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A Walk to Remember (novel)
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A Walk to Remember
A Walk to Remember (Hardcover).jpg
The cover of the first hardback edition of the novel

Author
Nicholas Sparks
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Drama
Romance
Publisher
Warner Books
Publication date
October 1999
Media type
Print (hardcover, paperback)
Pages
240
ISBN
0-446-60895-5
OCLC Number
44913996
A Walk to Remember is a novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks, released in October 1999. The novel, set in 1958-'59 in Beaufort, North Carolina, is a story of two teenagers who fall in love with each other despite the disparity of their personalities. A Walk to Remember is adapted in the film of the same name.


Contents  [hide]
1 Writing
2 Plot summary
3 Characters
4 Reception
5 Adaptation
6 Bibliography
7 References
8 External links

Writing[edit]
Sparks wrote the manuscripts for A Walk to Remember, his third novel, in the summer of 1999. He wrote it in North Carolina, which is the setting of the novel.[1] Like his first published novel The Notebook, the prologue to A Walk to Remember was written last.[2] The title A Walk to Remember was taken from one of the tail end pages of the novel: "In every way, a walk to remember."[3][4] The novel is written in first-person, and its narrator is a seventeen year-old boy, living in the 1950s.[1]
The novel was inspired by Sparks' sister,[1][5] Danielle Sparks Lewis, who later died of cancer in June 2000. Although the story is largely fictional, certain parts were based on real experiences.[4] For example, his sister, just like Jamie, was never popular at school and always wore an ugly sweater. And just like Jamie, she always carried the Bible around with her every where she went. And just like Landon and Jamie, never in a thousand years did anyone think he would ever deeply fall head-over-heels for her. His sister's husband proposed marriage to her despite her sickness. After her death, Sparks said in the eulogy: "... I suppose 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."[5]
Plot summary[edit]
The story starts with a prologue from Landon Carter at age 57.[6] The remainder of the story takes place when Landon is a 17-year-old high school senior.[7] Landon lives in the small, religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina.[8] His father is a genial, charismatic congressman.
His father is not around very much, as he lives in Washington, D.C.[9] Landon is more reclusive, which causes some tension in their relationship. Landon's father pressures him into running for class president.[10] His best friend, Eric Hunter, who is the most popular boy in school, helps him and, to his surprise, Landon wins the election.[11] As student body president, Landon is required to attend the school dance with a date.[11] He asks many girls, but none are available. That night, he looks through his yearbook, trying to find an acceptable date.[12] Since nobody else seems to be available, Landon reluctantly asks Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the Beaufort church minister,[13] who accepts his invitation.[14] While Jamie is very religious and carries a Bible with her wherever she goes, Landon (one of the popular students) is reluctant to go to the dance with someone like her. When Landon is threatened by Lew,[15] Jamie comes to Landon's aid, to his appreciation. At the end of the night, he admits she was the best date possible.[16]
A few days later, Jamie asks Landon to participate in the school's production of The Christmas Angel.[17] While Landon is not very enthusiastic about participating, he agrees to it anyway.[18] Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new cast mate. Landon knows that if his friends learn about his role in the play, he will be teased relentlessly.[19] One day at rehearsal, Jamie asks if Landon will walk her home, after which it becomes routine.[20] A couple of days later, Eric mocks the couple during their walk home and Landon becomes truly embarrassed to be with Jamie.[21] Meanwhile, Landon continues to learn about all the people and organizations Jamie spends her time helping, including an orphanage. Landon and Jamie visit the orphanage one day to discuss a possible showing of The Christmas Angel,[22] but their proposal is quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins.[23] When Jamie and Landon were waiting to meet Mr. Jenkins, she tells Landon that all she wants in the future is to get married in a church full of people and to have her father walk her down the aisle.[24] While Landon thinks this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he is beginning to enjoy his time with her.
One day, while they are walking home, Landon yells at Jamie and he tells her that he is not friends with her.[25] The next day at the first show of The Christmas Angel, Jamie enters the stage dressed as the angel,[26] making Landon simply utter his line, "You're beautiful,"[27] meaning it for the first time. Following that, Jamie asks Landon if he would go around town and retrieve the jars containing money collected for the orphans' Christmas presents.[28] When Landon collects the jars, there is only $55.73, but when he gives the money to Jamie, there is $247.[29] Jamie buys gifts for the orphanage, and Landon and Jamie spend Christmas Eve there.[30] Jamie's Christmas gift to Landon is her deceased mother's Bible.[31] As they get in the car to go home, Landon realizes his true feelings for her. "All I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan."[32] He invites her to his house for Christmas dinner. The next day Landon visits Jamie at her house, where they share their first kiss on her porch.[33] Afterward, Landon asks Hegbert if they can go to Flavin's, a local restaurant, on New Year's Eve. While Hegbert initially refuses, after Landon declares his love for Jamie,[34] Hegbert allows it.[35]
