Since its 2002 release, A Walk to Remember has become one of the best-loved romantic
movies of all time. You probably know that the film is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel
of the same name, but there's plenty more to know about A Walk to Remember.
Although A Walk to Remember became the ultimate romance film for a generation, it's surprising
how quickly and cheaply it was made. The movie reportedly only took 39 days to film. Compare
that to most major Hollywood movies, which are filmed over the course of 75 to 120 days,
and you get a sense for how fast the stars and crew had to work.
The film's director, Adam Shankman, explained in an interview with Parade that it was pretty
easy to shoot the movie as fast as he did because it was, quote, "basically ten teenagers
in a small town."
The movie was also reportedly restricted to a budget of $11.8 million — relatively low
for a feature length film. Other popular Nicholas Sparks movies such as The Notebook, Dear John,
and The Last Song all were made on twice that budget or more. It's pretty impressive that
Shankman managed to pull this famous movie together with so little time and money on
his hands!
Fans of A Walk to Remember know that the movie is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks - but
some fans may not realize that the novel is actually inspired by real events from Sparks'
own life.
Specifically, the novel was inspired by his sister. Apparently, Sparks' own sibling was
diagnosed with cancer, and she also shared many personality traits with the character
of Jamie. Sparks explained how his sister also met someone like Landon who asked her
to marry him, even though she was terminally ill.
As Sparks confessed, the novel holds an incredible place in his heart thanks to the subject matter's
personal nature. He explained on his personal website,
"A Walk to Remember was my favorite novel to write. [...] I wrote this novel not only
so that you could get to know my sister, but so that you would know what a wonderful thing
it was that her husband once did for her."
It's so touching knowing that the beautiful love story between Jamie and Landon happened
in real life!
Back in 2002, Mandy Moore was pretty new to the acting world, with her only major role
before A Walk to Remember being a part in The Princess Diaries.
Shane West, her co-star, had quite a lot of acting experience in comparison, having previously
appeared in films like Get Over It, Dracula 2000, and Liberty Heights. By the sound of
things, West took it upon himself to guide Moore through the process of acting in front
of the camera.
In an interview on Rove Live, West explained that Moore didn't need too much help.
Rove 1, "She was very natural. She had a very natural ability at it. I was just kind of
there to, y'know, 'If you want to ask me anything, I'll do my best to help out.'"
As Moore and West went on to explain, Moore's only real struggle was with camera blocking,
often finding herself looking down at her feet to make sure that she had hit her mark.
Of course, Moore grew well past novice mistakes to become an accomplished actress, firmly
establishing herself as a woman of many talents. It's so sweet that Moore could rely on West
during filming - even if she didn't need that much help!
Mandy Moore was quite young when she was cast in A Walk to Remember. In fact, she celebrated
her 17th birthday while on set. Moore shared a throwback picture of herself on Instagram
and, apparently, she was busy filming the school play scene on her birthday.
Because Moore was 16 and 17 years old during filming, she was classified as a minor. This
meant that the production team had to follow strict rules about filming. Legally, Moore
could only work for a maximum of 10 hours a day.
This must have put a fair amount of strain on the production team considering that they
filmed in 39 days. According to Backstage, 10 hours a day is actually pretty easy going
for a professional actor. The outlet spoke to nine professional actors who claimed to
spend as many as 17 hours a day on set! Yikes.
It's always fun to imagine an off-screen romance between our favorite onscreen couples. In
the case of Mandy Moore and Shane West, fans wouldn't be wrong in thinking the chemistry
seemed real.
In 2017, Moore explained to Entertainment Weekly that she couldn't help but develop
feelings for him. She confessed,
"Shane was so cool. He was the character to me and there was definitely a part of me that
absolutely fell in love with him. I don't know if I could discern the difference between
him and the character at that point in time because, again, it was my first experience
doing anything like this and I was a 16-year-old, impressionable girl."
Sounds like Moore dove into the story head first. As far as we're concerned, the movie
certainly benefited from that dash of real-life chemistry.
And it turns out, the feelings were mutual, and the two have spent time together in the
years since the movie wrapped. In 2019, Moore was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame
and West even spoke at the ceremony.
Also in 2019, Access asked West about Moore's assertion that she, quote, "fell in love with
[him] a little bit." The actor replied by explaining, quote, "I think we both did."
"We were definitely opposites attract and so I think, at first, I'm not sure if we loved
each other — or liked each other right off the bat — but it quickly changed."
West also shared that he thinks that they bonded thanks to the story of the film and
the writing behind their characters. It's amazing to hear that while viewers all over
the world were falling in love with Jamie and Landon, the actors behind them were falling
for each other, too!
