists. And the fans? Well, they still had a while to wait.
In the end, says producer Doug Wick, “Divergent is a movie about empowerment. It’s set in a world that doesn’t quite work and it basically says: If you can dig deep inside yourself and power through, you just might be okay.”
And Tris Prior, indeed, is at once empowered and endangered as the story comes to a close. She thought she’d made the most important choice of her life at the Choosing Ceremony, choosing Dauntless over Abnegation and putting faction over blood. Now the consequences of her original choice are clear. Unintentionally, she helped make Abnegation vulnerable to the Erudite aggression. Now her family is ruined, the factions are in tatters, and her city is on the brink of revolution.
But Tris is full-fledged Dauntless now, as tough and brave as they come. She’s better than Dauntless, in fact—she’s Divergent.
From left to right: Producer Doug Wick, Ashley Judd (Natalie Prior), Shailene Woodley (Tris Prior), Ansel Elgort (Caleb Prior), Tony Goldwyn (Andrew Prior), and director Neil Burger enjoy time together on set with author Veronica Roth.
BOOKS BY VERONICA ROTH
DIVERGENT
INSURGENT
ALLEGIANT
THE TRANSFER: A DIVERGENT STORY
THE INITIATE: A DIVERGENT STORY
THE SON: A DIVERGENT STORY
FREE FOUR: TOBIAS TELLS THE DIVERGENT KNIFE-THROWING SCENE
THE TRAITOR: A DIVERGENT STORY
FOUR: A DIVERGENT STORY COLLECTION
DIVERGENT MOVIE BOOKS
DIVERGENT MOVIE TIE-IN EDITION
DIVERGENT OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED MOVIE COMPANION
INSIDE DIVERGENT: THE INITIATE’S WORLD
BACK ADS
CREDITS
™ & © 2014 Summit Entertainment, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.
Book design by Victor Joseph Ochoa
COPYRIGHT
Jaap Buitendijk, who photographed the filming of Divergent.
* * *
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Divergent Official Illustrated Movie Companion
™ and © 2014 Summit Entertainment, LLC;
text copyright © 2014 by Veronica Roth. All rights reserved.
Photos on pages 10, 20, and 32 courtesy of Veronica Roth;
page 11 (top) © 2011 HarperCollins Publishers;
page 27 courtesy of Joanna Volpe;
page 30 (top) courtesy of Becky Anderson;
page 30 (bottom) French jacket art © 2011 by Editions Nathan Jeunesse;
page 31 (top) Brazilian jacket art © 2011 by Editora Rocco, Ltda.;
page 31 (top) Spanish jacket art © 2011 by RBA Libros, S.A.;
page 31 (top) Russian jacket art © 2011 by Eksmo Publishers LLC;
page 31 (top) Italian jacket art © 2011 by Istituto Geografico De Agostini;
page 40 (bottom) © 2011 by Merie Wallace, courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures;
pages 41 (bottom) and 44 © 2013 by Wilford Harewood, courtesy of A24 Films;
page 52 licensed by Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013956488
ISBN 978-0-06-231562-5
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Book design by Victor Joseph Ochoa
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Kate Egan, Divergent Official Illustrated Movie Companion
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