First Look of Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews in Divergent

Are you excited to see how Kate Winslet transformed into villain-es Jeanine Matthews in Divergent? Well, here you go. Thanks USA Today for the pic and interview.

CHICAGO — As Kate Winslet descends the stairs in the Hall of Choosing during a scene from the action-adventure tale Divergent, she carries a slim briefcase in front of her, which has multiple uses.



Given that she’s wearing a sharp, lab-coat-inspired executive suit, the accessory further projects the image of a true leader as Winslet’s character serenely inspects the assembled masses.



As soon as director Neil Burger yells “cut!,” Winslet employs the container for another use — as a fan on the stifling set of Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, which has broken air conditioners. As she flaps, she reveals that the case also disguises a baby bump — she announced in early June that she’s having her third child, the first with husband Ned Rocknroll.



“I’m holding up fine. I’m pregnant, but it’s not at the point where it becomes impossible,” says Winslet, 37, relaxing at a conference table with bags of nearly melted ice on her feet. “Sometimes you just have to roll with it.”



That’s just what Winslet does in the pivotal role of Jeanine Matthews in the film adaptation (out March 21) of the first novel in Veronica Roth’s best-selling Divergent trilogy.



Jeanine is the protector of a futuristic dystopian society based in Chicago, in which the population is divided into five factions. As the leader of the Erudite, or intelligent group, Jeanine is also the story’s antagonist.



Winslet’s character adopts a positively chilly demeanor when she meets hero Tris Prior (The Descendants‘ Shailene Woodley) and her family in a scene depicting the day Tris will choose her faction.



“That’s the whole point of Jeanine,” Winslet says. “She walks down the corridor and sort of just leaves this vapor trail. I knew I had to bring that intimidation.”



The role gives the Oscar winner (best actress for 2008′s The Reader) the opportunity to play her first screen villain.



“I’m no idiot. The idea went through my head that I have never played a baddie before,” she says. “I was almost kind of surprised.”



The pregnancy helped maintain the intimidation factor, since Winslet came into the shoot late. She used that distance from her co-stars to her advantage by keeping herself slightly aloof initially.



“I wanted to break it and say, ‘It’s OK, I’m really fun. I promise.’ ” she says. “But I thought, just for today, I’d let them think that I am a complete bitch.”



Burger says Winslet is game for every aspect of the shoot, even volunteering to perform a small fall in her character’s fight scene. (He used a stunt double.) Wardrobe changes were needed to accommodate the pregnancy, and Winslet’s time on set is closely managed.



“Obviously, we have to be careful, and the way we shoot her changes things,” Burger says. “But there’s a way to do it so we stay off the fact she is pregnant.”



Even the die-hard fans of the series, who have nitpicked about things such as Woodley’s hair color, have been “exploding with joy” with the news of Winslet’s casting, Roth says. Watching from the monitor, Roth feels Winslet even exceeds the hype.



“Kate has gone with a very subtle, even well-meaning villain. She’s not a mustache-twirling Disney type,” she says. “She brings the menace in a very quiet way.”

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First Look at Theo James as Four - Official Divergent Movie Still

Are you excited to see Theo James as Four? Well, here it is, the first official still of Theo James as the Dauntless leader Four in the movie adaptation of Veronica Roth's book "Divergent." The still was released by EW and they got some exclusive chat with our Four in Chicago when the film was being shot.

The still was during a scene where Four introduces the initiates to the Dauntless world. If you look closer, you can glimpse Four's tattoo at his left shoulder. Well, look at that bicep! Anyway, here's EW's interview with Theo James.

EW caught up with Theo James while he was on a break from shooting Divergent in Chicago where the production will continue until mid-July.  ”Is this the picture where I have a t-shirt on and no pants? I was really hoping they’d use that one,” James jokes, before explaining that this picture (note: he is wearing pants) captures a moment from early in the film when Four is showing the Dauntless initiates around their new headquarters. “I’ve introduced them to this world and they’re still in the beginning stages of training,” he says. “At this stage you don’t really know what Four is all about.”

James got a taste for leadership when much of the cast participated in a kind of boot camp before filming. James was even given the opportunity to take charge of the Dauntless training, leading the 50 or so actors that make up the core group of background Dauntless characters. “They didn’t know he was playing Four, they thought he was our stunt coordinator,” says director Neil Burger, with a laugh. “He put them through it.”'