On New Year's Jamie and Landon go to dinner, where they share their first dance.[36] A couple of weeks later, Landon tells Jamie that he is in love with her.[37] To his surprise, Jamie replies by insisting that he cannot be. In response, Landon demands an explanation,[38] and Jamie reveals that she is dying of leukemia.[39]
The following Sunday, Hegbert announces to his congregation that his daughter is dying.[40] Jamie does not return to school the following Monday and that it is eventually learned that she is too ill and will never return to school.[41] While they are having dinner at Landon's house, Jamie tells Landon, "I love you, too," for the first time.[42] A couple weeks later, Eric and Margaret visit Jamie's house, where they apologize for ever being rude to her.[43] Eric gives Jamie the $400 that he collected for the orphanage.[44] Jamie refuses to stay at the hospital, because she wants to die at home. In turn, Landon's father helps to provide Jamie the best equipment and doctors so she can spend the rest of her life at home.[45] This gesture helps to mend the gap between father and son. One day, while sitting next to Jamie while she sleeps, Landon comes up with an idea.[46] He runs to the church to find Hegbert[47] and asks him for permission to marry Jamie. While Hegbert is reluctant,[48] his refusal to deny Landon's request is seen by Landon as approval.[49] Landon runs back to Jamie's side and asks, "Will you marry me?"[50]
Landon and Jamie are married in a church full of people. Although she was weak and was in a wheelchair, she insisted on walking down the aisle so that her father could give her away which was part of her dream.[51] Landon remembers thinking "It was...the most difficult walk anyone ever had to make. In every way, a walk to remember."[52] When they reach the front of the church, Hegbert says, "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me."[53] Hegbert has had to experience so much pain in his life, first losing his wife, now knowing his only child will soon be gone, too. The book ends with Landon 40 years later at age 57. He still loves Jamie and wears her ring.[54] He finishes the story by saying, "I now believe, by the way, that miracles can happen."
Characters[edit]
Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of the Beaufort church minister Hegbert Sullivan. She is very religious, sweet, and kind.
Landon Carter is a son of a rich family, the narrator of the novel.
Hegbert Sullivan is Jamie's father. He is the Beaufort church minister.[55] His wife died shortly after giving birth to Jamie. He is very old with "translucent skin";[56] he is often crabby but his daughter describes him as having "a good sense of humor".[57] He wrote the local play, The Christmas Angel but he maintains a strong dislike for Mr. Carter due to his father's choices.[56][58]
Mrs. Carter is the mother of Landon Carter. "She [is] a nice lady, sweet and gentle."[59]
Mr. Carter is the father of Landon Carter. He is a congressman in North Carolina and is gone nine months out of the year because he lives in Washington D.C..[60][61]
Angela Clark is the first girlfriend of Landon and then begins dating Lew.[62]
Carey Denison is the treasurer at Landon's high school as well as a tuba player. He is unproportional, with short arms, a large stomach, and a squeaky voice.[63]
Lew is Angela Clark's boyfriend, who "[is] twenty years old and [works] as a mechanic" and "always [wears] a white T-shirt with a pack of Camels folded into the sleeve".[11]
Miss Garber is the drama teacher at Landon's high-school. "She [is] big, at least 6'2", with flaming red hair and pale skin that [shows] her freckles well into her forties." Her favorite word is marvelous.[64]
Eric Hunter is Landon's best friend, who does more making fun, than being an actual friend.[10] The popular jock at school, he starts out very crude, but when tragedy strikes his long time friend, he shows that he is sympathetic.[10][65][66]
Eddie Jones is not well liked by the drama department. He was scheduled to play the main character in the play, but is demoted to the "bum" when Landon steps in.[67] He is extremely apathetic.
Jamie's dead mother is a minor role. Described as "a wispy little thing", she died while giving birth to Jamie, and is greatly missed by Hegbert and Jamie.[13]
Margaret, a cheerleader, is Eric's girlfriend.
Reception[edit]
The novel was published in the fall of October 1999 in hardcover print, and later in paperback edition. It spent nearly six months in the best-seller list on hardcover, and an additional four months on paperback.[1]
The novel received mixed reviews from critics. The Sunday New York Post holds that it "never fails to be interesting, touching, at times riveting ... a book you won't soon forget".[68] African Sun Times echoes the former's comments, saying, "A remarkable love story that, like its predecessors, will touch the hearts of readers everywhere."[68] New York Daily News compliments Sparks, commenting that he "has written a sweet tale of young but everlasting love, and though he's told us to expect both joy and sadness, the tears will still come".[68] Clarissa Cruz of Entertainment Weekly, however, panned the novel, saying, "With its cliche-riddled prose and plot twists that can be predicted after skimming the prologue, Nicholas Sparks' latest, A Walk To Remember, reads more like the script for a bad after-school special than anything approaching literature."[69] Although the novel is number 12 on their list of 1999 Bestsellers Fiction,[70] Publishers Weekly described it as "a forced coming of age story" and "the author's most simple, formulaic, and blatantly melodramatic package to date".[71] Theresea Parks from Publishers Weekly goes on to say how many will be disappointed stating, "Readers may be frusturated with the invariable formula that Sparks seems to regurgitate with regularity".[72] She also writes that it is especially similar to The Notebook in its "corny flashback device that mimics The Notebook".[72] Overall, Publishers Weekly expressed its disappointment.
