Story of movie A Walk To Remember :
A Walk to Remember is a 2002 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Karen Janszen, based on Nicholas Sparks' 1999 novel of the same name. The film stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote and Daryl Hannah, and was produced by Denise Di Novi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros. Pictures.
| A Walk to Remember | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Adam Shankman |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Karen Janszen |
| Based on | A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Mervyn Warren |
| Cinematography | Julio Macat |
| Edited by | Emma E. Hickox |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11.8 million |
| Box office | $47.5 million |
Screenplay
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In Beaufort, North Carolina, popular and rebellious teenager Landon Carter and his friends have been fond of underage drinking on school grounds. They seriously injure another student during a prank gone wrong and the principal gives Landon the choice of being expelled or completing several service projects among which is participating in the school play. Choosing the latter, Landon is further acquainted with Jamie Sullivan, the local minister's daughter. He never befriended her, though he has known her most of his life.
Landon has trouble with play, so Jamie, agrees to help him on the condition that he won't fall in love with her, dismisses it as a foolish idea. They begin practicing together at her house after school. They get to know each other further and a spark of romance buds between them.
On the opening night of the play, Jamie astounds Landon and the audience with her voice and beauty. When Jamie finishes singing towards the end, Landon kisses her. Afterwards, Jamie avoids Landon until his friends play a cruel prank on her. In opposition to his friends, he protects her and she eventually warms up to him again. Landon asks Jamie on a date then asks her father for permission. Jamie's father is initially hesitant but agrees.
Their first date, is a huge success, and leads to another. Jamie confesses she isn't making any plans for the future because she has leukemia and hasn't been responding to treatment.Jamie's condition grows worse and gets sent to the hospital. While there, Jamie gives Landon a book that once belonged to her deceased mother and tells him that Landon is her angel. Unbeknownst to Landon, Jamie is given private home care by Landon's estranged father to relieve her father's financial burden.
Landon builds a telescope for Jamie to see a one-time comet in the springtime. Jamie's father helps him get it finished in time she gets a beautiful view of the comet. It is then that Landon asks her to marry him. Jamie tearfully accepts, and they get married in the church where her mother was married. Their very last summer together is spent as man and wife.
- Shane West as Landon Collins Carter
- Mandy Moore as Jamie Elizabeth Sullivan-Carter
- Peter Coyote as Reverend Hegbert Sullivan
- Daryl Hannah as Cynthia Collins Carter
- Lauren German as Bellinda
- Clayne Crawford as Dean Thomas
- Al Thompson as Eric
- Paz de la Huerta as Tracy
- David Lee Smith as Dr. Carter
- Jonathan Parks Jordan as Walker
- Matt Lutz as Clay Gephardt
Development
The inspiration for A Walk to Remember was Nicholas Sparks' sister, Danielle Sparks Lewis, who died of cancer in 2000. In a speech he gave after her death in Berlin, the author admits that "In many ways, Jamie Sullivan was my younger sister". The plot was inspired by her life; Danielle met a man who wanted to marry her, "even when he knew she was sick, even when he knew that she might not make it". Both the book and film are dedicated to Danielle Sparks Lewis.
It was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the same time that Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) and the TV show Dawson's Creek were being filmed there. Many of the sets were from Dawson's Creek (1998) – particularly the school, hospital and Landon's home. The total shooting time was only 39 days, despite Moore being able to only work 10 hours a day because she was a minor. Daryl Hannah, who wore a brown wig as her character, had received a collagen injection in her lips, which went awry and caused noticeable swelling. By the end of filming, however, the symptoms were less obvious.
Casting
Director Shankman wanted the lead characters to be portrayed by young actors: "I wanted young actors with whom teenagers could connect", he said. Shankman arranged a meeting with Shane West after he saw him in a magazine. He was looking for someone who could transition from being very dark to very light. He described his choice as "an instinct" he had about West, who would appear in almost every scene and had "to be either incredibly angry and self-hating or madly in love and heroic." West said: "I don't generally read love stories, but after reading the screenplay, I knew I couldn't wait to read the book so I could truly understand Nicholas Sparks' story and how he envisioned the character of Landon. It's a beautiful story and the characters are very believable, which is what attracted me to the project.
Shankman said of Moore that she "has the voice and the face of an angel" and added that she is luminous. Moore explained that she was moved by the book: "I had such a visceral reaction to it that I remember not being able to read because I was almost hyperventilating while I was crying." Commenting on the film, she said: "It was my first movie and I know people say it may be cliche and it's a tearjerker or it's cheesy, but for me, it's the thing I'm most proud of."
While there are many similarities to the novel by Nicholas Sparks, many changes were made. On his personal website, Sparks explains the decisions behind the differences. For example, he and the producer decided to update the setting from the 1950s to the 1990s, worrying that a film set in the 50s would fail to draw teens. "To interest them," he writes, "we had to make the story more contemporary." To make the update believable, Landon's pranks and behavior are worse than they are in the novel; as Sparks notes, "the things that teen boys did in the 1950s to be considered a little 'rough' are different than what teen boys in the 1990s do to be considered 'rough.'"
Sparks and the producer also changed the play in which Landon and Jamie appear. In the novel, Hegbert wrote a Christmas play that illustrated how he once struggled as a father. However, due to time constraints, the sub-plot showing how he overcame his struggles could not be included in the film. Sparks was concerned that "people who hadn't read the book would question whether Hegbert was a good father", adding that "because he is a good father and we didn't want that question to linger, we changed the play."
A significant difference is that at the end of the novel, unlike the film, it is ambiguous whether Jamie died. Sparks says that he had written the book knowing she would die, yet had "grown to love Jamie Sullivan", and so opted for "the solution that best described the exact feeling I had with regard to my sister at that point: namely, that I hoped she would live."
| A Walk to Remember: Music from the Motion Picture | |
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| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | January 15, 2002 |
| Genre | Pop, contemporary Christian, post-grunge |
| Length | 52:01 (Standard) 62:32 (2003 Special Expanded Edition) |
| Label | Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax |
| Producer | Jon Leshay |
| Singles from A Walk to Remember: Music from the Motion Picture | |
The film's soundtrack was released by Moore's first label Epic Records and Sony Music Soundtrax on January 15, 2002. It features six songs by Moore and others by acts Switchfoot, Rachael Lampa and many more.
The lead single "Cry" was originally released on Moore's self-titled third studio album in 2001. The soundtrack also includes two versions of Switchfoot's song "Only Hope" including the version Moore sang in the film.
Moore's manager, Jon Leshay, the musical supervisor for the film, "instantly wanted" Switchfoot's music to be a vital part of the film after hearing them. He later became Switchfoot's manager. When they were approached to do the film, the band was unfamiliar with Moore or her music (despite her status as a pop star with several hits on the charts). Before their involvement with A Walk to Remember, Switchfoot was only recognized in their native San Diego and in Contemporary Christian music circles, but have since gained mainstream recognition, with their double platinum fourth album, The Beautiful Letdown (2003) which included hits such as "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move".
The soundtrack was re-released on October 21, 2003 as a special expanded edition and featured three songs that were not originally included on the first release of the soundtrack but were featured in the film. The song "Only Hope" by Moore had dialogue added that featuring Shane West as his character Landon Carter taken from the scene from where the song is featured in the film, as well as West's narration at the end of the film.
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