Saw Divergent last night with group of mixed company.  Then to CREAM – decadent ice cream sandwiched with fresh baked warm cookies.  What’s not to like? No wonder the line seemed like nearly a block long… but no matter –  it went fairly fast and the wait was tolerable as all the kids were very entertaining:) overstimulated from the film. (and we were going to give them sugar… smart thinking as always after a bucket of popcorn…extra butter.).  So dietary exceptions were made and still have not given up on redemption …There’s the weekend to detox from high sugar and correct the course.

Watching movies at home is nice but it’s kind of like yoga, home practice vs. studio practice. Watching at a movie at a theater is so much better when you have a very participatory animated audience. I cannot give it away but when Theo James shows off his upper body sculpture, the crowd broke out in clapping applause, some whistled and some guy yelled out “He’s HOT!”. Yes, a guy… but all the girls were thinking that very same thought most likely:)  And during the much anticipated romantic scene ( I gave it away? It’s a bit obvious though), there were ooohs and ahhhhs, a big group exhale and giggling group of teen girls next to me… The movie is a tad violent but … in a context that it’s a Science Fiction, somehow acceptable as with old Western movies with violence of shooting and killing being acceptable…

So now have I become a Theo James fan ?  MNnnn, will leave that to the YA set:)

Who is Theo James?  Remember the Turkish Diplomat Lady Mary falls in love (infatuated…) with in Downton Abbey?  Yes, that’s him.  Did not recognize him in Divergent until that was pointed out to me.

Here’s an excerpt from Huffington Post Entertainment section:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Most movies made from young-adult best-sellers feature dashing leading men and “Divergent” is no exception. Taylor and Liam step aside. Soulful Brit Theo James could be the next YA obsession. The star of the 2013 CBS police drama “Golden Boy” is relatively unknown on the big screen. But as the adaptation of Veronica Roth’s sci-fi novel hits theaters on Friday, that’s about to change. … In “Divergent,” an action-thriller set in a dystopian future where everyone is divided into “factions” by their values, James plays the brave Tobias “Four” Eaton. Four dwells in the group named Dauntless and acts as a mentor and eventual love interest to heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley).

When “Divergent” producers Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher went looking for their hot hero, they did screen tests with about 20 would-be stars. “It was disaster after disaster because Shailene blew them away,” said Wick. “She’s so strong.” But after meeting James, “we were completely excited,” added Fisher. “He was tough, but he still had that ‘I can get hurt’ thing that James Dean had.” Once the 29-year-old actor was cast, fans took to social media to debate whether he was the right choice to play Four. Some felt he was too old for the role. Others thought he was too much of a pretty boy to portray the gritty character.

But James says he never caught a glimpse of the skepticism circulating about him. “Diving into Internet speculation is like playing with the devil,” he said. “It’s temping, of course. But I just had to believe that I could play the role a certain way.” … Sitting in a Los Angeles hotel room on a sunny afternoon, James was the farthest thing from cold or intimidating. A constant grin on his face, he often burst into a deep chuckle, especially when contemplating his new label: Heartthrob.

“My whole body just tensed up,” he said, adding that he’s “still not quite there” when it comes to feeling comfortable in his own skin. “But I’m not the boyish man I was at 25 when I was trying to prove myself to everyone all of the time. I do feel more confident now. But with acting especially, you climb one ladder and you see there are thousands more. There is a long way to go, yet.”

After high school, the Oxfordshire native attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (both Daniel Day-Lewis and Jeremy Irons are alums). Following two years of study, he took a few jobs acting in “terrible, deeply embarrassing short films” before landing a role in Woody Allen’s 2010 comedy “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.” “It was like six scenes, but it was a good job,” he recalls. That same year, he appeared in the popular British TV drama “Downton Abbey.” ”It was fun, but by no means did it change my life,” he said of the role. “I’d already had to hustle by the time it aired in America.”

Despite the hype surrounding “Divergent,” James says he’s sure he’ll continue to battle for roles after the movie comes out. “The things that I want to go for after this are going to be the things that I will have to fight for,” he says, adding that he admires the talent and choices of Oscar-nominated Michael Fassbender.

“This stage is very important because I don’t want to get banned into a category,” he says. Signed on to star in “Divergent” follow-ups “Insurgent,” which begins shooting in May, and “Allegiant,” he’ll play the bold hero for a few more years. But he’ll also appear in the upcoming mystery “London Fields,” opposite Amber Heard, and in the drama “Franny,” starring Dakota Fanning and Richard Gere.

“Sometimes the best parts are the leading men,” he says. “But the little parts can be similarly gratifying.”

– article by AP Film Writer Jessica Herndon