Adaptation[edit]
A Walk to Remember was adapted in the film of the same name, becoming Sparks' second novel adapted to the big screen after Message in a Bottle in 1999. Sparks sold the film rights to Warner Bros. in December 1998, months before the publication of the novel.[1] The movie was directed by Adam Shankman and produced by Denise DiNovi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros.; the film premiered on January 25, 2002.[73]
The film, starring singer and actress Mandy Moore (Jamie) and Shane West (Landon), is set in the late 1990s. Sparks and the producer thought that because the film was suitable for teenagers "because of the message it provided", they had to make the adaptation more contemporary.[73]
Bibliography[edit]
Sparks, Nicholas. A Walk to Remember. Warner Books: New York, 1999. ISBN 0-446-52553-7
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "General Information on A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-25.[dead link]
2.Jump up ^ "Notes on the Writing of A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.[dead link]
3.Jump up ^ Sparks, Nicholas (1999). Jamie Raab, ed. A Walk to Remember. United States: Warner Books. p. 237. ISBN 0-446-60895-5.
4.^ Jump up to: a b "Frequently Asked Questions About A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Retrieved 2008-10-26.[dead link]
5.^ Jump up to: a b "Notes on the Writing of A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.[dead link]
6.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. x
7.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. xi
8.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 1
9.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 9
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Sparks, pg. 28
11.^ Jump up to: a b c Sparks, pg. 32
12.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 33
13.^ Jump up to: a b Sparks, pg. 16
14.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 44
15.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 56
16.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 61
17.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 73
18.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 77
19.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 83
20.Jump up ^ sparks, pg. 108
21.Jump up ^ sparks, pg. 120
22.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 88
23.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 102
24.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 99
25.Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 124-125
26.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.134
27.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.135
28.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.140-142
29.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.145
30.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.147-148
31.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.153
32.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.154
33.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.171
34.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.180
35.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.181
36.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.183
37.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.188
38.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.190
39.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.191
40.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.193
41.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.197
42.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.209
43.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.211
44.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.212-213
45.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.219-220
46.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.222
47.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.227-228
48.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.228
49.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.229
50.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.232
51.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.236
52.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.237
53.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.239
54.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.240
55.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.16
56.^ Jump up to: a b Sparks, p.3
57.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.116
58.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.10
59.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.13
60.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.9
61.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.12
62.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.32
63.Jump up ^ Sparks, p.34
64.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 18
65.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 19
66.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 114
67.Jump up ^ Sparks, pg. 78
68.^ Jump up to: a b c "Reviews of A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
69.Jump up ^ Cruz, Clarissa (1999-10-15). "A WALK TO REMEMBER (1999)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
70.Jump up ^ Howell, Kevin (2008-03-24). "Bestselling Books of the Year, 1996-2006". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-31.[dead link]
71.Jump up ^ "Editorial Reviews". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information, Inc. 1999. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
72.^ Jump up to: a b "A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks". Barnes and Nobles.
73.^ Jump up to: a b "Movie Adaptation". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.[dead link]
External links[edit]

