If you’ve been paying attention to the recent rash of dystopia-themed young adult literature being brought to the big screen, you’ve likely noticed a few patterns: square-jawed brunette boys with furrowed brows, societies divided into vocation-based factions, adults incapable of rectifying massive humanitarian crises, central leadership organizations that are either sociopathic or detached from the horrors they’ve created … or both. Mad Lib it out and you can probably generate your own best-seller!
But formulas aside, there’s one trend we’ve really been digging in the sad-future-for-teen-heroes genre: the icy, distinguished women who stand at the heart of the central conflicts. Just look at the casting these roles get. Julianne Moore as the intimidating rebel alliance leader in Friday’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1, Patricia Clarkson as a surprise scene-stealer in The Maze Runner, Meryl Streep as a scene-saver in The Giver. That’s six Emmys, three Oscars, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and nine Golden Globes just between those three women. Oh, and if you wanted to count Kate Winslet for her role in the Divergent franchise, you could add an Emmy, three more SAGs, an Oscar, three more Globes and a Grammy into that mix. NBD.
The point is, even if Maze Runner and Hunger Games are the only adaptations from this lot that have (so far) really succeeded in jumping from page to projector, these beautiful, bold cinematic stalwarts always deliver the goods, and in some cases, are the brightest spots in otherwise dull affairs. To honor their efforts of these key players we decided to enumerate their fantastic stats. Here’s everything you need to know about the real heroes of dystopian young adult cinema.
President Alma Coin
Murray Close/Lionsgate
Property: The Hunger Games franchise
Actress: Julianne Moore (2 Golden Globes, 1 Emmy, 1 SAG)
Position: President of the rebel stronghold in District 13
Strengths: Decisive, willing to sacrifice for the greater good, was able to establish a fortified stronghold
Weaknesses: Megalomaniacal, ruthless, underestimates the abilities of Katniss Everdeen
Chief Elder
David Bloomer/The Weinstein Company
Property: The Giver
Actress: Meryl Streep (3 Oscars, 8 Golden Globes, 2 Emmys, 2 SAGs)
Position: Elected leader of The Community
Strengths: Cautious, deliberate, pragmatic
Weaknesses: Mistrustful, myopic, motivated by fear
Jeanine Matthews
Lionsgate
Property: Divergent franchise
Actress: Kate Winslet (1 Oscar, 2 Golden Globes, 1 Emmy, 3 SAGs)
Position: Erudite Faction Leader
Strengths: Logical, highly intelligent, cunning
Weaknesses: Dispassionate, lacks empathy, hyper-focus results in lack of perspective
Chancellor Ava Paige
Philip Cheung/Getty Images
Property: The Maze Runner franchise
Actress: Patricia Clarkson (2 Emmys)
Position: Highest ranking official in the WICKED organization (World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department)
Strengths: Fights for the survival of humanity, operates from a fortified position
Weaknesses: Deceitful, manipulative
Lacey/The Seeker
Alan Markfield/Open Road Films
Property: The Host
Actress: Diane Kruger (1 SAG)
Position: Invading Soul tasked with tracking down the Human resistance
Strengths: Persistent, dedicated
Weaknesses: Obsessive, violent, devoid of a conscience
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