Movie Feast Thursday (2) - The Maze Runner & Fallen

Disclaimer: I haven't read the book so I couldn't do this. All rights are in the possession of Page To Premier. Although I didn't copy the whole post, it's not my writing, every line is a quotation I only channel it to you so that more people can see it!

Book To Trailer Breakdown: The Maze Runner

September 19th seems like a long time to wait (and it is), but in the meantime, that leaves plenty of time for those who haven’t gotten around to reading the book to do so. After a great WonderCon event, interviewing author James Dashner, director Wes Ball, and actors Will Poulter (Gally), and Dylan O’Brien (Thomas), we were inspired to connect the trailer to it’s related book moments. When you look carefully, so much is happening just in this one minute and fifty-eight second trailer. Warning: If you haven’t read the book, there will be Spoilers.

Synopsis: When Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape. Based upon the best-selling novel by James Dashner.

0:00 – 0:08

Metal ground against metal; a lurching shudder shook the floor beneath him. He fell down at the sudden movement and shuffled backward on his hands and feet, drops of sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air. His back struck a hard metal wall; he slid along it until he hit the corner of the room.
With another jolt, the room jerked upward like an old lift in a mine shaft.
Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory, echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls with a hollow, tinny, whine. (pg. 1)

0:14 – 0:21

A loud clank rang out above him and he sucked in a startled breath as he looked up. A straight line of light appeared across the ceiling of the room, and Thomas watch as it expanded. A heavy grating sound revealed double sliding doors being forced open. After so long in darkness, the light stabbed his eyes; he looked away, covering his face with both hands. (pg. 3)

0:21 – 0:25

“Hope you enjoyed the one-way trip, Greenie.” Thomas was hit with a wave of confusion, blistered with panic. (pg. 3)

0:28 – 0:31

As he rotated in a slow circle, the other kids snickered and stared…They stood in a vast courtyard several times the size of a football field, surrounded by four enormous walls made of gray stone and covered in spots with thick ivy. The walls had to be hundreds of feet high and formed a perfect square around them, each side split in the exact middle by an opening as tall as the walls themselves that, from what Thomas could see, led to passages and long corridors beyond. (pg. 5)

0:35 – 0:40
After already an eventful day one, Alby takes Thomas on The Tour where he shows him the four sections of the Glade: Gardens, Blood House, Homestead, and Deadheads.

Alby nodded. “Me and you, shank. The Tour begins now.” (pg. 41)

0:41 – 0:42
What could be going on here? Judging from other later moments in the trailer, studio might have eliminated when the sky remains gray (no more night) after Teresa “triggers the end.” This night shot where they hear an ominous roar outside the walls could be when the walls didn’t close, and Grievers were coming beginning of chapter 40. What do you think?

0:43 – 0:48
Right before the start of Day 2 (The Tour), Newt wakes Thomas before everyone else and takes him to the dust frosted window to show him a Griever in the Maze.

“Out there’s the Maze,” Newt whispered, eyes wide as if in a trance. “Everything we do–our whole life, Greenie–revolves around the Maze.” (pg. 38)

0:48 – 0:50
During Thomas’ tour with Alby, his curiosity gives him away. The Runners spark something in him he can’t explain.

“You think I sent Newt to ya before the wake-up just for kicks? Freak, Number One Rule, the only one you’ll never be forgive for breaking. Ain’t nobody–nobody–allowed in the Maze expect the Runners. (pg. 46)

The Map Room How cool is this? I really like how they approached it as a 3D model instead of just paper and pencils. In the book, we officially get to see inside on page 205.

0:54 – 0:55
GRIEVERS
Our first glimpse of the “large, bulbous creature the size of a cow but no distinct shape twisted and seethed along the ground.” “Wicked instrument-tipped appendages” that “protruded from it’s body like arms: a saw blade, a set of shears, long rods whose purpose could only be guessed. The creature was a horrific mix of animal and machine…”

And then something rounded the corner up ahead, and came toward them. Something he’d seen before, but through the safety of thick glass. Something unspeakable. A Griever. (pg. 125)

0:56 – 1:00
Newt entertaining Thomas’ many questions throughout the beginning of the book.

