Watch THE GIVER Comic-Con Panel with Jeff Bridges and Lois Lowry
It’s been a long road, but in a couple of weeks Lois Lowry's young-adult sci-fi novel The Giver will finally be released as a major motion picture. Jeff Bridges had been trying to develop the film since the book was first released in 1993, originally planning to direct and have his father Lloyd play The Giver. Things have obviously changed, with Phillip Noyce directing and Jeff taking over the title role. The Weinstein Co. are hoping for a successful franchise with this property that predates all the YA dystopian films that have been flooding the market lately. The studio gave fans in attendance at their Comic-Con panel an extended look at the film, which better showcased the scope of the movie and the expansiveness of the world as the main character begins to see it as it really is.
Along with Lowry and Bridges, the panel also included producer Nikki Silver and actors Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush. Many of the audience questions were directed towards Lowry, who kept having to remind them that they were promoting the film. She did, however, clarify some misconceptions about the ending of the novel and how that transitions into the sequels. She also talked about the controversial parts of the book that caused it to be banned in certain parts of the world, one of which was cut from the script — it was also a part she was hoping to play herself. Bridges chronicled his involvement in getting the film made, and Thwaites and Rush talked about their approaches to the characters who were made older in the film than they are in the book.
Notable cast members who weren’t able to attend the panel were Meryl Streep, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, and Taylor Swift. The Giver will be released on August 15th, 2014.