Says James, “I know it sounds ridiculous but it was really quite useful: it helped set a tone for those scenes, being able to live the character a bit.  At one point, Shailene was laughing and I got real serious with her and said”—the actor lowers his voice to a menacing whisper—”Don’t. Laugh.”  He laughs. “Shai was like, ‘um, are you joking right now?’”

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Veronica Roth Talks Divergent Movie Including the Script, Theo James and Shailene Woodley's Chemistry, and More

Veronica Roth was able to share some of her views and experiences with the movie adaptation of her book "Divergent." Thanks Hypable for sharing!

On the script:

“I’ve never read a script before. I was really impressed by how closely it stuck to the general plot line of the book,” she said when asked what her first reactions were. 

On seeing the characters come to life:

“It’s really interesting to see how the actual actor relationships reflect the character relationships. All the young initiates have a great comrade with each other.”

On the costume and sets:

“everyone seems really positive and pumped up and excited to figure out the details of this crazy world.”

on the characters and the actors playing them:

“I would be a little disappointed if it was exactly how I pictured [the characters] because there’s then no re-interpretation, no new discovery. What I was most concerned about when they were casting was finding actors who could capture the internal world of the characters as opposed to exactly matching the description that I wrote. And in that sense I think it’s been really amazing because when I was watching them act I was like, ‘Yes. This is the person, you did such a great job.’ So even with people I was on the fence with, I was really swayed – at least by the end of the day.” 

 On Director Neil Burger's vision:

“I was worried that the overall visual sense of the movie would be a little too futuristic/sexy? Like really sleek, shiny. That’s not the world of Divergent,” she told us. “Everything’s falling apart [in the book], and I think [Neil] definitely did that. The visuals I’ve seen have been in that vein, and that’s been really exciting.”

“Everything down to the little details that I saw have been so well thought out. Like, the philosophy of the world. He and I talked for hours – he asked me so many questions, things I never thought of. Like, ‘How’s commerce work in this particular faction?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know! Where were you when I was writing this?!’ So those conversations were really reassuring because he’s been so interested in every little thing.

On Shailene and Theo's chemistry:

While Roth admitted she was “definitely concerned” about the age gap between Woodley (21 years old) and James (28), once she saw them together she knew everything would be alright. “Seeing them all together, they definitely look younger than you think,” she told us. “I’m really happy with the maturity of the actors.” 

On Theo as Four and Maggie Q as Tori:

James’ age clearly didn’t affect Roth’s thoughts on his portrayal at all. Despite the 10 year age gap between the actor and character, he was Roth’s first pick when asked which star closest matched her vision. James was followed by Maggie Q who plays Tori. “I’ve seen her on Nikita. She’s a badass, she’s already Dauntless, it’s all there.”

 On Shailene as Tris:

“Shailene brings reality. Tris is an impetus 16 year old. She makes – she has kind of a harsh personality with some vulnerability. And I think all of the shades of what Tris is, is what Shailene is able to do. Just in very small moments too, they’re pretty subtle. Even though she’s not a tiny blonde girl, she just IS this character. She seems like a real person who’s actually having these struggles which has been – I wasn’t that surprised because I saw her in The Descendants, but.. I just didn’t think anyone would be able to do it because Tris is so dear to me.”

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Divergent Screenwriter Evan Daugherty on Tris and the Movie Adaptation of Divergent

Evan Daugherty, the screenwriter of the upcoming Divergent movie has recently talked to Bookish.com and he dishes about Tris' character development and more movie stuff.

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.

Bookish: How have you worked through translating the simulation scenes to the big screen?

ED: The simulations provide some of the bigger challenges. For cinematic references, Chris Nolan did such a cool job in “Inception” with that world of dreams that looked real but weren’t quite real. You want the simulations to be visually rich, and you also want them to have stakes to them. You want them to be scary and you want them to feel real.

Bookish: Have you envisioned any actors in the roles you’re writing?

ED: Despite all the cast rumors that I’ve seen, I haven’t really let that seep into my brain too much–probably because I read the book so many times before I started seeing that discussion happen [on fan sites].

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