Shrill screams filled the air as Shailene Woodley and Theo James walked the black carpet at a recent Atlanta advance screening of the highly anticipated new sci-fi film “Divergent.”
Autograph books were waved and phone cameras flashed as the two young stars worked the line, posing with fans for selfies.
Popular among young adults, the best-selling novel by Veronica Roth — on which the film is based — is the first installment of a trilogy offering yet another dystopian view of the future, much like “The Hunger Games.”
The question is whether “Divergent,” opening March 21, will bring in similar box-office sales as the “Hunger Games” films starring Jennifer Lawrence or winds up with the same fate as “Beautiful Creatures” and “Vampire Academy,” two unsuccessful recent films based on young-adult novels.
Allison Browning, who was among the hundreds of fans at the Atlanta screening, said she loves both “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games” and “I think they both appeal to similar people but are different enough that ‘Divergent’ is … a whole new concept and movie in and of itself.”
Woodley is best known for her role as Amy Juergens in the ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” while James is known for his role as Jed Harper in the British TV series “Bedlam.” Hollywood veterans Ashley Judd and Kate Winslet also star in “Divergent.”
The crowd awaiting the film’s young stars at the Regal Atlantic Station in Atlanta was mainly female. Woodley was the first to emerge, and when she did fans pushed and shoved to get a glimpse of the actress, trying to get a photo with her.
Security held their ground with ease until James walked through the same double doors five minutes later, setting off mayhem among the mass of screaming girls, who surged forward toward him. Security had to use metal gates to contain the crowd and keep him from being trampled.
After Woodley and James went inside, the cinema’s seats filled quickly with young fans who roared in appreciation as the title appeared onscreen.
“I thought that the movie was, simply put, perfect. It certainly reached far beyond my expectations,” moviegoer Lauren Moye said. “I was very excited that they followed the book so closely. It did not take away from Roth’s work; they instead enhanced it and made me love ‘Divergent’ even more.”
During an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Woodley and James said staying true to the book was important in bringing the characters to life on the screen.
“Bringing truth and authenticity to (the film) was important … to bring justice to the characters in a human way, not such a super hero way,” Woodley said. “The book has so much in it, we had to find how to fit all that in the movie without sacrificing any of the key components.”
James let Woodley take the lead during the interview but occasionally would chime in to support her.
“We wanted to make sure we were always grounded. We wanted to be truthful in the film and we were able to make that clear and strong,” he said.
A lot of actors auditioned for James’ role but no one else was quite right, Woodley said.
“Every single guy that came in was sort of acting masculine instead of just possessing that natural, genuine masculinity,” she said, adding that James was “the only person who was able to tap into sensitive and vulnerable places.”
Woodley was cast in “Divergent” before there was an official script, so she relied heavily on the book for inspiration of her character, Tris, who joins a faction called Dauntless, the future society’s security force.
“Shai has Tris qualities, she’s naturally strong and smart, but also has the emotionality and femininity,” James said.
“We wanted (the characters) to feel real, like they are in the book,” Woodley said. “My guideline was the book. We worked on the script throughout the whole movie and it felt like multiple times per week we were rewriting scenes as we went.”
The two stars plan to return for two more installments of the trilogy, “Insurgent” and “Allegiant.”
Woodley, who previously co-starred with Miles Teller in the critically praised 2013 film “The Spectacular Now,” filmed in Athens, was pleased Teller also is in the cast of “Divergent.”
“It’s nice to work with people you worked with before; there’s a sense of comfort,” she said.
“I enjoyed everything about the movie, from the casting to the soundtrack,” fan Moye said after the screening, “and the fact that it was shown in Imax … was like icing on the Dauntless cake.”
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