Nicholas Sparks’ latest adaptation, The Longest Ride, hits theaters on April 10. Hypable had the chance to visit the set and talk to the cast.
A day on the set of a Nicholas Sparks movie isn’t quite like visiting other movie sets. North Carolina is a stunning place to make a movie, and we traveled over an hour into the country to a farm for this visit.
We drove to the set in mid-August of last year, and when we arrived, we weren’t prepared for just how hot it was. It is always a little jolting when you arrive to a movie set because you never really think about what goes into making a movie. The air was thick, but no one on set really seemed to notice — they were already filming scenes and pretending it was a cool spring day. One of the most notable things about set, where we spoke to Nicholas Sparks, George Tillman, Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson, was how easy-going it all felt.
For those unfamiliar with The Longest Ride, it features a college student majoring in art history, played by Britt Robertson, who meets and falls for a bull rider, played by Scott Eastwood. As in many Nicholas Sparks novels, there is a dual story line. The second story line involves Ira, a 90-year-old who has been in an accident. Ira’s story takes place in flashbacks in WWII Germany and present day. The two stories weave together in an unusual way and eventually connect.
Here are five things we learned from our set visit to The Longest Ride.
The Setting
The set we were on for the day was way off the beaten path. It was a gorgeous farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere with a stream running along the front side of the property. In the film, it will be Luke’s house. Later in the afternoon we were taken to one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen — in the film it will be the place that Luke and Sophia have a date. It’s in the middle of the woods and features a beautiful lake with a stone wall and waterfall. It appears out of nowhere and is the perfect place for their romantic date scene. The area was the original home of the Black Mountain College, a museum and art center that plays an important role in the film.
Nicholas Sparks was doing research for the book when he came across Black Mountain College, which allows for the art world in his book to be real. Speaking about this unique place, Sparks said, “Black Mountain College was the center of the modern art movement for American painters…So there I’m writing, I’m looking for an artist and I find out that this key element that I need to make art collecting believable, the center was about two hours from where I placed them originally. I was like, ‘Wow!’”
Bull Riding is Hard, Filming Bull Riding is Harder
Clearly bull riding is hard. Any sport that requires only eight seconds of involvement can’t be easy, but filming bull riding is even harder. While the scenes we saw didn’t include bull riding, it was all anyone could talk about on set. Luke is a bull rider and much of his story line has to do with his love/hate relationship with the sport. Scott Eastwood was not allowed to rides bulls for safety reasons, but the production used real bull riders and bulls from the PBR tour. The bull riding you see in the film is 100% real. Marty Bowen, one of the producers, told a story about getting the perfect shot during one intense scene. In order to get the shot, the bull rider had to ride with a broken hand. Most Nicholas Sparks’ novels are heavy on the romance, but this one has a little bit more action to it because of the bull riding scenes.
While Scott didn’t get to ride a bull, one of his favorite scenes to shoot involved the bull riding: “It was the scene that we threw in there as an improvised scene where we had Louise’s character get on the bull and I was in the shoot helping him. I liked that because most of the stuff was about me doing the rides, so it was nice to have a buddy scene, helping him before the ride, it was great.”
When asked how long they thought Scott could stay on a bull, Britt kindly added, “I’ll give you two seconds, three seconds; you could make it out of the shoot.”
Differences from the Novel
Spoiler warning if you haven’t read the book!
As with all adaptations, there will be some differences from the novel, the primary difference being the storylines will intertwine much sooner in the movie. In the novel, Ira’s story is completely separate from Luke and Sophia’s until the very end of the book. However, we learned on our set visit that the two storylines intersect much sooner in order to work on film. This is a change that is definitely for the better. Instead of Ira telling his story independently, he is telling it to Luke and Sophia, which will add another layer to the story. Alan Alda is playing the older Ira, while Jack Huston is playing the younger version. Ira’s story is critical to Luke and Sophia’s, even though none of them really know it at the time.
Of course, making an adaptation can be tricky, and being from South Carolina, Britt Robertson knew making a Nicholas Sparks adaptation could be challenging. “The audience is very specific and they do love his books. My family is [made up of] huge Nicholas Sparks fans and you kind of have to cater to a specific audience, but at the same time, we’re trying to make a really great movie. So, just to be honest in these moments and to not try and make it anything other than the movie that we’re trying to build here, and the biggest challenge is finding that balance. At the end of the day, the book for me was a history lesson and we are trying to make it a separate entity.”
Chemistry is Key
If you’re making a romantic film of any kind, you really need to have chemistry between the two leads, and Robertson and Eastwood have it. The scene we saw them filming was of him teaching her how to ride. Parts of it can be seen in the trailer, and after watching them film for just a few moments, it is clear these two are ready to light up the screen.
Director George Tillman had a lot to say about chemistry and how the process of casting works. “You have to find actors who the audience can relate to and say, ‘That’s me on film,’ but at the same you have to give them a fresh look and fresh face,” he told us. “The main thing was to find two individuals; [For the character of] Luke Collins especially, who has the physicality to do the bull riding and the physicality to work on a farm, but to also have the charm.”
He continued, “With Sophia, you have to have somebody who you believe is from Jersey, but at the same time who has a lot of complexities. She’s a very complex character, coming from New Jersey, being goal-oriented, but at the same time be very likeable and very lovable. Then you have to put them together, so as soon as I saw them individually, I was thinking about it and dreaming about them together. When I finally put them together, they were completely different because he’s from San Diego, she’s from South Carolina. We finally found the chemistry and it was magic.”
Nicholas Sparks, who is highly involved in the film, shared some of his insights on casting Scott Eastwood: “In the end, all the actors kind of select themselves for the role. Scott looked the part, he was comfortable with the idea of horses and bulls and all that stuff. He’d been around it. He was very enthusiastic, but mainly, he had the demeanor that we wanted. It was kind of a quieter demeanor, light humor, but he’s really enthusiastic at the same time, and you’re like ‘Hey, that’s kind of like a cowboy.’ He just really chose himself for that.”
Something For Everyone
Yes, it is a Nicholas Sparks movie. Yes, there are not one but two love stories being told. However, this is not your typical Nicholas Sparks movie. The bull riding brings a refreshing storyline to this film. There is also Sophia’s story. She attends college at Wake Forest and is studying art. The film includes great artwork and highlights that work in contrast to Luke’s bull riding. Then there is the story of Ruth and Ira, which takes place in the 1940s. There are scenes from WWII as well as their love story. There is a balance to this story; it has the ability to reach many people.
Director George Tillman discussed how this movie has appeal for a wide audience: “Thinking back on everything, we have a wide range of things for the audience, but it’s all linked thematically, and I think that’s very important. I have something for fans of Nicholas Sparks. At the same time, I have something in the film that my dad would want to come see, so there’s something for everybody. I feel really good about that, so we stayed really true and authentic. Scott did a lot of prep work for the bull riding and Sophia did a lot of work for the art. It was very helpful.”
