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'Divergent' Film Crew to Host Open Casting Call This Weekend

By Emily Morris | February 5, 2013 4:24pm
 Shailene Woodley is set to star in "Divergent."
Shailene Woodley is set to star in "Divergent."
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Getty Images/Imeh Akpanudosen

CHICAGO — The makers of the upcoming film "Divergent," set to begin filming in Chicago this spring, said they're holding an open casting call for extras on Saturday.

The film, based on debut author Veronica Roth's best-selling dystopian novel, is slated to star actress Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants," "The Secret Life of an American Teenager") and begin filming at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios this spring. Neil Burger ("Limitless," "The Illusionist") is set to direct.

Atmosphere Casting announced a casting call for extras on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cinespace's offices, 2602 W. 16th Street. The casting call is for Illinois residents ages 16 and up, though the agency said minors can register to be an extra via email.

The agency said it's looking in particular for "rural farm hand types;" bohemian-looking men and women with long hair; people with special military, weapons and martial arts training; people with stunt and/or stage combat training; and people with visible special tattoos and/or piercings

Hopeful extras should bring a driver's license or state I.D., and those under 18 need guardian supervision, the agency said.

Gov. Pat Quinn recently announced that Cinespace Chicago, a studio with space at the former Ryerson Steel factory in North Lawndale, had landed the much-coveted chance to film "Divergent."

The movie is expected to bring 1,000 jobs and more than $30 million in spending to the state, Quinn said in a statement.

The studio currently films "Chicago Fire" as well as "Underemployed." It was also home to the recently-canceled "Boss."

"Divergent" is the first installment in a trilogy of young-adult books written by 24-year-old Roth, who lives in Chicago. The book, published on the heels of the similarly post-apocalyptic "The Hunger Games" trilogy, tells the story of a teen who doesn't fit into her heavily divided world.