'The Giver' Trailer Brings Lois Lowry's Classic Dystopian Novel To Life

Gird your loins, Millennials. The first trailer for "The Giver" (perhaps you know it as the book that got all deep on you in middle school) is here. It's full of stark, whitewashed interiors and wise people like Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep giving guidance. The story belongs to Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), who's exposed to a world beyond his cleansed utopia when he's selected to receive the memories of The Giver (Bridges), the only citizen who still knows the pain that used to exist in society.

The short trailer is plastered with sci-fi stylings, perhaps more so than the characterization-heavy 1993 novel by Lois Lowry. The movie also stars Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgård and Taylor Swift, who appears in the trailer in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. Naturally, the clip is full of prophetic statements, like when Meryl says, "When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong." Tough philosophy. Directed by Phillip Noyce ("Dead Calm," "Patriot Games"), "The Giver" opens Aug. 15.

Just in case you blink, here's Swift: