by Kate Spencer

Divergent Movie may be the most anticipated book-to-movie adaptation since The Hunger Games got its turn last year. With a release date of March 21, 2014, announced yesterday and rumors that Limitless director Neil Bruger is attached to the project, all we need now are a couple of pretty faces to obsess over. The roles of 16-year-old Tris Prior and her love interest, Tobias (Four), are sure to be a big get for any actor and we already have a few favorites already in mind. So does Twitter, where people are constantly proclaiming their love for certain stars they see fit for the leads. Let’s discuss some of our favorites here at VH1 Celeb headquarters, and then we want you to tell us who you envision getting their Dauntless on on the big movie screen.

Taissa Farmiga is my number one pick to play Tris Prior, and I even have the author’s approval on this one. Veronica Roth once replied to my tweet about Taissa as Tris with “ooh. She’s spot on, looks wise.” Not only does she completely embody Tris physically, but her raw and vulnerable performance on American Horror Story proves she’s got the acting chops, too. Our friend and NextMovie editor Breanne Heldman loves Molly Quinn, telling Hollywood Crush, “Molly has a sass and intelligence that’s also so totally Tris Prior.” Castle fans, do you agree?

While I’ve struggled trying to find a Four I like (Skins cutie Luke Pasqualino comes closest for me, for now), VH1 Celebrity editor Sabrina Rojas Weiss is rooting for Pretty Little Liars’ Tyler Blackburn. And hello — how perfect of a Tobias (Four) would he be?!?! Brooding, handsome, chiseled … we like this one, for sure.

On Twitter, fans have been very vocal about Taissa (high fives), as well as Max Irons and Colton Haynes for Tobias (Four). While we think the delectable Max Irons is probably out of the running due to his role in The Host (opposite Saoirse Ronan, who’d also make a perfect Tris), we’re curious about Colton, who is incredibly hunky on Teen Wolf. We’ve got them, and other interesting contenders (and all your tweeted suggestions!), in our gallery below.

Source: vh1

Who do you imagine as Tris Prior and Tobias (Four)? Write in other nominees in the comments!

To be sure, progress on the big-screen movie adaptation of Veronica Roth’s dazzling dystopian tome “Divergent” has been anything but speeding-locomotive fast. Since the movie rights were purchased by Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment in March 2011, the only concrete news has been the appointment of screenwriter Evan Daugherty (though rumor has it that “Limitless” helmer Neil Burger is in talks to direct). Well, that all changed when Summit Entertainment announced that a release date has been set for the movie. Mark your calendars for March 21, 2014!

For the uninitiated, “Divergent Movie” is set in a near-future Chicago, where society has been split into five different factions dedicated to the cultivation of a specific virtue. All 16-year-olds must pledge allegiance to a faction. Readers meet Beatrice “Tris” Prior during the lead up to her big decision—one which will change the course of her life and many others.

With a release date set, we couldn’t help but wonder which pretty young thing in Hollywood will be pegged to play our heroine Tris Prior and become the next big thing in YA movie adaptations (a la Jennifer Lawrence). As such, I assembled my fellow MTV YA Book Club members (yes, this exists) to gather their picks, which include a vampire, a fashionista, a dutiful daughter and a ghost. Check ‘em out after the jump!

AnnaSophia Robb

I’m pulling for AnnaSophia Robb. Physically, she’s just about perfect for it: She’s Tris-sized at 5’2″, and pretty enough that we’ll be happy to watch her for a few hours on a big screen—but quirky enough that we’ll buy her as a character who self-identifies as “not beautiful.” And since AnnaSophia is basically exploding right now, with a few high-profile parts (including Carrie Bradshaw herself in “SATC” prequel “The Carrie Diaries”), it’d be nice to give “Divergent film” a marketing boost with a newly minted big name. —Brooke Tarnoff, NextMovie

Candice Accola

While playing cheerleader-turned-”Vampire Barbie” Caroline Forbes on “The Vampire Diaries,” Candice Accola has had to convey the three very qualities that make Tris “Divergent”: She’s brave, warmhearted and smart as hell. It’ll be hard to make her look like a properly modest Abnegation girl at first, but that’s part of why she broke out of her family’s faction in the first place, right? “TVD” is way campier than “Divergent” should be, but I’m eager to see Candice rise to the task. —Sabrina Rojas Weiss, VH1 Celebrity

Molly Quinn

Molly Quinn is my Tris. OK, so I’m still a little bitter that she didn’t get the role of Clary Fray in “The Mortal Instruments”—Lily Collins is great though, so that cushions the blow—but I’m so ready for this supporting player on TV’s “Castle” to have a major breakout on the big screen. On the show, Molly brings impressive depth to a small role, giving Alexis an uncanny mix of vulnerability and strength: two big qualities our Tris must possess. Off camera, Molly has a sass and intelligence that’s also so totally Tris.

Looking at casting for these big YA franchises recently, I know actors who live on TV rarely get the big leads, presumably for the scheduling difficulties doing both may create. But Molly’s role on “Castle” is small and hiatuses are easy given that her character is going to college, so boom! Summit, hear me out. —Breanne Heldman, NextMovie

Taissa Farmiga

I snuggled into Hollywood Crush’s Casting Couch more than a year ago to reveal my picks for tough-as-nails Tris… but that was before Taissa Farmiga gave us all the goosebumps on FX’s “American Horror Story.” As troubled teen Violet, Taissa delivered the kind of deeply nuanced performance you’d expect from an actor two or three times her age. (Plus, did we mention she’s kind of a dead ringer for author Veronica’s physical description of Tris?) No longer just Vera’s kid sister, “AHS” earned Taissa a legion of fans eager to see her hop the train as Tris. Including me. —Amy Wilkinson, Hollywood Crush

[Source: mtv]

Who do you want to see as Tris Prior in “Divergent Movie”? Tell us in the comments!

