Post #4: Book Adaptation

Insurgent by Veronica Roth is currently in the process of being turned into a movie following the success of the first book in the series Divergent. With a March 2015 release date, little to none is probably still being changed. But by some miracle, let's say I was made the director of Insurgent. Here are the 5 things that I would have to decide on:

1. I probably wouldn't be allowed to use all 525 pages worth of plot. So, I would have to decide what needs to stay. At the heart of the book is the story of Tris trying to stop the faction of Erudite's takeover. There are many aspects that go into that fight including whether the Dauntless will have an alliance with Candor, the involvement and uprising of the factionless, and how much the Erudite can control the minds of the other factions through simulations. Also, and perhaps the most important, the role of Tris and the other Divergents in fighting for freedom against the Erudite. The key relationships are the romance between Tris and Tobias and the brother-sister bond between Tris and Caleb.

2.So despite a pretty involved plot, the things I would cut are the descriptions of the down times at the Candor faction and the trips that Tris takes to spy on the Erudite compound. Also, I think the death of Marlene shouldn't be included because it takes a long time to set up that scene with the simulation and the reactions of all of the characters. Also, some of the drama between Tris and Tobias drags on because you know that they are going to stay be each other no matter what.

3. A special aspect of the entire series is that the character (if they are not divergent) are put under simulations where they have no grasp on what is reality and what isn't. I think this is difficult to portray. In the movie, I think the entire setting should change when the perspective is through a character under the simulation but when the camera focuses back on Tris her view is of what is real. When the Erudite is trying to put Tris under the simulation, the edges of the camera shot should be blurry to emphasize that she knows that it is not reality.

4. I would add flashbacks of the first movie of Tris remembering certain character's deaths. For instance the death of Will and her parents is mentioned over and over in the book. For a movie, it would make more sense to show the death of those characters instead of just referencing them.

5. Finally, the casting. This really is what makes or breaks the movie. If the image in your head matches the characters on the screen. I think the actors chosen for Divergent and used again in Insurgent should stay the same. The characterizations were fairly consistent with the book.