Portal icon Books portal
Portal icon 1990s portal
Portal icon United States portal
Official Nicholas Sparks website


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Nicholas Sparks


Novels
The Notebook (1996) ·
 Message in a Bottle (1998) ·
 A Walk to Remember (1999) ·
 The Rescue (2000) ·
 A Bend in the Road (2001) ·
 Nights in Rodanthe (2002) ·
 The Guardian (2003) ·
 The Wedding (2003) ·
 True Believer (2005) ·
 At First Sight (2006) ·
 Dear John (2006) ·
 The Choice (2007) ·
 The Lucky One (2008) ·
 The Last Song (2009) ·
 Safe Haven (2010) ·
 The Best of Me (2011) ·
 The Longest Ride (2013)
 

Non-fiction
Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding (1990) ·
 Three Weeks with My Brother (2004)
 

Film adaptations
Message in a Bottle (1999) ·
 A Walk to Remember (2002) ·
 The Notebook (2004) ·
 Nights in Rodanthe (2008) ·
 Dear John (2010) ·
 The Last Song (2010) ·
 Zindagi Tere Naam (2012) ·
 The Lucky One (2012) ·
 Safe Haven (2013)
 

www.nicholassparks.com


 



Categories: 1998 novels
American romance novels
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American novels adapted into films
Novels set in North Carolina
Novels by Nicholas Sparks
1950s in fiction
Carteret County, North Carolina
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A Walk to Remember
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from A Walk to Remember (film))
Jump to: navigation, search

For the book, see A Walk to Remember (novel).

A Walk to Remember
A Walk to Remember Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Adam Shankman
Produced by
Denise Di Novi
 Hunt Lowry
Written by
Nicholas Sparks (Novel)
 Karen Janszen
Starring
Shane West
Mandy Moore
Music by
Mervyn Warren
Cinematography
Julio Macat
Editing by
Emma E. Hickox
Studio
Gaylord Films
Di Novi Pictures
 Pandora Cinema
Distributed by
Warner Bros.
Release dates
January 25, 2002

