Not only were fans of Uglies worried whether an adaptation of Scott Westerfeld‘s book would ever see the light of day — so were the Netflix cast!
“I think it’s kind of abnormal for it to be three years after we filmed it, that it’s releasing,” Brianne Tju, who plays Shay, told J-14 Magazine exclusively.
An adaption to the wildly popular 2005 dystopian novel has been years in the making — facing multiple production delays caused by film rights changes. Fans finally breathed a sigh of relief when the adaptation finally found a home at Netflix, with filming taking place in late 2021. However, things went radio silent — until now.
“I think there were a lot of circumstances that led to that [delay], like the strikes,” Brianne revealed. “I think there was a time where we were a bit nervous that it might not come out, naturally, which would’ve just been so heartbreaking ’cause we love this project and we worked so hard on it.”
She added, “But we’re here and it’s happening and the world is gonna get to see it. And that is awesome.”
Keith Powers, who plays David in the film, says he’s “definitely a believer in divine timing,” so he knows that the wait “was for a reason.”
Uglies, which was finally released on Friday, September 13, is set in a dystopian fantasy world, where teens undergo a fictional operation to make them conform to the world’s beauty standards. Before receiving the surgery, citizens are considered an “Ugly,” but once they get the operation, they’re considered a “Pretty.” Following the story of Tally Youngblood, the books tell the story of her decision to either agree to the operation in order to fit in or rebel against her society. It has since spawned three sequels — Pretties, Specials and Extras.
Alongside Brianne and Keith, the Netflix film stars Joey King as Tally, Chase Stokes as Peris and Jan Luis Castellanos as Croy.
“I actually read the first book when I was in elementary school, [when] they had this Scholastic Book Fair,” Brianne admitted. “And I saw the cover, the cool cover of, like, half her face and I was like, ‘Yes, I’m gonna get this.’ And then I fell in love with it — and then I read it again before filming. And then I actually had to read it quite recently because I did the audio book.”
Brianne also revealed she’s most excited for fans to see how the actors brought the characters to life, noting that the movie is “perfectly cast.”
“I think as a book fan myself, what’s really cool to see is like the casting and who they found to play these characters that, you know, we’re brought to life in the book,” Brianne said. “Luckily, I think this movie is like perfectly cast.”
She added, “Everyone is so talented and really embodies the essence of their characters. So I think people are gonna be very satisfied with the casting of the movie.”
As for Keith, the Uglies actor said he’s most excited for fans to see the “word in general.”
“World building is always, you know, when you read a novel and you create this whole idea in your head, it is so fun to see what is depicted on screen — and like, catching the Easter eggs from the book and in the movie,” he added. Some book readers, they’re so invested, they remember every little thing. And I’m the kind of guy that has to go back a couple times. Like, I’m gonna miss the Easter eggs. But I hope the book readers see that and appreciate that.”
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