The Stars of The Best of Me movie: James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan

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Disclosure: Relativity Media covered writer Jennifer D.’s expenses for a visit to the set of The Best of Me in Louisiana.

Earlier this week, I shared some of Nicholas Sparks’ thoughts on love as well as some of the young star Liana Liberato‘s thoughts on being one of the romantic leads in a Nicholas Sparks movie. Today, I’m happy to share some more thoughts about my set visit and the opportunity I had to visit with Marsden and Monaghan.

Check out my new post at 5 Minutes for Books today, which features Nicholas Sparks’ own thoughts about the differences that occur in books and movies.It was a beautiful day in Louisiana the day we were on set. I’m from the gulf coast (Houston), so I knew that spring is hit or miss. It could be hot and muggy and feel like summer, but we actually had a nice day. The cast all spoke about how they loved working in that beautiful environment as well. The scenes we watched were filmed outdoors at what was supposed to be Amanda’s childhood home. In reality, it’s a home that’s been in the same family since 1876, when it was actually a working plantation. This same set was used in the Oscar-winning film Twelve Years a Slave.

You can see the beauty in this shot of our group interview with Michelle Monaghan. Isn’t it amazing? Here’s what she said about the location in Louisiana, right outside New Orleans:

It’s very, very, very pretty here. And we’ve fallen in love with New Orleans. I mean, I’m hard-pressed to leave it. I’ve actually just eaten my way through this city. And I’m still only like a quarter into my list.

Michelle was so youthful and beautiful in person. And isn’t it cool to see her wearing that same red dress that is in the previews? I can’t wait to see the scenes on screen in the movie that I saw being filmed that day.

I can’t wait to see her work as  the adult version of Amanda, balancing the regrets of her past and present choices (in contrast to the more carefree and impulsive teen Amanda).

Michelle Monaghan on what drew her to this project:

Well, I’m a girl. And I am a romantic, of course. And this is a genre that I’ve never been a part of.  I did a lot of romantic comedies. I did kind of action films, drama, but never really sort of like an epic love story.  And so, when I read the script–and I was a fan of Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook, all of that–but when I read this, this really struck a chord with me because it was really powerful. And it’s about love and loss and second chances.

I guess as an older woman now–hate to say that–but–or more mature woman I guess, I’ve lived life a little bit, I could relate to it in some respects.

James Marsden on working with Nicholas Sparks in this genre:

It’s what’s so nice about his work is that he so effortlessly taps into very human needs to feel loved and desired and to desire somebody else. It’s an easy script to read and an easy story to kind of get lost in. So, I sort of allowed the script to be my guide, I guess. I didn’t do any homework, though {on his character}.

It’s always been fun and easy for me to switch gears {in genre from moody drama, silly comedy, to romance} that way. Nothing really lingers with me too long as far as, like, I don’t get too Method about things.  I always enjoy whatever genre I’m getting to play in and I look forward to–it’s one of the great things about being an actor. You get to kind of jump around and play with different roles.

All four actors on playing the same characters, 20 years apart:

A particular challenge of this film is that it’s about Amanda and Dawson’s love story, and it flips back and forth between them as teenagers, and them 20 years later, with Liberato and Monaghan playing Amanda and Luke Bracey and Marsden playing Dawson.

James Marsden talked about how he and Luke worked together:

 I maybe look a little younger than I am, so it’s a tough first sell, but Luke [Bracey] and I got together early on and we realized, look, we’re not carbon copies of one another and I don’t think the audience needs to see that, you know?

It’s more about being on the same page as far as who this guy is, and maybe having some mannerisms that are similar. Luke has this really great deep voice and so I tried to kind of put my voice in that same register.

Luke talked about the growth of the character over the years:

We worked on small, physical things, but we also agreed that he comes a long way from when I play him to when James is.  He goes through a lot, obviously a lot of stuff you don’t see, and I think we wanted to leave enough room for there to be a growth in him. So, we just wanted the subtleties to be there, which tied it together. It also gave us both range and both area to go certain ways.

Liana talked about getting on the same page with Michelle and allowing for growth:

We met before filming and sat down and kind of discussed what we wanted with the character; the similarities, the differences because there are some years in between, so there’s obviously going to be some differences.

We picked out a couple of mannerisms that we thought would be interesting. A lot of them didn’t even make it into the film because they kind of manifested into something completely different. Originally, when we sat down and met, we wanted to do something with our ear, and I never did it, and it went to me doing it and playing with my necklace. Every time Amanda was in a strenuous situation, she’d always go to her necklace, and as soon as I realized that, I’d text Michelle instantly. I was like, “Just so you know, when my character’s stressed, I play with my necklace,” and she was like, “You got it,”. And she was able to incorporate that into her character, which was so cool.

And also, one of the things that we had discussed is we kind of want this big 180 in our character. You kind of meet this Amanda as she’s very vibrant and nothing can really get in her way, and then towards the end of my storyline, when Dawson goes, you kind of begin to meet the Amanda that Michelle is playing. And then Amanda, towards the end, will once again close that circle and become that young, driven girl that she’s really always been; that it was just masked over by all of these experiences in her life. So, we wanted that 180.

Official Info – #TheBestofMe

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About the Film

Based on the bestselling novel by acclaimed author Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me tells the story of Dawson and Amanda, two former high school sweethearts who find themselves reunited after 20 years apart, when they return to their small town for the funeral of a beloved friend. Their bittersweet reunion reignites the love they’ve never forgotten, but soon they discover the forces that drove them apart twenty years ago live on, posing even more serious threats today. Spanning decades, this epic love story captures the enduring power of our first true love, and the wrenching choices we face when confronted with elusive second chances.

THE BEST OF ME
Relativity Media
In Theaters October 17