Running time
102 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$11 million
Box office
$47,494,916
A Walk to Remember is a 2002 American coming-of-age teen romantic drama film based on the 1999 romance novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Shane West and Mandy Moore, was directed by Adam Shankman, and produced by Denise Di Novi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros. The novel is set in the 1950s while the film is set in 1998.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Background and production 3.1 Casting
4 Comparisons to novel
5 Release 5.1 Box office
5.2 Critical response
5.3 Accolades
5.4 Home media
6 Soundtrack 6.1 Track listing
7 In other media
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
When prank on a fellow high-school student, Clay Gephardt, goes wrong, popular but rebellious Landon Carter (Shane West) is threatened with expulsion. His punishment is mandatory participation in various after-school activities, such as tutoring disadvantaged children and performing in the drama club's spring musical. At these functions he is forced to interact with quiet, bookish Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), a girl he has known for many years but to whom he has rarely ever spoken. Their differing social statures leave them worlds apart, despite their close physical proximity.
When Landon has trouble learning his lines, he asks Jamie for help. She agrees to help him if he promises not to fall in love with her. Landon laughs off the strange remark, believing Jamie to be the last person with whom he would ever fall in love. After all, Landon has access to the prettiest and most popular girls in town; and between her shy demeanor and old-fashioned wardrobe, Jamie doesn't exactly fall into that category.
Landon and Jamie begin practicing together at her house after school. The two form a tentative friendship, and Landon learns that Jamie has a wish list of all the things she hopes to do in her life, such as getting a tattoo and being in two places at once. One day, Jamie approaches Landon at his locker, where he is hanging out with some of his friends. When Jamie asks Landon if they are still on for practice that afternoon he smirks "In your dreams". His friends laugh and Landon's smirk falters as Jamie's face fills with betrayal and embarrassment. That afternoon Landon arrives at Jamie's house, hoping that Jamie will still agree to help him. But she refuses to open the door. When she eventually does, she sarcastically remarks that they can be "secret friends". She slams the door in his face when he agrees. Landon eventually learns the script by himself.
During the play, Jamie astounds Landon and the entire audience with her beauty and voice. Landon kisses Jamie during the play, which was not in the script, and Landon tries to get close to Jamie, but she repeatedly rejects him. Soon thereafter, however, Landon's friends publicly humiliate Jamie by altering a photograph of her and placing her head on the body of a scantily clad woman. Landon angrily confronts his former friend, punching him and publicly siding with Jamie. Afterwards, Landon and Jamie begin a relationship in which Landon dedicates most of his time to her. He discovers that she has a wish list, and sets out to make all her ambitions come true, such as taking her to a state border so that she can stand on either side of the line and, thus, be in two places at once. He also visits Clay Gephardt to try and make up with him.
In the final stretch of the movie, Jamie confesses to Landon that she has terminal leukemia and has stopped responding to treatments. Landon gets upset at first. Jamie tells him the reason why she didn't tell him because she was moving on with her life and using the time she had left but then Landon happened and she fell deeply head-over-heels in love with him. She makes the point that she does not need a reason to be angry at God.
Landon goes to his doctor father's house and asks him to help Jamie. His father freaks out a bit and says that he needs to examine Jamie and know her medical history before he could do anything. Landon leaves in a huff.
Landon and Jamie make up the next day. They hug and he tells her that he will be there for her. Soon, word gets out about Jamie's illness. Eric, Landon's best friend comes and tells him how sorry he is and that he didn't understand. Dean and Belinda both come and apologize.
Jamie's cancer gets worse and she collapses in her father's arms. He rushes her to the hospital where he meets Landon. Landon doesn't leave Jamie's side until her father practically has to pry him away. Jamie's father sits with Jamie and tells her that "If I've kept you too close, it's because I wanted to keep you longer." Jamie tells him that she loves him and her father breaks down.
Later, Jamie gives Landon a book that was her mother's filled with quotations. Landon reads 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 along with her. Jamie then tells Landon that she believes that God sent him to her to help her through her illness and that he is her angel. The next day, Landon comes to the hospital and sees Jamie being wheeled out. Jamie asks him to thank his father for her. He later learns that his father is going to pay for private home care for Jamie, leaving Landon stunned. Landon shows up at his father's door and thanks him before breaking down in tears as his father hugs him.
Landon continues to fulfill various wishes on Jamie's list, such as building her a telescope so she can see a comet. Through this process, Landon and Jamie learn more about the nature of love. The novel ends with Jamie's death, but only after the couple are married in the same chapel as was Jamie's deceased mother, the event that topped Jamie's wish list. Landon himself becomes a better person through Jamie's memory, achieving the goals that he set out to do, like she did.
Four years later, Landon visits Jamie's father and shows that he is still a better person because of Jamie by informing her father that he has been accepted into medical school; prior to falling in love with Jamie, he had no plans for his future after High School. Jamie's father tells him that both he and his mother are proud of him and that Jamie would be too. Landon tells him that he is sorry he never granted Jamie's wish to witness a miracle. Jamie's father tells him that she did in fact witness one: Landon. Carrying that thought, Landon goes for a walk on the docks where he narrates saying that Jamie changed him forever and that while he does miss her, he believes their enduring love is like the wind: he can't see it but he will always feel it. The movie ends with Landon looking at the sunset and smiling warmly.
Cast[edit]
Shane West as Landon Rollins Carter
Mandy Moore as Jamie Elizabeth Sullivan-Carter
Peter Coyote as Reverend Hegbert Sullivan
Daryl Hannah as Cynthia Carter
Lauren German as Belinda
Clayne Crawford as Dean
Al Thompson (actor) as Eric
Paz De La Huerta as Tracy
David Lee Smith as Dr. Carter
Jonathan Parks Jordan as Walker
Matt Lutz as Clay Gephardt
Background and production[edit]
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".[1] 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.[2] The total shooting time was only 39 days, despite Mandy Moore being able to only work 10 hours a day because she was a minor.[2] 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.[3]
Casting[edit]
Director Adam Shankman wanted the lead characters to be portrayed by young actors: "I wanted young actors with whom teenagers could connect", he said.[4] 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."[4] 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.[4]
Shankman said of Mandy Moore that she "has the voice and the face of an angel" and added that she is luminous.[4] 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."[5]
Comparisons to novel[edit]
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."[6]
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."[7]
Release[edit]
Box office[edit]
The film opened at No. 3 at the U.S. box office raking in $12,177,488 in its opening weekend, behind Snow Dogs and Black Hawk Down.
Even though not a critical success, it was a modest box office hit, earning $41,281,092 in the United States alone,[8] and a sleeper hit in Asia. The total revenue generated worldwide was $47,494,916.
Critical response[edit]
 The film was met with generally negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 27% based on reviews from 102, with an average rating of 4.1 out of 10. The site's critical consensus is: "Though wholesome, the Mandy Moore vehicle A Walk to Remember is also bland and oppressively syrupy."[9] Metacritic, another review aggregator which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 35, based on 26 reviews, which indicates "generally unfavorable".[10] Entertainment Weekly retitled the film "A Walk to Forget".[11] Time named it one of the top 10 worst chick flicks.[12]
A Walk to Remember found a warmer reception with the general public, particularly in the Christian community due to the film's moral values; as one reviewer from Christianity Today approvingly noted, "The main character is portrayed as a Christian without being psychopathic or holier-than-thou".[13] Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert praised Mandy Moore and Shane West for their "quietly convincing" acting performances.[14] The Chicago Reader felt that the story "has a fair amount of nuance and charm".[15] The San Francisco Chronicle reviewer Octavio Roca found the film "entertaining" and wrote: "The picture is shamelessly manipulative, but in the best melodramatic sense."[16] Us Weekly deemed it one of the 30 Most Romantic Movies of All Time.[17]
Despite bad critical reviews, the movie was praised by audiences, has 77% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and holds a score of 7.2 on the Internet Movie Database.[18] Additionally, in social media, particularly in Facebook, A Walk to Remember has an estimated likes of 12,355,000 and is currently the 28th most liked movie on Facebook.[19]
Accolades[edit]