1:01
With Thomas’ look of fascination, could this be day one as a runner with Minho, Keeper of the Runners?

Thomas looked at Minho, matched his suddenly hard gaze. “I’m ready.”
“Then let’s go runnin’.” (pg. 209)

1:02 – 1:03 New Addition Alert
Gross W.C.K.D. 9643021 instrument. This is new. Minho and I assume, Thomas have found something from the Creators covered in Griever goo. Clearly, from Minho’s expression, this is new to him too.

1:04
Thomas’ resolve and boldness here could be either his suggestion to Minho to stay overnight in the Maze to follow and see where the Grievers go in the day, or after he retrieves his memories, and he shares the escape plan.
“I think it’s time we find out what we’re really up against.” -Thomas (trailer)

1:05 – 1:07 New Addition Alert
OoOo! What is this hole with the creepy red scanning lights? In the trailer (couldn’t retrieve a decent still) we see Thomas almost fall off a Cliff which leads to the mysterious Griever Hole in the book, but this looks as though it could be a different alternative to the Griever hole. You think?

1:08 – 1:10

Gally is definitely not fond of Thomas. Specifically during a Gathering meeting with the Keepers, Gally wanted Thomas punished and locked up.

“There’s too many weird things going on, and it all started when this shuck-face Greenie showed up. And he just happens to be the first person to survive a night out in the Maze.” (pg. 157)

1:11 – 1:15
In the trailer she gives way to knowing Thomas off the bat from the Box instead of later in the Homestead. Will she also deliver the famous eerie message?

Newt looked down in the box one more time, then faced the crowd, gravely.
“It’s a girl,” he said. Everyone started talking at once; Thomas only caught pieces here and there. (pg. 54)

“Everything is going to change.”
Thomas stared in wonder as her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell back to the ground. Her right fist shot into the air as she landed, staying rigid after she grew still, pointing to the sky. Clutched in her hand was a wadded piece of paper.
She’s the last one. Ever. (pg. 57)

1:16 New Addition Alert
Aw, is this a boy bonding moment? Did the boys build a Griever “Scarecrow” and ritually took a stand by burning it? That’s my guess. What’s yours?

1:17 – 1:19
Wes Ball has confirmed that there will be no mind communication between Thomas and Theresa. Makes you wonder when and how they will communicate all the things they shared together in the book.

“Wonder why we can do this”, he called out with his mind…
“I think someone altered our brains, put something in there so we could do this telepathy thing. Before we came here. Which is makes me think we already knew each other…I think we did something big.” (page 283)

1:21
The walls are moving! Is this in the beginning, after Thomas breaks the Number One Rule, and Minho and him are returning to the Glade to check on Alby? (pg. 141-143)

1:23 – 1:24
Is Chuck being taken by a Griever? This looks like one of the nights in the Homestead, once the Griever’s starting coming, taking one kid a night, once the end was triggered. Chapter 39 was the first, then Chapter 46, Thomas did the unthinkable. Was Chuck being taken an incentive for Thomas to go through with his plan?

1:24.5
Ben running after Thomas from the Deadheads to kill him, after coming out of The Changing.

The boy burst through the trees before Thomas could finish. He saw only a flash of pale skin and enormous eyes–the haunted image of an apparition–and cried out, tried to run, but it was too late. (pg. 70-71)

1:25 New Addition Alert
Why is Gally in a high tech water tube? This new addition looks very interesting. This is definitely not taking place inside the Glade. The only other time in book one we saw anything high tech like this was in the end when they encounter the Creators. Any theories?

1:26
This seems to be the group leaving the Glade for the Griever Hole. I can even spot Teresa’s hair.

By the end of the day, the Gladers had turned into a small army. A very pathetic, ill-prepared army, Thomas thought, but an army all the same. (pg. 323)
Soon shouts and battle calls broke out, rising in volume, filling the air like thunder…Tonight, they’d fight. Tonight, they’d make their stand, once and for all. (pg. 328)

1:26.5
Newt’s attacking Ben? Does Newt come to Thomas’ rescue instead of Alby? (pg. 74) Or did something happen right before Ben’s banishment to cause Newt to attack him? (pg. 92-95)

1:27
If I could read lips, Minho looks to be screaming for someone to, “Run!”

