Divergent danger

Shailene talks about Tris

By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs courtesy of Sahamongkol Film International

Hitting cinemas this week is one of the year’s most highly anticipated sci-fi adventure movies — The Divergent Series: Allegiant. After the massive success of the first two Divergent films in the series, beautiful star Shailene Woodley returns once again as Beatrice "Tris" Prior in the third installment. The latest film promises to be the most intense in the series so far.

Based on a series of popular novels by American author Veronica Roth, The Divergent Series: Allegiant continues the story of Beatrice Prior and Tobias “Four” Eaton (Theo James), who manage to get past the wall of Chicago and into the world outside. However, they soon learn that the place they were searching for is even more dangerous than the place they escaped from. The team must make a series of difficult decisions in order to find a peaceful solution for their embattled city.

With the help of Sahamongkol Film International, Student Weekly recently had a great opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with 24-year-old leading actress Shailene Woodley, who told us all about Allegiant.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us something about the third film in the series, Allegiant?

Shailene: The new film is really amazing. There's a lot more action this time and it’s not limited to just Chicago anymore. The whole world outside is full of danger. There's also a lot of cool technology this time, like the amazing craft that you can see me flying in the movie trailer. Not to mention all the cool new weapons that you’ll see in the film!

Student Weekly: How did you prepare yourself for filming all the action scenes in the film?

Shailene: The Divergent films were my first time doing action scenes and stunts. When I worked with George Clooney in The Descendant a few years ago, he taught me a lot about acting. He said that we should be positive and try to have fun with our work as much as possible. So when I work on the Divergent movies, I just try to have fun.

I got to do a lot of cool stunts in the new film. There's one scene where I had to run after a moving train and jump on board!

Student Weekly: Do you have a favourite scene in the Divergent films?

Shailene: Definitely the wall-climbing scene. As everybody knows, it’s the turning point in the story where we escape the Windy City and go beyond the wall enclosing Chicago by climbing a giant wall with grappling hooks. It’s such a cool scene with loads of action.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us more about the relationship between two main characters, Tris and Four, in the latest movie?

Shailene: I can’t spoil the story by saying what happens to Tris and Four in the new film, but I can say that each of them will discover some more truth about themselves. You'll have to see the movie to see how that affects their lives.

Student Weekly: How many locations were used in the film?

Shailene: Most of the film was shot in Atlanta. It was very hot and humid during the shoot. Fortunately there were many natural water sources around the area, so we got to swim and see rainbows a lot.

Student Weekly: After playing the part of Tris for a long time, do you think your real personality has anything in common with the character?

Shailene: Not much, but I can say that Tris has influenced me in some ways. I really liked the first novel in the series a lot. It taught me that you can never get rid of the fear inside you. Nobody is brave enough to not fear anything at all. The important thing is to confront your fear with bravery and try to beat it. Dealing with problems without running away is what inspired me most about Tris.

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