One pivotal stunt in the new franchise-starter “Divergent” involves a group of actors running alongside and jumping onto a train speeding by at 30 mph. When they arrive at their destination, they descend from the still-moving train in an orderly fashion, of course — by jumping over a 10-foot gap onto a rooftop.
“That’s where some of them didn’t make it and hit the wall,” admits the film’s stunt coordinator Garrett Warren. “But nobody went to the hospital!”
Based on the first book of a series by Veronica Roth that has sold more than 10 million copies, “Divergent” is poised to become the next blockbuster young-adult adaptation — a la “The Hunger Games” — when it hits theaters Friday. The dystopian film stars Shailene Woodley as Tris Prior, a 16-year-old in a society that separates its members by factions based on their predominant character traits.
When Tris takes the required aptitude test to determine which faction she belongs in, she discovers she is “divergent,” meaning she fits into more than one category and is thus considered a danger to the societal structure. She leaves the selfless, submissive Abnegation faction she was born into and joins the Dauntless — those who value bravery above all else. Along the way, she meets initiate trainer and leader Four (Theo James). With his help, she must discover who she is and what that means for her future.
The Dauntless are the gated city’s protectors, which meant that, in addition to spectacle stunts, Warren had to train the actors in hand-to-hand combat, shooting and knife-throwing. For this he enlisted JJ Perry, who spent four years in the US Army, as fight coordinator.
Perry led the cast’s boot camp — a three-week training course that began before filming.
“The first week, I just hazed them, ground them into dust,” he says.
“ ‘I’m the drill sergeant and you’re my privates. You’re going to do what I tell you to do, or I’m going to knock your d–k in the dirt.’ ”
Warren considered everything from the moves in old Muay Thai movies to the tight-to-the-face boxing style favored in the “Bourne” films. But his greatest influence turned out to be George Foreman.
“He had this really unorthodox kind of stance, called the peek-a-boo fighting stance,” explains Warren. “He held his hands in front of his body like he’s hugging himself almost and would just look through his arms or over his arms. You’d say, ‘That’s just stupid, he’s going to get hit.’ In fact, he was able to hurt people.”
Woodley says the fighting was the most difficult for her, particularly when she had to fight James.
“He is incredibly strong, and a boxer in real life, so his sheer strength and intensity was intimidating,” she says. “I had to be sure to be fully alert and aware when sparring with him.”
The Dauntless also have a flair for knife-throwing, which proved to be one of the hardest tasks — both for the actors (Zoë Kravitz, who plays one of Tris’ fellow initiates, particularly struggled) and for the trainers.
“Knife-throwing for me, it’s a circus act,” says Perry. “It’s really hard to make it stick. If it bounces off [someone’s] chest, they’ll pick it up and run over and stab you with it.”
To train his pupils, Perry moved them incrementally back — from 4 feet to 12 feet — from their targets, to allow the knife a full turn and a half before, hopefully, sticking in the target. It was so difficult, 100 percent wasn’t even the goal.
“[James and Woodley] were sticking them probably 2 or 3 for 5 every times, which is outrageous for only having a month and a half of training,” says Perry.
The Dauntless are also known for their reckless abandon, which meant lots of stunts — jumping from roofs, climbing to extreme heights, zip-lining across the Chicago skyline.
“This [movie] had so many different things going on,” says Alicia Vela-Bailey, Woodley’s stunt double. “High free-falling, underwater stuff, fighting, working with animals, climbing a Ferris wheel. It kept you on your toes.”
The film’s 30 or so background stunt people also had their fair share of epic jumps — including off that train onto a hill, which meant they were airborne for 16 to 20 feet before landing on their feet. Warren enlisted parkour professionals for some of the most difficult shots.
He and Perry both agree though, that seeing the lead actors perform their work for the camera was when they were most proud.
”There’s this moment when [James] beats two guys up. I was in the monitor room, egging him on, ‘Come on, bro, let’s go!’ ” says Perry. “He really put a beating on those guys. One of those guys was limping for like three days. It was beautiful.”