1:27.5
Teresa looks like she’s being taken to the Slammer by blondie (either Billy or Jackson). (pg. 240)

1:28 New Addition Alert

Why is the Maze falling apart? I repeat, holy moly, why is the Maze falling apart?

1:31 – 1:38
Thomas breaks Number One Rule.

“Don’t do it Tommy! Don’t you bloody do it!”
The rods on the right wall seemed to reach like stretched-out arms for their home, grasping for those little holes that would serve as their resting place for the night…Five feet. Four feet. Three. Two.
Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting robs at the last second and stepped into the Maze. (pg. 112)

New stills

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40 Things I Learned From The Cast, Producer, And Director On The Set Of ‘The Maze Runner’

I traveled to the set of The Maze Runner in June 2013, and got to chat with the director Wes Ball, the producer Wyck Godfrey, and actors including Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. These are portions of my interviews compiled into 40 of my favorite things I learned from the talent I got to chat with. Stay tuned, since I’ll eventually be publishing the full interviews. After you read this post, be sure to check out my “follow along with me on my adventure” post, in which I give you the low down on my set tour.

The film was directed by Wes Ball, and is based on the novel by James Dashner. It hits theaters on September 19th, 2014. Get excited everyone, because this film is going to be amazing.

DYLAN O’BRIEN: THOMAS

His hair almost cost him the role of Thomas!

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “Just like anything, I just auditioned for it. It’s funny. The way Wes told me it happened was, at first, I went in on it initially with the casting director, just like everybody. I didn’t hear back for like a month and a half, because Wes was like, “His hair is too MTV!” That’s what he thought, which was so funny. Then he saw a picture of me with more regular hair, the buzzcut or something from “Teen Wolf,” and he brought me back and it worked. [Looks at my recorder.] Is this on Airplane Mode? That’s hilarious! [Laughs] Yeah, it just ended up working out.”

On Thomas’ unique relationship with Kaya Scodelario’s Teresa:

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “We have a connection. We kind of just make each other feel safe in a way. It’s surprisingly unromantic, but I think that’s good. It’s so uncliche in a perfect way. We don’t have a kiss at the end of the movie. It’s really nice. It’s a companionship.”

Will Poulter was Dylan’s on-set boyfriend:

[Will Poulter (Gally) passes by and calls out, "I love you Dylan!"]
DYLAN O’BRIEN: “That’s Will. He’s my boyfriend here. You have to latch onto somebody while you’re working. It is a little bit like prison, what we do here.”

On going up against Will Poulter (Gally), who is his friend in real life:

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “It’s actually uncomfortable! We’re so funny. Even tonight, what we’re doing right now. We wrestle. He’s vicious. He’s scowling. He’s the antagonist of the movie and I’m the protagonist. Wes always says we’re opposite sides of the same coin, so we’re always supposed to be butting heads. Even after every take, he’ll go, “Are you okay?” I’ll go, “Yeah, are you?” He’ll go, “Yeah, but oh, I hit your knee!” And I go, “Yeah, my knee is fine! But how’s your elbow?” It’s just hilarious. We’re buddies off screen, as we all are. Having to then just act, like, awful to each other. It’s always weird with acting.”

Would be be able to sacrifice himself for his friends like Thomas does when he goes after Minho and Alby?

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “When you think about it, I think it gets in your way, in your head about it. But instinctively, I’m always one who will lash out at anyone hurts my friends, viciously, kind of. Like, murder. [Laughs] No, but I’m very protective of the people I love. Sacrificing is a whole other thing. I don’t think you often come to that situation in life. But it’s a primal instinct, but maybe. Put me in that situation and we’ll find out!”

On working with Blake Cooper, who plays Chuck:

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “It’s the easiest thing in the world. I can’t imagine any other kid being Chuck. Blake is such a great kid. I wish I was like that when I was 12. He’s so smart and professional. He understands things. When Wes gives him a note, he does it, and does it great. He’s really impressive. I don’t understand how I would’ve been able to act when I was 12, on a set, around all of us, who are in our 20s, and we can hang out with him. He fits right in. As far as the character goes, he’s got Chuck down. He is Chuck. It’s great working with him.”

