‘Divergent’ Set for the Big Screen
Veronica Roth’s Divergent series continues to dominate bestseller lists; according to HarperCollins, the
dystopian trilogy has sold just under 13.5 million
copies in all formats and editions in the U.S. (with
Allegiant holding the #1 spot on our Children’s Fiction list this week). Now, the media buzz is reaching
a fever pitch for what its producers hope will become
the next dominant YA screen franchise. The movie
adaptation of the first book in the series, Divergent,
arrives in theaters on March 21; Summit Entertainment’s final trailer has already been viewed more
than 2. 7 million times on YouTube since its February 4 release. The movie stars Shailene Woodley (as
Tris Prior), whose roles in the film adaptation of Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now and
the forthcoming The Fault in Our Stars, based on the John Green novel, have contributed to her current YA “it-girl” status. Also figuring prominently are Theo James as
Tobias, aka “Four,” Tris’s romantic interest, and Kate Winslet as the villainous
Jeanine Matthews. The ingredients for a potential blockbuster are there: in addition
to a rising Hollywood star and a cast of battle-ready teenagers divided into competing
factions, the film offers a love story staged against life-threatening circumstances. But
the verdict isn’t in until the box office numbers are tallied. Divergent’s stars are doing
their part to draw audiences to the theater: Woodley and James made a dramatic joint
appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on February 3, by zip-lining onto the stage. The
actors are currently filming book two, Insurgent, which has a March 2015 release date.
—Matia Burnett
The film based on Veronica Roth’s trilogy opens next
month
On the Field, on the Sidelines, in Marriage
Tony Dungy and his wife share their successes
Super Bowl–winning football coach Tony Dungy (his Colts
won Super Bowl XLI in 2007) can add “marriage expert” to his
list of career accomplishments. Uncommon Marriage, by him and his wife Lauren Dungy, debuts
at #22 on our Nonfiction Hardcover list. Tony
Dungy is uncommonly talented: in addition to
having a distinguished coaching career (five years
at Tampa Bay and seven very good years at Indianapolis) and a sterling career as a player (as star
defensive back, Dungy won a Super Bowl ring in
1978 with the Pittsburgh Steelers), he has sold a
lot of books. His memoir Quiet Strength (Tyndale,
2007) has sold more than one million copies;
Uncommon (Tyndale, 2009), a leadership/advice
book, also became a bestseller. Dungy products at Tyndale have
sold a total of more than 2. 5 million copies. The couple, mar-
ried more than three decades, have survived pro
football and setbacks in life, including the loss of a
son to suicide. PW’s review said the book read like
“an enjoyable chat with longtime friends.” The
Dungys have made media rounds, including
appearances on the Today Show, Fox & Friends,
ESPN’s Mike & Mike, and NPR’s Tell Me More.
The publisher also reports that 2,000 people
attended an Uncommon Marriage simulcast at Grace
Family Church in Lutz, Fla. Sounds like the
Dungys have hit pay dirt.
—Marcia Z. Nelson
rigan was a daddy’s girl whose rela-
tionship with her mother was much
more adversarial than chummy. In
fact, she says, if someone had asked
her, when she was in her early 20s,
whose voice she would want to hear in
her head for the rest of her life, she
would have said “some combination”
of her father’s, her
roommate’s, and
Jackson Browne’s.
But, she told book-
sellers, “after 40
years I’ve come
around,” and it all
started in Australia
in 1992, when she
worked as a nanny for a recent wid-
ower with two young children. Corri-
gan says she started hearing her moth-
er’s voice in her head, “nudging and
advising, cautioning and directing”
her as she navigated the foreign terrain
of caring for her young charges. “I
started to notice the glue under the
glitter,” she said. Now, Corrigan, who
has two young daughters of her own,
says of her mother, “Give me any situ-
ation and watch how fast I dial her
number.” —Claire Kirch
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Kelly Corrigan