To celebrate the release of Insurgent, let’s take a look at 15 things you probably didn’t
know about the big-screen adaptation of Veronica Roth’s best-selling novel.
The Amity set was built in Serenbe, a sustainable community about 30 minutes southwest of Atlanta.
Despite bad weather, it took the film’s crew just six weeks to build the 13-acre Amity
set.
More than 200 people worked seven days a week to create the Amity Dome with its central
tree, build a crumbling concrete freeway overpass, and modify the stables at Serenbe.
Dozens of crew also planted vegetables, flowers and grass crops.
The Amity dome was a large structure made of wood and glass.
It measured 65 feet tall and 100 feet around, and the crew only just managed to complete
it on the morning it was needed for filming.
Prosthetics make-up artist Margie Ka-klamanos was employed especially to create Amity leader
Johanna’s signature facial scar.
Actress Octavia Spencer said that having the scar applied really helped put her in Johanna’s
world.
According to Octavia Spencer, actor Ray Stevenson, who plays Four’s father Marcus, would sometimes
sing to her before they started filming.
Although Tris does cut her hair in the Insurgent novel, it isn’t as short as Shailene Woodley’s
in the movie.
Between filming Divergent and Insurgent, Woodley cut her hair very short for her role in the
movie The Fault In Our Stars.
And she decided to keep it that way for Insurgent as she didn’t want to wear a wig.
The movie’s stunt team was impressed with the athletic ability of actor Jai Courtney,
who plays Dauntless leader Eric.
According to the movie’s stunt co-ordinator, they even had to ask Courtney to slow down
as he was running too fast for the cameramen filming him!
The military vehicles that transport Dauntless leaders Max and Eric to the Amity faction
weighed 55,000 pounds and were decommissioned troop carriers from Afghanistan.
Director Robert Schwentke wanted authenticity when it came to the weapons used in Insurgent.
In other words, he wanted the guns to actually fire and for us to see the recoil, the flash
and the shells being discharged.
So, the movie’s art department based their designs on existing firearms, and made casings
that fit onto real weapons.
The Factionless set was four stories high and filled a whole warehouse and even some
of its parking lot!
The set was retro and steampunk in style.
As Factionless leader Evelyn, actress Naomi Watts wore a jacket that started life as a
vintage piece.
But the filmmakers wanted to add more contrast to it, so they threw bleach at the jacket,
creating the look we see in the film.
The large set for Erudite headquarters was built at Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta.
The laboratory was the most complex part to build because it lacked straight lines as
its ceiling and walls were all curved.
The laboratory set was 10,000-square-foot, and had bulletproof glass and 16 projectors.
The mysterious box which features in Insurgent doesn’t appear in the original book.
The filmmakers wanted the box to have both an ancient and hi-tech feel to it, and many
different designs were tried out before they settled on its look.
The movie’s prop master teamed up with artisans in Los Angeles to create the box we see in
the film.
In the novel, Chicago’s Merchandise Mart is home to Candor Headquarters.
But, the filmmakers created Candor in Atlanta’s AmericasMart.
The filmmakers closed down part of Peachtree Street, the main street in Atlanta, so they
could safely film a complicated attack sequence at Candor Headquarters.
The scene involved stuntmen abseiling off buildings as well as firing weapons while
zip-lining from nearby rooftops to the rooftop of the AmericasMart building.
Although Insurgent was mainly shot in Atlanta, the production also filmed briefly in Chicago.
The Chicago shoot involved opening all the bridges at once over the Chicago River and
stopping all its boat traffic.
Well there you have it, 15 things you probably didn't know about Insurgent!
Now, let me know in the comments below, who’s your favourite character in The Divergent
Series?
And what are you looking forward to seeing when they bring the final novel, Allegiant,
to the big screen?
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Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!