On working with Wes Ball, the director:

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “He is the most laidback human being. I haven’t worked with a director who is a crazy person at all. I’ve had really good experiences with the directors I’ve worked with so far, which is part of the reason I was able to get those jobs. Having a connection and chemistry with a director is really key. Wes is fantastic. He’s so prepared, which is very important for the schedule we have to shoot this movie on. But the guy drew a maze. He has this whole huge picture in his head, of what we’re doing here, some of which we’re not even seeing in this movie. It’s just for him. It’s for his understanding of the world, and he understands it inside and out. He understands it more than anybody. And as a person, my God, have you talked to the guy? He’s so cool. He’s so relaxed. I don’t think a temper exists in him. He’s confident, quietly, very stoically confident. But not arrogant in any way. There isn’t a shred of that. He just knows what he wants. He’s incredible. I think he’s going to be a star.”

On stunts:

DYLAN O’BRIEN: “I’m always game to do it. I have to realize though that there are some things I can’t pull off as well as a stuntman can. There’s a compromise. I have to know sometimes that it’s better to let the stunt guy do it. Like, rolling down a hill. There was a scene where I had to trip and roll down a hill. There’s no way that A) the production was going to let me do that, or B) that I could pull that off take after take. So it’s a compromise with your stuntman. You let him make you look awesome for that frame.”

WES BALL: DIRECTOR

On his crazy week when he got The Maze Runner:

WES BALL: “I showed the studio all of this [Maze Runner] concept artwork and at the end of the meeting [with Emma Watts, the production president at Fox], and she’s like “Great, you’re our director.” That was it. That was on a Monday morning, so then Tuesday comes about, Tuesday morning or something I get a call saying “We want you to direct this movie, but we are going to withhold the offer right now, because we see we have you on the books coming in on Wednesday to pitch RUIN.” So I come in after that Tuesday after basically hopefully getting a movie, I went in and pitched RUIN that Wednesday morning and we sold that in the room. So by the end of that Wednesday I had two movies with Fox. It’s crazy. It’s nuts.”

Wes Ball’s short film, Ruin, which helped him land Maze Runner:

On finding Blake Cooper (Chuck) via Twitter:

WES BALL: “So I’m on Twitter a lot and I’ve gotten in trouble a couple of times already for revealing too much, but I’ve had a lot of people come up and say “Can you please cast me? Here’s my audition tape” and there’s this one kid in particular who just kept bugging me and was like “I’m totally your Chuck!” I finally said, “Okay, fine. Get your audition tape. Go get in touch with Denise Chamian,” who is fantastic and the best casting director ever. He was this on wild card guy where I said “Get in touch with Denise.” He basically had twenty-four hours to get the sides, put his little tape together, send it off to Denise, Denise got in touch with me the next morning and is like “Oh my god, watch this tape. This kid is amazing.” We watched the tape and it was like “Oh my god, this kid is fantastic.” He’s twelve years old and you would not know it. That kid is so mature, it’s ridiculous and he’s a real trooper. He was sick last night, but he still came in and did his work. We shot like five and a half pages last night with him and it’s fantastic stuff, so I lucked out.”

On introducing Dylan O’Brien and Kaya Scodelario, and more, to the world:

WES BALL: “I had this dream of this being like TAPS or one of those movies that you look back on where it’s like “Oh, there’s him and him.” It’s like we are seeing all of these people, like Kai in particular where it’s like no one knows her from her UK work. I think we are going to introduce her in this world and I think we are going to fall in love with this girl. She is fantastic. It’s the same thing with Dylan. I think he’s a star and you’re going to see a lot of him soon. Amel is this fantastic actor. Will… I mean all of these guys. I hit the jack pot.”

