‘Uglies’ Star Joey King Talks Producing Netflix Film

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for Uglies on Netflix.

Uglies star and producer Joey King first became aware of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies book series when she was 11 years old, and now more than 10 years later, her pitch to adapt the first book into a film to Netflix will yield its result.

Uglies is based in a futuristic society that requires teenagers to get a cosmetic surgery once they turn 16 to make them “pretty,” or devoid of facial flaws with a toned body. Tally Youngblood (King) dreams of the day she can have the operation and get a symmetrical face, until her new friend Shay (Brianne Tsu) runs away to the rumored community known as The Smoke with the myserious man David (Keith Powers), and Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox) sends her after Shay with the blackmail that she will never get surgery if she doesn’t retrieve her missing friend. Finding The Smoke and meeting David expose Tally to a whole new world and way of thinking, which challenges everything she thought she knew about her community and society.

“I was 11 years old when I read these books, and they were so impactful to me at that age, and they really helped carry me through my teen years. I was about 17 or 18 when I pitched Uglies to Netflix to make as a movie,” King told Deadline. “It wasn’t until I was 22 that we actually filmed them, and now I’m 25 and they’re finally coming out. So I have been with this book for a really, really long time, and I think it’s really cool because I’ve gone through so many changes as an actress and as a person in this industry, and so having this be something that I can really just give a nod to my younger self is really special. It’s crazy how long it took to get here.”

In the below interview, King spoke about how the film fits into the category of YA dystopian films like Divergent and The Maze Runner and what she hopes resonates with audiences nearly 20 years after the books were published.

Can you talk more about getting Uglies pitched and how you feel like it’ll resonate still after all that time?

King: It’s a crazy thing to look back at the journey of getting this made and getting here today, but also how meaningful it is for the 11 year old self of mine. I’m really excited, because when I read the book, I was the target audience for this. I just had an interview today with a woman who watched it with her 11 year old and her 13 year old, and they felt so moved by it, and that’s really who it’s intended for. It helped me through my teenage years, so much, and so I hope that this is very helpful for anyone going through their years of formative awkwardness, excitement, rage, all of it in combined, in one. And it’s like my last time, playing this young age, and I’m really excited about, how important this message was to me.

How is it different from The Hunger Games and Divergent, but how does it add to that conversation and genre?

King: It’s funny because everyone’s saying ‘Oh, this is really bringing back the dystopian YA world?, and it’s kind of funny because the timing, it wasn’t necessarily intentionally bringing it back. Of course it was something that was very relevant at the time. The book is almost at its 20 year anniversary, which is absolutely unbelievable. I love the world of the sci-fi, YA dystopian novel, and I think it’s just something that is a little bit nostalgic and special. The younger generation can hopefully appreciate it, and the people who have grown up with those other films can find the joy in like revisiting the genre.

What was producing like for you? Were you involved in casting?

King: I learned so much as a producer on this, because it was one of my first times really tackling that. There was a lot to learn, but I was very involved in the casting process, which was so fun, because I got to meet some of the most wonderful people through that, Brianne, Chase and Keith, and seeing the whole enchilada, like how it was made from the development process to the script writing process to how all the iterations that happened before we actually got on set. I was really like standing and watching this process, and I feel like I learned so much from it that I now feel more comfortable as a producer having more questions and more opinions, and I learned so much by seeing how this all happened.

What were your conversations like with author Scott Westerfield?

King: He’s so wonderful. Growing up, being such a fan of books, and then getting to meet him when I did, and talking about my passion for Tally and the whole story, I’m sure he’s heard it all before. Everyone saw themselves in Tally growing up. I think every young woman who read this story, was like, “I want to be Tally when I’m older.” Being able to tell him how much this book meant to me, and be able to have him be part of it and make a cameo appearance, it was all really, really surreal. My sister Kelly is the one who introduced me to the books growing up. So having that moment where he was on set, I was freaking out with my sister, and it was a really special thing to have Scott be involved.

DEADLINE: How long did the hoverboarding scenes take to film? Do you have any stories from trying to capture that?

King: It was so much fun. We got to be on harnesses and these hoverboard tracks. It was very, very cool, and also very cool to see it come to life in the movie, because it’s so different from when you film it, because it’s just a bunch of green screen of course. As someone who read the book, I always kind of thought about that piece of it, like, “How the hell are we going to do that?” Getting to do it on set with Brianne was so fun.

DEADLINE: Did you have any conversations with Laverne going into the dynamic between her villain character and Tally? What was it like with her as a scene partner and talking about all of that?

King: Laverne is such an icon, and she was so excited to come on board to this film, which was amazing and special. And we had some amazing, thoughtful conversations about her role and how she wanted to play with it. It was really cool to see her bring that character to life and have this juicy, villainous arc, and I loved her involvement in that. I love how she played it, and getting to work with someone like Laverne was really, really special. I am such a fan of hers, and she was a joy, and was always bringing the positive energy on set, which is amazing because she played the villain.

DEADLINE: With Chase’s character Paris and Keith’s character David, what do sides they bring out of Tally, in the love triangle?

King: If you’re a book fan, you know how complicated that triangle is, Peris is ultimately her best friend. But of course, there is a spark there, and there’s so much love there between them. David represents an entirely new way of thinking for her in a new world, and just, is connected to the parts of her that are more of her new self and her new thinking. It’s really conflicting, because Tally is very loyal in the way that she will always love Peris, but she has to let go of the things that are holding her back in her past. It’s very conflicting.

DEADLINE: Tally keeps her scar, despite getting the surgery in the end. What does that say about her strength and as an ugly turned pretty versus, Peris letingt go of his?

King: Tally is one of those people that she has such a very big arc with her growth throughout the movie, in terms of how, when we first meet her, she’s all in on the surgy, so on board with just the life that she’s presented and the government as is. And then she grows so much into wanting to make choices for herself and not wanting to go along with Dr. Cable and her plan. It’s just another nod to the fact that Tally is so strong and has so much strength in her and is willing to do whatever it takes to fight back and really fight for a future where people are able to choose, and having that scar be there is such a big symbol for what’s to come.

DEADLINE: There are some open threads to that ending. Would you want to come back for sequels with the four books in the series?

Who knows? You never know. I’m really excited to see how people respond to this film, and I really hope that the message resonates and people enjoy themselves. I can’t wait to see how they respond to this one and how they connect with the characters.

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