It's no secret that films aren't always filmed in the location in which they take place, so when it does happen, it's worth noting. Such is the case for the feature adaptation of Veronica Roth's young adult novel Divergent, which takes place in a dystopian Chicago and, as of the recent update on the project, will reportedly be filmed in the Illinois city.
Divergent is set in the future when society (at least, in the city of Chicago) is divided by five factions, which are set by nature/behavior (eg. the Abnegation are selfless people, the Candors are known to be honest, Dauntless are brave, etc). The story follows Beatrice Prior, a teen who comes of age and must choose her faction, which will not only determine the kind of life she'll lead, but will also include a training process if she wants to make the cut and get a good job.
There haven't been a lot of updates on the film, which is set to be distributed by Summit-Lionsgate, but we do know that Limitless director Neil Burger is on board to helm, and The Descendants Shailene Woodley (also of ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager) is set to star, so the movie has that going for it. More recently, The Chicago Sun Times reported that the film will be shot in Chicago, following Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's Film Office and the film studio Cinespace pushing to get the job, which will likely offer a boost to the city and state's economy.
From the book, I envision Divergent's Chicago as especially rundown and overgrown, so I don't expect that Chicago in the film will look much like actual Chicago, but making the movie there should allow them to make the most out of the location, perhaps including bits and pieces of the real locations and settings from the story. I'm now picturing certain scenes involving trains and the Hancock Building, which are best left unelaborated beyond that, for those who haven't read the book yet.
Examiner says pre-production is expected to begin in the next few months, so hopefully we'll start to hear more updates on the project as the new year progresses.