On seeing thousands during the casting process:

WES BALL: “It was tough. I saw thousands and thousands of people. Dylan was actually… I saw him early on, very early on and I overlooked him. It was a big learning experience there, because I overlooked him because of his hair. He had teen wolf hair and I couldn’t see past that and so we were looking for our Thomas and it’s a tough role to make, because he comes in as a boy and he leaves as a man, so it cant’ be like this badass action star that comes into this movie. It’s about vulnerability up front and then he comes out of it and comes into his own and then the next movies are about the leader that emerges from the group. So finally Fox says “We just did this movie, INTERNSHIP. There’s this kids that’s in this thing. He’s like twenty years old. We think he’s kind of got something.” So I watched his tape and was like “Wait a minute, I’ve seen this kid before.” I looked him up online and there was one picture of him with a totally shaved head and it’s this sweet vulnerable looking kid and I was like “Whoa, interesting.” I said, “Wait a minute, he’s just so familiar” and I looked back at my old audition tapes, which we had thousands of, and there’s Dylan. That guy I said “No, definitely not him.” So we brought him back in and we started to talk with him and I’m like “oh my god,” he’s the coolest dude ever. His dad is in the industry, has done some camera operating stuff, so he’s been around it. He knows what it means to work. He’s a pro. So yeah, it’s interesting, that whole process.”

Wes Ball always wanted Kaya Scodelario for the role of Teresa:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “I wanted Kaya from the very beginning. I just saw her. I had seen SKINS and stuff and she was much younger, but you see it in the fan responses. I think we’ve got some tremendous response to our casting so far. Everyone is like “Of course. That’s Gally” or “Of course, that’s Teresa!” Teresa is always described as “pale, dark hair, tough girl” and that’s Kaya. She’s gorgeous, but it’s a natural beauty. It’s not like a supermodel beauty and I can’t wait for people to actually meet Kaya on this movie. I think she’s going to be fantastic.”

WYCK GODFREY: PRODUCER

Producer Wyck Godfrey consulted with his young sons, who are fans of James Dashner’s novels, while casting.

WYCK GODFREY: “Wyatt, my oldest son, when we talked about Dylan O’Brien, initially was like, ‘He’s just too cool. Thomas is more vulnerable!’ I sent him a picture when we were out here of Dylan with his hair down. It’s like he’s a different guy than the Teen Wolf guy. Obviously he’s an actor, but it makes him seem so much younger. Wyatt was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s him. That’s perfect.’”

Wyck Godfrey talks what Wes Ball brings to the project as director.

WYCK GODFREY: “Vision. Nobody had really thought visually about what the movie of ‘Maze Runner’ could look like in a way that excited us. I can show you things! The scale, the grand graphic scale and the scope of what was in his brain was the first time even I, having read the books, went ‘Oh my God, it could be that?’ You know? That’s cool! It’s so much bigger and complicated and epic than anything I had in my head when I read the books.”

The entire cast spent the night in the Glade.

WYCK GODFREY: “I know it was Wes’ originally, before they showed up he was like ‘Man, I’d really love to have a campout night at the Glade.’ Of course I was like ‘Well, I’m not sure we should do that!’ Then the actors came and did bootcamp out here and they were working with this ranger that was teaching them all this survivalist stuff, and at some point they brought it up independently to him. They said, ‘Can we stay out here?’ Wes was like ‘Yes!’ So we set them up out here, we gave them tents, we didn’t make them sleep completely exposed. So, they spent the night out here! It’s a completely different place when there’s nobody around. You can hear when you walk around the noise of all the creatures and stuff. They had one of their most severe thunderstorms at around 3 in the morning, and it just unloaded on them. It rained like five inches in like four hours, it was insane. So they were good and ready to come back at like seven in the morning!”

On the choice to shoot on location in Louisiana for the Glade instead of on a sound stage.