Divergent Movie Release Date: March 21, 2014

Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment announced today that the filmed adaptation of the young adult adventure novel Divergent Movie will open wide in North America on March 21, 2014. So far, it has the release date all to itself (it’s sandwiched between Fox’s Me And My Shadow on March 14, 2014 and Paramount’s Noah on March 28). The book was written by 23-year-old author Veronica Roth and has topped the New York Times Best Sellers list since it was published in May 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers.

Divergent Movie is set in a future where America is divided into five ideological factions to stabilize society and uphold peace. Every citizen must choose a permanent faction at age 16 – either their own or another. The story focuses on Beatrice Prior, who is struggling to survive her initiation into the most aggressive and physically demanding of the factions. Evan Daugherty is penning the screenplay along with a yet-to-be-announced filmmaker. Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher will produce under their Red Wagon Entertainment banner, along with Pouya Shahbazian.

[Source: deadline]

Variety is reporting that Neil Burger (Limitless, The Illusionist) is in talks to direct Summit Entertainment’s Divergent Movie with filming planned to start in March for a release in early 2014. The movie will be based on Veronica Roth’s novel, which is described as follows:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice Prior renames herself Tris Prior and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris Prior also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Summit/Lionsgate also has rights to the sequel “Insurgent,” released in May. The untitled third book in the trilogy is due out in fall 2013.

Red Wagon topper Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher are producing with Pouya Shabazian of FinePrint Productions. Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) wrote the script.

Neil Burger was previously attached to direct Sony’s video game adaptation Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and recently signed on to helm an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s short story Animal Rescue.

[Source: comingsoon]

Veronica Roth’s short story Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Story was originally released in April as a treat for Divergent Movie fans when Insurgent pre-order sales reached 35,000 copies, and now the title is being released in e-book format.

According to Harper Teen, it’s no longer available for reading on their Facebook page and will be released for sale on August 7th.

Free Four is a thirteen-page story written from the character Tobias/Four’s viewpoint. It transforms a knife-training scene previously told from Beatrice (Tris) Prior’s perspective in Divergent Movie, and it is currently available for pre-ordering at Amazon.com for $0.99!

Roth previously blogged about composing Free Four and noted, “This was really good for me, because it gave me a fuller understanding of his character and of what he was going through while Tris was an initiate. I’m confident that some things in the scene will surprise you, because they definitely surprised me.”

Source: [examiner]

“Have you read the book ‘Divergent’?” she asked. To which we were totally like, umyeahofcourse. “I love that book,” she enthused. When we pointed out that Veronica Roth’s tale of factions in futuristic Chicago was in the early stages of adaptation, the actress let slip a few meaningful coughs and elbow jabs. (Casting directors: take note!)

[Source: hollywoodcrush]

Reportedly, Snow White And The Huntsman screenwriter Evan Daugherty has now completed his work on the adapted screenplay for Veronica Roth’s best-seller, and the studio – Twilight and The Hunger Games studio Lionsgate – is looking to begin filming the project as early as this year!

No news of casting selections or a chosen director for the movie, yet, but if filming is to begin later this year, those headlines will soon follow.

When the news that Veronica Roth’s Divergent Movie and Insurgent reached over one million books sold!

Veronica Roth has always been “cautiously optimistic” about the fact that Summit bought the film rights to Divergent Movie, but now things are in motion. Deadline also reports that Summit has the film rights to book two of The Divergent Trilogy.

For the comments: Who do you hope to see get cast in Divergent Movie?

[Source: examiner]

Though only two books in the series – Divergent and Insurgent – are yet released, the series is nominated against Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, Lois Lowry’s iconic The Giver, Stephenie Meyer’s The Twilight Saga series, and Nicholas Sparks’ book The Lucky One!

Both Divergent and Insurgent are currently number one bestsellers on The New York Times’ Bestseller List and have been for two consecutive weeks!

Voting for the 2012 Teen Choice Awards can be completed here.

This is the first Teen Choice Awards nomination for Veronica Roth and the Divergent book series. Book three in The Divergent Trilogy, the name of which has yet to be announced, is due on shelves sometime next fall.

Film adaptation rights for Divergent Movie were purchased by Twilight film studio Summit Entertainment which was later acquired by The Hunger Games film studio Lionsgate. Evan Daugherty (who wrote the first screenplay draft for Snow White And The Huntsman) is currently penning the script for the movie adaptation, the release date for which has yet to be announced.

[Source: examiner]

According to a tweet from publisher Harper Collins yesterday, a new landmark has been reached for the series: Sales for the two books have now reached over one million copies!

That certainly doesn’t hurt Divergent’s chances of making it to a movie.

Last year, prior to Divergent’s release, Twilight film studio Summit Entertainment (now Lions Gate) snagged the movie adaptation rights to Divergent Movie and hired Snow White And The Huntsman screenwriter Evan Daugherty to adapt it.

In a (great) recent interview with Veronica Roth, she updated to say that it is still “so early in the process that I can’t say with any clarity what is going to happen” with the movie project.

Well, with the books now in seven digit sales numbers and the final installment on the way next fall, the process just might speed up soon!

[Source: examiner]