This Famous Romance Writer’s Favorite Movie Adaptation Isn’t What You’d Think
Movieguide® Contributor
Nicholas Sparks has had quite a few of his books make it to the big screen, including THE NOTEBOOK, but A WALK TO REMEMBER is the one that stands out.
“The one I’ve seen the most is A WALK TO REMEMBER,” he said. “When I had my kids growing up, they hadn’t yet read a novel [of mine], and they’d say, ‘Oh, can we see what you do?’ I’d say, ‘I’ve got the movie for you.’”
“I had five kids, so I had to sit through multiple viewings of that because I would show that to them again. That movie was great. It just works,” he said.
Although there are some unresolved subplots, the production values in A WALK TO REMEMBER are high, and the actors all give very good performances, including the two leads, Shane West and pop star Mandy Moore…
READ MORE: A WALK TO REMEMBER REVIEW
He remembers that Moore and West were very enthusiastic about the movie and their roles.
“They were so excited,” he said. “Mandy was such a nice young lady. At the time, my son was 10 years old, and when he saw Mandy, he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world. She was like 17.”
His son actually had a small role in the movie, too.
“He actually ended up in the final cut of the movie in the little church scene early on in the film,” Sparks said. “He’s one who looks absolutely miserable, and I’m like, ‘You did perfect for singing in church, son. That is exactly how kids look.’”
“We’re still good friends,” he said of Moore and West. “It’s been great to see where their careers have gone and see what they’ve done. It’s a movie that works on levels that are difficult to understand.”
In the movie, Jamie, the lead character, has a definite conclusion to her story. However, the book has an open ending.
“It was interesting; throughout the writing of the novel, I was sure that she was going to pass away, and then when I get to the pages where I have to write it, I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s so sweet.’ I just didn’t have the heart to write it,” he explains. “So I left it more vague and mysterious that it could have gone both ways.”
The story was inspired by Sparks’ sister, who passed away from a brain tumor. He left Jamie’s story open-ended because he wanted to give his readers hope.
“A Walk to Remember was my favorite novel to write. I enjoyed the process of capturing the voice of a smart-alecky 17-year-old kid. Likewise with Jamie Sullivan,” Sparks wrote on his website. “There was something intrinsically sweet about her character that gradually seemed to take over the book. It was also the only novel that made me cry while writing.”
“Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE about his latest novel Counting Miracles, Sparks notes that one of the best parts of his career has been reaching new audiences through different mediums, whether movie adaptations or Broadway productions,” PEOPLE said.
“I’m very happy about it, because if I can see the story, I happen to think the story is good, and I want as many people as possible to be familiar with the story,” he said. “A lot of people watch film or they’ll tune into cable. They’ll see something I’ve done on television, or they see a show on Broadway, and there they get to experience my story in a different medium. But it’s still the story that I felt was worth telling in the first place.”
In “Counting Miracles,” a young army man experiences the sudden loss of his grandmother, who raised him. He begins to ponder where he belongs, eventually meeting a young doctor and single mother. Meanwhile, a hermitic man nearby becomes dedicated to protecting a rare white deer in his forest.
Sparks says all he hopes for is that people “enjoy” his stories.
“However, people discover them, my hope then, after that, is that they enjoy them, that they feel it was worth their time to read, and ideally — in a perfect world — you also hope that they enjoy it so much, they tell someone else about it,” Sparks explained. “That’s what I hope for.”
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