WYCK GODFREY: “It was vital. Honestly the thing was that none of us wanted to make an all blue screen movie. The thing about the description of the Glade is that it feels like a meadow. The juxtaposition of the natural world with science around it is really interesting, and you know, Louisiana has got tons of stuff like that. We basically spent weeks and weeks just going from field to field that had the right dimensions. This is the thing that Wes is great at. He can walk in and immediately know, from his visual effects background, ‘I can shoot here, and put the walls in here,’ or ‘No, that doesn’t work for this reason.’ We tried to limit how many times we actually have to see the walls, we obviously want to tell the story, and we want to feel them. Just the nature of it being surrounded by trees let the actors feel like they’re surrounded by walls. Yet every time you look at the village, we’re into woods and a hill, so you don’t have to see the wall in the background of every shot. We looked long and hard. We had this prison-land at one point we were going to do, then it was pulled. They basically said they needed to move their cows to the field when we were shooting so we couldn’t shoot there. It bounced around a lot, but we’re really happy with what we found here.” 

On creating the scenes inside the maze in CGI:

WYCK GODFREY: “You saw with the wall, everything we’ve built is just going to be the beginning of what’s beyond it in CGI. So, if we’ve got a twenty foot wall out there it’s going to be 150 feet. Same thing on stage! We’ve taken over a Sam’s Club that was defunct, and took over the entire warehouse. We’ve built we’ve kind of 16 foot walls that we can move around to create the different shapes of the maze. It’s got the ivy growing up it, and all that. Wes’ vision is that the first part of the maze is kind of like your traditional maze. It’s kind of like The Shining. You know, narrow walls, dark, but once you get through that, there’s what we call ‘The Inner Ring,’ which is almost like huge scale, like highway width. The walls are much taller, and wider. It get’s much more daunting because you think you’ve cracked it, and then you’ve made it to another section that seems impenetrable. It’s kind of eight sections surrounding the inner part of the maze and then the Glade is in the middle. So, we build what we can and put blue screen above it. We’ve got special pieces, like table tops, where he gets up on a wall and runs across it. We’ve got it elevated with blue screen, we’ve got walls he can jump on and climb. We’ve got this kind of full CG world once you get out into this huge expanse.”

The Gladers had a week-long boot camp.

WYCK GODFREY: “They would come out, do a bunch of survival stuff, then we would rehearse scenes. The thing that is so great is they really did form a bond. Even the extras did too! The extras were here everyday – they all have relationships, and you can see when we do these big wide shots, it’s not like your standard extras. They all now know each-other, and are communing in a way that feels very natural.”

The Baton Rouge location had to be altered minorly to become the Glade:

WYCK GODFREY: “We actually pulled all the wood that has built the set from the woods here. So, we cut and built it all. We had to build roads, because all these roads weren’t actually here. So we have a main road going in. We actually enhanced the pond in the middle, we built that pond that is in the very middle of the Glade. Then, the walls and stuff were put up.”

KAYA SCODELARIO: TERESA

Kaya Scodelario talks creating the Thomas / Teresa dynamic on screen with Dylan O’Brien:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “I love Dylan. He’s the cutest thing ever. 
He’s so funny and sweet. He’s like my little brother. He’s very cool. It’s an interesting relationship between them. It’s very cool. There’s no romantic link. They’re two souls who feel a connection to one another but they’re so focused on trying to work out why they’re in this place and why they don’t have any memories and who put them there which is right. That’s what they would be feeling. They wouldn’t suddenly be like “I love you.” They’re very much focused on the story in hand and in trying to work out why these kids have been put into this situation. And it’s great working with him. He’s got so much energy. He’s so much fun. I really love him. He’s a dude.”

On how she got the role of Teresa:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “I had heard about it. A lot of my friends told me that there is this really cool script going around called The Maze Runner and I thought it’s going to be another stupid female role where she is in love with loads of people and she doesn’t know what to do. They said, no, she’s actually a really good female part. She’s really strong and intelligent and it’s exciting. I loved the script. I found it really interesting. Then I put myself on tape because I was back in England and that was it really, it was quite strangely done in that way that I didn’t have to fly out to America. Wes told me he didn’t want her to be a damsel in distress. I totally got that.”

Kaya describes Teresa:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “She’s tough. The one thing I never wanted her to be was the token female who was just scared and everyone was protecting. She doesn’t need protecting. The first time you see her she has a machete which I think is really cool. She’s tough, she holds her own and she also wants to find answers and she wants to know why she’s here.”