If you've seen A Walk to Remember, you may have recognized some of the sets. As it turns
out, the town where the movie was filmed was also used for hit TV shows Dawson's Creek
and One Tree Hill. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West explained that the first scene
in the movie was shot by a large, overgrown pool which had also been featured on Dawson's
Creek.
According to The Cinemaholic, the main locations were all in Wilmington, North Carolina. And
it's not the only thing that's filmed there.
Wilmington is such a popular filming location that there's even a book called Wilm On Film
that details how hundreds of productions were shot in this part of the country, including
One Tree Hill, Blue Velvet, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more.
Anyone who has seen A Walk to Remember probably remembers its iconic soundtrack. The band
behind a lot of the music? Switchfoot.
In fact, the movie features four of the band's songs, including "Only Hope," which was the
song sung by Mandy Moore in the movie.
Christianity Today spoke to Mandy Moore in 2002 about why Switchfoot plays such a prominent
role in the movie and she divulged that she'd spent the previous year becoming obsessed
with their music. She praised the band by saying,
"The songs are so meaningful, beautiful, and straight from the heart."
The publication explained that a college friend of the band was working for Moore's manager,
Jon Leshay, at the time that the film was being made. When this friend played the band's
music for Leshay, who was also the music supervisor for the movie, he decided the band should
be an integral part of the film.
Who can forget Landon's eye-catching red '67 Camaro? It turns out, Shane West loved his
character's car so much, he decided to purchase it after filming wrapped.
In an interview with The Wrap, West explained that he used the car on the first day of filming.
And, apparently, he fell in love with the car from the moment he laid eyes on it. West
explained,
"I turned immediately to the first AD, and I was like, 'How much is it? And I want it.'"
He went on to say that he ended up using part of his paycheck from the movie to purchase
the car. When he spoke to Access in 2019, West said the car cost around $7,000.
"I bought it, and I still have it. I'm actually considering selling it soon."
Whether West sells the car or not, a vintage Camaro is certainly a pretty cool souvenir
to keep from a film set!
A lot of people who watched A Walk to Remember back in 2002 probably wished they could switch
places with Mandy Moore for those kissing scenes with Shane West.
And perhaps Moore would've even been cool with that! The actress was only 16 years old
while filming the movie so kissing onscreen was pretty nerve-wracking. The two actors
have said that they actually had to lock lips on their very first day on set, which Moore
said was "awkward" as they didn't know each other at the time and were in front of the
entire crew.
Moore went on to explain that onscreen kisses are actually incredibly technical and are
carefully orchestrated for the camera, so it's hard for it to feel natural.
When asked about kissing West in the movie during an interview with Spliced Wire, Moore
apparently blushed and confessed that he was actually the oldest guy she had ever kissed
at that point in her life.
Every actor has their own method of getting into character. Mandy Moore's method in A
Walk to Remember was pretty simple. At the premiere of the movie in 2002, she shared
her process at the time in an interview with Hip, saying,
"You just have to wing it. I read the script and I picture myself being the character.
Sometimes it comes out how I expect it to, but sometimes it surprises me too. [...] Eventually
you get into such a mind frame that you are the character and you know what they would
say."
Shane West prepared a little differently. Apparently, West struggled to cry both in
real life and on camera. In the scene in which his character, Landon, cries on his dad's
shoulder, West used songs by The Cure to get into character. He told Today,
"I had a Discman on and I would listen to The Cure over and over on repeat and then
they would tap me on the shoulder and say they're ready to shoot. I didn't know what
else to do, so I guess The Cure was depressing enough for me to get into the mode to bawl
like a lunatic on my dad's shoulder."
It's clear that West's musical inspiration worked because the scene where Landon cries
is undeniably heartbreaking.
A Walk to Remember is often considered to be a Christian film thanks to Jamie, Mandy
Moore's character, who is proud of her faith. Moore said that playing this character actually
helped her to rediscover her own personal connection to spirituality and the Christian
faith.
"I have my beliefs. I have faith. But don't you?"
While Moore had a slightly different religious upbringing to Jamie, she explained in an interview
with Spliced Wire,
"I'm religious, and I think if anything this movie made me kind of contemplate where I
am in that part of my life — which has been a good thing."
She went on to explain that being in the movie made her realize that she actually needed
to spend some time researching spirituality on her own.
Moore, however, said that the movie is not necessarily a Christian movie. She just happens
to play a devoutly Christian character. As she put it,
"It's not really a Christian movie. It's a pro-faith movie. It's not preachy. My character
is very comfortable in her own right, and she's very forthright about her religion.
But it's not like she's a walking billboard."
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