Well hello there Four! Seriously if looks could kill. Don't think I'd feel like crossing Four when he's in this type of humour or maybe I would (wink)
via Poomegranate / DivergentLife
Initiates, the time is near... The first ever footage of #Divergent will be revealed at @Comic_Con tomorrow. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/owelfgZuIY
— Divergent (@Divergent) July 17, 2013
Long version: when my publisher approached me hoping that I would be able to write some extra Divergent content for them, I considered a few options for what I might write about, or whose perspective I might choose. Over time it became clear to me that the character I was most interested in exploring further was Four. Two reasons: first, I know his perspective is the one a lot of you are interested in reading (I get asked if I’m going to write anything else from his perspective all the time!), and hey, you’re my readers and I like to write things you want to read; second, I was excited by the idea of expanding my own understanding of him, the way I did when I rewrote the knife-throwing scene from his perspective for the Free Four e-short.
For me, Four has never just been Tris’s love interest or a way for sexual tension to enter the story. He has always been a whole person with a history that affects him (and Tris) in significant ways, and a co-mover of the plot along with Tris. These stories are helping me to delve into his character in a way I never have before, and to build up parts of the world that Tris never experienced due to her limited perspective. Interestingly enough, they also affected the content of Allegiant, giving me more to draw from—awesome, right?
These stories will be longer than Free Four (Four’s retelling of the knife-throwing scene, which was only thirteen pages), and the first one will be out on September 24th. You can learn more official info here, too. And of course, I’ll keep you informed of the other stories as information becomes available, too.
Q: Can you describe Theo James as Four in four words? (Kate: very clever, lol)
A: In four words?
Q: See the pun there?
A: Let me think. Okay. So…handsome, intense, and sensitive. And, I don’t know, badass? Is that good? (Kate:Sounds good to me!)
Q: Will you ever write from Four or any other character’s point of view?
A: I wouldn’t rule it out as far as sort of like, side material. Sort of like Free Four was. What I discovered when I wrote Free Four was its incredibly difficult to write a scene from another character’s perspective, because you have to keep consulting the original to make sure that it lines up. Then you have to keep the whole frame of the story in mind. It was so hard that I was like I don’t know if I could ever do it as a full length thing. It was fun, but yeah, it’s definitely a challenge.
Q: When you were on set did any of the actors come to you and have questions about what they should be doing?
A: I actually had a fairly long conversation with Miles Teller about Peter. It was really interesting. I think it was because Peter’s a little confusing as a character and definitely one of the stranger characters. I explained some things to him, and he was interested in seeing and figuring that out. I talked to Theo a little bit about Four and Shailene a little bit about Tris. I am sure more of those conversations will happen.
Q: On set, were you able to see kinda first hand the chemistry between Four and Tris in real life? Like is it really happening?
A: Yes. Actually when I saw the screen test I pulled away and I went like this (wipes brow). It was really good. There is a reason they cast him.
Q: What scene did you see when they were filming?
A: It was not… oh you mean on set?
Q: Yeah.
A: It was the knife throwing scene. So, not really a great opportunity to see like romantic tension. But it was a great day to be there. I have written that scene from two perspectives.
Q: Do you know if Theo has read Free Four?
A: I don’t know if he’s read Free Four. I didn’t ask him. I know he’s read the book and probably the second one at this point. When I talked to him he was just starting the second one. I don’t know about Free Four. I am sure that someone has passed it on to him. Cause I mean how do you pass that up, from your characters perspective? It’s not very long.
Q: Lots of fans comment on the characters’ age that have been cast. Do you have any comments on that?
A: I think that headshots look a lot older than people. When I was meeting them in real life, I was like “Oh yeah, this is not a problem!” Like seeing them all together. They definitely look younger than you’d think. I was most concerned about the age gap like looking okay. Cause obviously, Shailene, I think she’s six years younger than Theo. It doesn’t really look that way. I think if you cast an actual 16 year old and an actual 18 year old they don’t look the same age. Especially if the 18 year old is a boy. I think that would actually look kinda creepy. So, I am really happy with the maturity of the actors. I think that was crucial to making that movie work. By casting older actors they have definitely gotten some of that maturity. It’s amazing. I think the cast looks great.
Q: Talking about the actors, which actor do you think was cast the best to your vision of the character?
A: That’s a good question. Who is the best? Actually I think Theo is the closest to how I imagined four. Also I think Maggie Q as Tori is really spot on. I mean I have seen her on Nikita. She’s already Dauntless! It’s all there.
One topic of discussion during our chat was the age gap between lead actors Shailene Woodley (Tris) and Theo James (Four). In the book, these characters are 16 and 18 respectively, but the actors playing them are a bit older at 21 and 28. When asked about the age subject, Veronica assured that fans wouldn’t be disappointed, saying:
“I think that head shots look a lot older than actual people. When I’m meeting them in real life I’m like ‘Oh yeah this is not a problem.’ Seeing them all together, they definitely look younger than you think. I was most concerned about the age gap looking okay. Obviously Shailene is [six years] younger than Theo. It doesn’t really look that way because I think when you cast an actual 16 year old and actual 18 year old they look the same age, especially if the 18 year old is a boy because they don’t age. So that would actually look kind of creepy. So I’m happy with the maturity of the actors I think that was crucial to making this movie work and by casting older actors we definitely have gotten that maturity which is amazing. I think that gap looks great in real life.”
Veronica also sang Theo’s praises in another way, mentioning that he was the one actor who matched her vision of the book character the closest.