Her first scene:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “It’s really cool! I come up in this box and I open my eyes and there’s like fifty boys. It’s great! (Laughs) But seriously, she kind of bursts on to the scene and everything starts going wrong from there. It was a lot of fun and it was actually the first scene I shot, so it was good to have that kind of energy. It was terrifying walking onto the set with all of these guys and being the only female and being English and being in America and all of these crazy things. So it was easy to be freaked out by the situation but it went really well. It looks awesome. The doors how they open and everything, it’s very cool.”

On working with the director, Wes Ball:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “He’s very free which is great. He puts a lot of trust in to you. He lets you do your thing. He’s also very open to changing the script or working through a scene if it doesn’t feel right and that’s the perfect relationship. He doesn’t make us feel as though he’s on a higher level to us and we can’t speak to him. He’s incredibly open. He’s incredibly personal and intelligent and all these things a good director should be. And he has this amazing CGI and technical special effects background but he’s also totally human. He’s been great to work with.”

On what she and the guys do when they aren’t filming:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “We’ve been going to the cinema a lot. I love that over here you can watch films at midnight, you can’t do that back home. So we’ve been going to late night movies a lot which has been fun.”

On reading the series:

KAYA SCODELARIO: “I’ve read the first book. I’m holding off reading the second and third book because I don’t want to know what happens. I think it’s great to be able to into something completely fresh and experience it. We’re so lucky to be filming on location. We camped out the first week here and all of us were like: “Oh God, this is terrifying!” The sound of nature and the snakes and spiders is really intimating! I’m from London; I’m not used to that at all! You can feel the environment straight away; I didn’t feel like I needed to research anything which is good.”

KI HONG LEE: MINHO

Ki Hong Lee shared his reaction when he got the part of Minho.

KI HONG LEE: “I went in and I auditioned like everybody else, got a call back, kept getting call backs. And I could feel it, I could feel it, like the role was there, I could feel it but it wasn‟t mine yet ya know? And it was torture for like a month, two months or something. I finally got the call, I got the call from my agent he said “Ok, the wait is over, you got it” and I was like [silence]… He’s like “Do you need a couple minutes?” I was like “Yeah!” (laughs) I hung up the phone and ran to my mom and like “MOM, I GOT IT I GOT IT!” It was craziness for five minutes.”

On Minho’s personality:

KI HONG LEE: “Eventually it kinda winds down to me just being the most physical, the most physically gifted and just being fast. It just ended up me being the keeper of the runners. Minho’s character is very efficient so he doesn’t talk much. When he does talk, he means it and he gets straight to the point. He’s a bit sarcastic at times.”

On the celebration scene they were shooting that night (which includes the wrestling match between Gally & Thomas):

KI HONG LEE:”For me personally, for my character, it’s not a celebration of another month, it’s just another
reminder, for Minho’s character, that a month has gone by without him successfully
finding a way out of the maze. So, it’s a very different feeling for him. But, all in all, it’s
a celebration. A crazy, wild celebration and hopefully it’ll translate well.”

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER: NEWT

Thomas Brodie-Sangster keeps his British accent, but changes it in a minor way.

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER: “[Newt] is not quiet as clipped as I am. I’ve got a bit more London.”

Thomas Brodie-Sangster talks not overwhelming himself with reader expectations.

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER: “I take [Newt] on and I deal with the character in a personal way. I concentrate solely on that and if I make that work then I can only hope that fans appreciate that. You can’ t please everyone. Everyone’s got their own idea of who should be in their head. So I can only do what I think is right and hope that that works for everyone else.”

On getting to know Dylan O’Brien:

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER:Dylan is a very funny, very lovely guy. It’s not hard to get along with him. He’s a very individual, lovely guy. I mean, he’s friend to me, and it wasn’t very hard. I mean, genuinely, we all get on very very well with each other. We’re all very very different. We all have very different ways of being, but we’ve all come together and we all get on very very well.

On his character, Newt:

THOMAS BRODIE SANGSTER: “Newt is second in command after Alby. He is kind of the nice and approachable guy. He’s very friendly and open towards everyone. He doesn’t really have any animosity towards anyone and kind of looks after everyone a bit. He’s a, I think he has settled in to life in the glade and understands how everything works, but I don’t believe he enjoys being trapped. I think he’s still aware that it’s a prison. That he’s sent there. I don’t think he really enjoys it. So when Thomas comes up and shows a completely different approach and a different way of thinking I think it excites him. Even though he kind of wants to enforce the rules of the glade upon the people because of his rank I think he, I think he’s desperate to get out.”

On why they spent the night on location at the Glade:

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER: “The reason behind it was two reasons; We wanted to bond together and also make that feel like our home as if we had lived there for three years or so. And it was great, and it was great fun, despite the rain coming down and ruing it all. It was still, it was really fantastic. I mean, even know there’s like 300 crew members down there but when it’s completely dark and everyone’s quiet, just the sounds this place makes it’s just incredible. I think all of that is important to take into trying to develop a character. I think if you’re completely immersed in the surroundings you’re supposed to be in it makes quite a difference. So yeah, it was really enjoyable and I really liked that. It was great fun.”

He was first introduced to the film through auditions for Gally and Newt.

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER: “It was an audition that came up to go out for Newt and Gally. And I read the script and really liked it and enjoyed it. I liked the camaraderie of, the brother of boys coming together and I just liked the relationship between them all. That’s the main thing that sold it to me. And then when I found out I got Newt I actually, that was the character I preferred, nothing suited me more.”

CHRIS SHEFFIELD: BEN

Chris Sheffield shared differences between Ben in the film vs. the novel:

CHRIS SHEFFIELD: “We definitely stay true to the book. Specifically with Ben there are some differences. Ben’s a runner in the movie; Ben’s not a runner in the book. ‘The Changing’ is, I’m just going to say, takes you by surprise in the movie…for sure. You’ll definitely love Ben and then you’ll just have to see what happens.”

In the film, Ben is a high ranking runner:

CHRIS SHEFFIELD: “Ben is also a veteran runner. Second, right hand man to Minho. Definitely been around the glade for at least a year and a half. The main, the important thing about Ben is that my role really sets up a lot in the story. Ben really establishes the danger, the risk, the unpredictability involved in the maze, involved in what the runners do.”

In the script, the runners are described as war veterans:

CHRIS SHEFFIELD: “There’s one line specific in the script, it’s just text it’s not dialogue, that describes the runners. It says that they look like war veterans who haven’t gotten used to being back in civilian life. That’s really interesting and a strong statement. And kind of represent exactly how the runners fit in with the group. Cuz we see a lot that nobody else see’s, ever. And you know he (Ki Hong) talked about what we do and the most important thing Minho really instills in all the runners is for us to try to bring back hope. Because, we are the way out, that’s it. This is all we know and all we have is each other.”

On bringing a beloved book character to life:

CHRIS SHEFFIELD: “I think the biggest thing is the fans and the book. I mean I’ve never brought a character that’s so well known to life before. From literature. There’s a lot of pressure and it’s exciting and I’m excited to see what happens with the movie. I think that it genuinely will do really well and I’m very excited for everybody.”

‘Fallen’ Filming Wraps – 3 New Stills From The Set

That’s a wrap

And that is it everyone! Shooting for Fallen has now completed! In the last few days, Lauren Kate has posted images on her Instagram from the set of the upcoming movie, said to be released in 2015. And fans of the books will not be disappointed, it seems that the set department have gone to incredible lengths to recreate the fantastical world that is predominantly based in and around the reform school, Sword&Cross. Kate also teased fan’s in one of her images with…

“Stay tuned for something exciting…”

‘Fog rolling across Sword&Cross’ #FallenMovie (Instagram @laurenkatebooks)

Where do you think this intricate piece is set in? Fallen has many dark contexts and scenes, doesn’t the fog mixed with the eerie trees in the backdrop send a little shiver down your spine?

‘Guess who? Devil or Angel?’ #FallenMovie (Instagram @laurenkatebooks)

We think this magnificent costume may be worn by a Devil by the name of Cam. The detailing from the jewellery, to the worn belt portrays how much work has gone into bringing ‘Fallen’ from book to life.