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“The past can be escaped only by embracing something better.”
Nicholas Sparks
I should know that sitting down to read a book by Nicholas Sparks means I won’t likely get anything done for at least a few hours. As one of my favorite authors, I always find myself quickly immersed within the story and characters, because his writing is so gripping and relatable. Earlier this Spring, I headed to New Orleans to spend some time talking to Sparks and the actors that star in Relativity Media’s soon-to-be released film, The Best of Me, based on Sparks’ book of the same name.
The Best of Me tells the story of Dawson and Amanda, former high school sweethearts reunited 20 years later at the funeral of an esteemed friend. The love they had is quickly reignited, but the forces that drove them apart continue to threaten their relationship. The film, which is told from the perspective of Dawson and Amanda at 2 different stages of life, depicts the power of first true love and the agonizing choices we face when given a second chance. James Marden and Michelle Monaghan star as Dawson and Amanda while Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato star as younger versions of each character.
The novel is set in North Carolina, but most of the filming took place outside of New Orleans, Louisiana on a historic plantation that dates back to 1876. We spent the day on-set at “The Collier House,” which is a gorgeous historic home with high windows, expansive crown moldings and the original flooring. We watched two scenes being filmed, the first when Dawson and Amanda are parting, the second when a younger Dawson and Amanda have just arrived to The Collier House after spending time together.
Here are some photos I captured while on-set of The Best of Me
With the story at the forefront of my mind, I was thrilled to speak with New York Times Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks about the inspiration for the story, how the novel differs from the film, and how he moves audiences through the entire range of human emotion through his stories. Many of Sparks’ films have been shot in North Carolina where he has lived for the past 25 years.
Having read nearly every book Sparks has written and then watched the corresponding film adaptations, I was not surprised to learn that The Best of Me would diverge from it’s original story. Film is a very different medium and Sparks always approaches his projects “knowing that some things work better on film than they do in books. His goal is then to retain the spirit and intent of the characters and the story to make the best film possible, knowing that he is working with a different medium.
The Best of Me was written while Sparks was in his 40’s, and he recalls looking at this time period in a person’s life as as one of reflection.
In your 20s and 30s, you believe that your dreams can come true. You’ll meet the right guy or you’ll be famous…and there’s a part of you that just knows you still got a shot. In your 50s, 60s, and 70s, you reach a point where you’re looking back and say, well, maybe they didn’t all come true. So the 40s is this decade of your life when there tends to be a lot of self-reflection. Who am I? How did I get here? Is this the life I wanted to lead. And is this the life I want to [continue to] lead?
The story of Dawson and Amanda arose out of Sparks contemplation about this decade of life and the very conscious realization that life is about choices. This sentiment of “now or never” can be seen repeatedly throughout the story with two people who perhaps arrived where they are in life right now by accident and don’t necessarily want the next 40 years to look like they did in the past.
Sparks explores an expansive spectrum of human emotions through his novels and I don’t know that I’ve ever walked away from a book or film without feeling introspective. As opposed to other genres of fiction, Sparks’ goal is always to move the reader through a wide range of human emotion because if you leave one out, then the story is simply fantasy. So while you’ll feel the love between Dawson and Amanda, you’ll also feel her confusion, his struggle, and their combined frustration about the choices they have to make. By the time you close the book, you’ll feel as if you’ve lived “a full life between the covers.” If you feel them fall in love and you feel the ache, that is what Sparks believes makes a novel memorable to the reader.
Sparks often writes about love, and The Best of Me will “depict” that love between Dawson and Amanda. But rather than approach love from a romantic, fantastical perspective, Sparks understands that love and tragedy go hand-in-hand and many of his novels are an exploration of that truth. He is also emphatic about the fact that love at any age is real. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that [this] is the person with whom you should spend your life.” In The Best of Me, audiences will see Dawson and Amanda fall in love as teens and then again as adults 20 years later. Sparks spoke to those differences in maturity and intensity through this story, but emphasizes that these feelings, regardless of age, are real and present.
Stay tuned as I share more behind-the-scenes interviews from the set of The Best of ME.
The Best of Me debuts in theaters October 17th, 2014. You can keep up-to-date with the film via the following social channels:
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