Summit Entertainment only just began production on the YA adaptation Divergent, but the studio has now released the first image of Shailene Woodley as the film’s protagonist, Tris.  Based on the book by author Veronica Roth, the story takes place in a futuristic society where people are divided into factions based on their personalities, and Woodley’s Tris is a young girl who doesn’t fit into any of the pre-assigned groups and faces termination due to her status as a “Divergent.”  While many will draw similarities to The Hunger Games (this debut image doesn’t exactly set the two apart), I’ve heard good things about Divergent and The Descendants star Woodley is proving to be one of the more exciting young talents working today.  She turns in a stellar performance in the upcoming The Spectacular Now.

Hit the jump to check out the debut image from director Neil Burger’s (Limitless) adaptation.  The film also stars Kate Winslet, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, Christian Madsen and Amy Newbold.  Divergent opens on March 21, 2014.

Not only did Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier kick off its production today, but so did Summit’s highly-anticipated adaptation, Divergent.  The feature treatment of the popular YA novel by Veronica Roth was written by Vanessa Taylor (Hope Springs) for director Neil Burger (Limitless).  The plot centers on Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley of The Descendants) who doesn’t fit into the pre-established factions of her dystopian future world.  When she discovers a plot to destroy her and other Divergents, she must uncover the secret behind what it is that makes them so dangerous.

Divergent also stars Kate Winslet, Theo James, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, Christian Madsen and Amy Newbold, and is expected to open March 21, 2014.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

It’s a casting bonanza for director Neil Burger’s (The Illusionist) anticipated adaptation of the popular YA novel Divergent.  The past couple of days have seen the likes of Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard), Maggie Q (Nikita), Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class), and Ansel Elgort (Carrie remake) join the film’s cast, and now another slew of actors are signing on.  The story takes place in a futuristic society where people are divided into factions based on their personalities, and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) has long been set in the lead role of Tris Prior, a young girl who doesn’t fit into any of the pre-assigned groups and faces termination due to her status as a “Divergent.”

Though the film’s plot has drawn similarities to The Hunger Games, the book received a fair amount of praise from critics, and it’s telling that the film has attracted such talent as Woodley and Kate Winslet.  Now some other impressive actors are signing on, including Theo James who has nabbed the highly coveted male lead.  Hit the jump for more.

The cast is filling out for director Neil Burger’s (Limitless) adaptation of author Veronica Roth’s popular YA novel Divergent.  The Descendants star Shailene Woodley is set as a 16-year-old girl living in a world where society is divided into five factions that represent a particular virtue.  There’s Honesty, Selflessness, Bravery, Peacefulness, and Intelligence.  On a certain day, all 16-year-olds must choose which virtue they want to devote the rest of their life to, after which they undergo a rigorous initiation process for said virtue.

Summit/Lionsgate is planning Divergent as the first in a potential trilogy of films based on the book series (ie: hoping for another Hunger Games-sized hit), and now three more roles have been filled by Maggie Q (Nikita), Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class) and Ansel Elgort (Carrie).  Hit the jump to find out who they play.

Shailene Woodley is having a very good couple of weeks.  The Descendants star recently entered negotiations to nab the coveted role of Mary Jane Watson in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel, and now she’s looking to lead a franchise of her own: director Neil Burger‘s (Limitless) adaptation of the Hunger Games-esque YA novel Divergent.  The story revolves around a 16-year-old girl living in a world where society is divided into five factions that represent a particular virtue.  There’s Honesty, Selflessness, Bravery, Peacefulness, and Intelligence.  On a certain day, all 16-year-olds must choose which virtue they want to devote the rest of their life to, after which they undergo a rigorous initiation process for said virtue.

The novel, from author Veronica Roth, is the first in a planned trilogy and it’s garnered some very positive reviews, so this may not be the cheap Hunger Games ripoff that some are expecting.  Heat Vision reports that Woodley initially some scheduling issues with Spider-Man, but apparently the Mary Jane role is realtively small in that sequel, setting up a major role in the third film.  As such, she’s able to take the lead in Divergent and also play Mary Jane.  Hit the jump to read the full synopsis for the book.

Sony Pictures is moving forward with their adaptation of the popular video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, as the project now has new writers.  Variety reports that Marianne and Cormac Wibberley (National Treasure) will rewrite the script which was previously written by Neil Burger.  The Ilusionist and Limitless director signed on to write and direct Uncharted last summer, but Variety now notes that he’s no longer involved with the project.  He recently entered talks to direct the young adult adaptation Divergent, so that may have had something to do with his departure.

Uncharted has been in development for quite some time, and before Burger was attached it was David O. Russell that was planning on directing.  Sony now wants to wait until the Wibberleys finish their script before they start the search for another director.

Though Summit/Lionsgate already has the young adult market cornered with the Twilight and Hunger Games franchises, Summit (which is now owned by Lionsgate) is looking to turn yet another popular YA book series into a feature film franchise.  Variety reports that The Illusionist and Limitless helmer Neil Burger has entered early talks to direct an adaptation of Divergent.

Written by Veronica Roth at the ripe old age of 22, the book has drawn comparisons to the Hunger Games series for its similar futuristic setting in which teen-on-teen violence takes place.  Though blatant ripoffs are easy to spot, I’ve actually heard good things about Divergent and the novel—which is the first in a trilogy—is quite popular.  Hit the jump for more.

When last we discussed author and screenwriter Dennis Lehane, he was working on adapting his short story, Animal Rescue, for Fox 2000.  Now, Fox Searchlight has tapped director Neil Burger (Limitless) to helm the adaptation.  The picture was previously described as revolving around a killing as a result of a lost and contested pit bull, with new details adding in a man trying to leave a life of crime and a heist gone wrong.  Hit the jump for more on the project, including why the combination of Burger, Lehane and Searchlight might just be a winning one.

Paul Brittain has already exited Saturday Night Live for other pursuits and now it appears the late night sketch comedy show might lose another cast member. EW has learned that Abby Elliott (who, in case you didn’t know, is the daughter of SNL alum and recurring How I Met Your Mother guest star Chris Elliott) is nearing a deal to lead a new Fox comedy pilot called Ben Fox is My Manny (which I think combines the words “man” and “nanny”) and it just might have her leaving SNL. The series, from Couples Retreat writer Dana Fox, follows an uptight single mother (Elliott) and her laid-back brother who move in together to raise a child. Hit the jump for more, including news on a new series for The West Wing alum Bradley Whitford.

Neil Burger’s Limitless is the sort of film that just gets by. Bradley Cooper stars as Eddie Mora, who’s given a wonder pill that makes him super smart, but comes with a catch. As he makes piles of money, can he do the drug and not lose his mind? There’s a lot of good ideas in Limitless, and a lot of it cleverly executed, but the pieces are often more interesting than the whole. Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro co-star in this modest hit. Our review of the Blu-ray of Limitless follows after the jump.

Over 40 years after Arthur Penn’s classic Bonnie and Clyde, director Neil Burger (Limitless) is set to take on the story of the outlaw duo once more. Variety reports that Burger will direct an adaptation of Jeff Guinn’s non-fiction book Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde. Up in the Air co-writer Sheldon Turner is taking on scripting duties, with Sean and Bryan Furst set to produce. Guinn’s book tells a deromanticized account of the two’s streak of bank robberies which left seven dead bodies in its wake. No word on how soon the film will go into production, but Burger recently signed on to write and direct the high-profile adaptation of the video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune after David O. Russel left the project. Hit the jump for a synopsis of Guinn’s book.

The sci-fi thriller Limitless, available on DVD and Blu-ray on July 19^th, is an intense and gripping adrenaline rush, starring Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, a burnt-out writer who discovers a top-secret pill that unlocks 100% of his brain’s capacity. He instantly acquires mind-bending talents and mesmerizing visions that bring him everything he could have ever dreamed or desired, but his life soon becomes a waking nightmare, as the drug’s brutal side effects take their toll. Now with an unrated extended cut, an alternate ending, making of features, deleted scenes and audio commentary, the box office success can be enjoyed even further on DVD and Blu-ray.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, Limitless director Neil Burger talked about how excited he is for people to see the extended cut that is wilder and more extreme than the PG-13 theatrical release, why it took time to perfect the ending of the film, how he believes you shouldn’t reveal everything with the audio commentary, and that he was relieved with how successful the film was. He also talked about recently signing on to helm the big screen adaptation of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, rewriting the script and starting over from scratch, how the already cinematic video game has a great character and some intense moments that he’s looking forward to translating for film, and that he hopes to take fans of the game and moviegoers on an exhilarating ride. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Neil Burger (Limitless) has signed on to write and direct the adaptation of the video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.  Burger replaces David O. Russell who left the project in May after Sony disagreed with O. Russell’s decision not to give fans exactly what they think they wanted (which, if it’s a straight adaptation of Drake’s Fortune, is just a video game they can’t play).  Variety reports that “producers Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Charles Roven and Alex Gartner sparked to [Burger's] new take on the pic.”

Hit the jump for more on Uncharted.

The number one movie in America right now is director Neil Burger’s (The Illusionist) Limitless.  Starring Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel and Robert De Niro, Limitless has a very cool premise: what if a drug allowed you to use 100% of your brain.  You could “recall everything you’ve ever read, seen or heard, learn any language in a day, comprehend complex equations and charm anyone you meet.”  Sounds cool doesn’t it?  The fact is, with advances in pharmaceuticals happening every day, the premise for Limitless might not be too far off.  Maybe we’ll never get to 100%, but I’ll bet you that in the next few decades, scientists will invent some sort of pill that makes you smarter.

A few days ago I was able to do an exclusive phone interview with Burger.  We talked about what it’s like to have the number one movie, why they reshot the ending, the cool way he shot the sequences when Cooper was on the drug, did he do any research or talk to pharmaceutical companies before shooting, deleted scenes and what will be on the DVD/Blu-ray, how Shia LaBeouf was originally going to star and how the script changed to fit him and then Cooper, how did they get Robert De Niro, and what does he have coming up.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what he had to say.

A film about a super-intelligent protagonist doesn’t necessarily need a smart script (although it never hurts), but it does need to act like a smart movie.  The direction needs a confident style, tone, and pacing that conveys the sense that the movie, like the protagonist, knows what’s going on and is ten steps ahead of the audience even though the actions on screen may be totally mundane and unremarkable.  Neil Burger’s Limitless never manages this task.  There’s plenty of visual flare, but it feels more like distraction than thoughtful support for its story.  Lead actor Bradley Cooper tries to make the most of his performance, but he lacks the everyman charm that would provide his character with some much-needed sympathy.  Undercut by poor writing, miscasting, and simplistic directing, Limitless may center on a brilliant mind but it lacks a convincing tone.