Book News: Divergent Movie Casting

This usually goes out on Thursdays, but this week I am a day late (and a dollar short).

This week we're discussing the Divergent film.  I am currently reading the first book in this series, so I'm afraid to look up this information, but I will do it because it came out this week.  I think it's important to talk about this when it's new.  I could save this for after I finish the book, but I've decided not to.

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So far, the only person cast is Shailene Woodley as Tris/Beatrice.  She is best known for her role as Amy Juergens in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.  I used to watch that show, seasons ago.  I'm not too fond of her acting, but maybe she's had time to grow.  She was in that movie, The Descendants, with George Clooney, and according to her page she's playing Mary Jane in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  I'm not sure how I feel about her playing Tris.  Tris is a different character than Amy.  I've not seen her in any other roles so I don't know how well she can depart from that type.  She is breaking out so she must have something going for her.  Physically she does look a lot like how I picture Tris, so that works in her favor.  As I think about it, though, I just see her as this soft, innocent girl.  I don't think that works in Tris's favor.

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The rumor going around this week is that Alexander Ludwig will be cast as Four.  He played Cato in The Hunger Games, Seth in Race to Witch Mountain, and Will Stanton in The Seeker: The Dark is Rising among others.  I've only seen him as Cato so I really don't know much about his acting.  Four's character is more complex than Tris's.  One reason is Tris is the narrator, so we know her better.  Four is an enigma.  We'll have to see if he can pull that off, if he really does get cast.  I don't recall a direct description of Four, but I pictured him with dark hair.  I think it's just easier for me to picture guys with dark hair.  If they leave Ludwig's hair blond that's fine.  Hair color is not a big deal unless it's something whacky, which I do not recall Four having.

The rumor about Ludwig is that he spoken to the producers about playing Four.  This doesn't necessarily mean he'll be Four or even that he'll be considered.  He could get another role.  I actually could see him playing someone like Peter.  I think that would work out very well.  I don't follow him on Twitter and it doesn't appear to be a verified source, but there is this tweet sent out October 20th.

We'll see where this goes.

When it comes to a popular book series the casting is extremely important.  They don't have to be famous names (look at Harry Potter), but they need to be able to represent the characters.  Plus, fans love to scrutinize anything and everything related to the book, which a movie definitely is.

The release date for the movie was announced back in September by Lion's Gate Films as March 2014.  That's a little under a year and a half away.  If you haven't read the books yet I say get started.  I'm only halfway through the first one and I find it's very good.  I'm excited to see this on the big screen.