Year
Ceremony
Category
Nominated
Result
2002 MTV Movie Awards Best Breakthrough Female Performance Mandy Moore Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout Performance – Actress Mandy Moore Won
Choice Chemistry Moore/West Won
MYX Music Awards Song of the Year "Cry" by Mandy Moore Won
2011 Yahoo! OMG Awards Philippines Best Foreign Romantic Film of 2000s Adam Shankman Nominated
Favorite Actress of 2000s Mandy Moore Nominated
Home media[edit]
A Walk to Remember was released on DVD on July 9, 2002.[20]
Soundtrack[edit]
The film's soundtrack features six songs by Mandy Moore and others by acts Switchfoot, Rachael Lampa and many more.
The lead song "Cry" was originally released on Moore's second studio album Mandy Moore. The soundtrack also includes two versions of Switchfoot's song "Only Hope" including the version Moore sang in the film.
Mandy Moore's manager, Jon Leshay, the musical supervisor for A Walk to Remember, "instantly wanted" Switchfoot's music to be a vital part of the film after hearing them. He later became Switchfoot's manager.[21] 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 a double platinum album, The Beautiful Letdown which included hits such as "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move".
Track listing[edit]
1."Dare You to Move" — Switchfoot
2."Cry" — Mandy Moore
3."Someday We'll Know" — Mandy Moore and Jonathan Foreman (cover of New Radicals)
4."Dancin' in the Moonlight" — Toploader (cover of King Harvest)
5."Learning to Breathe" — Switchfoot
6."Only Hope" — Mandy Moore as character Jamie Sullivan, with dialogue by Shane West as character Landon Carter (cover of Switchfoot)
7."It's Gonna Be Love" — Mandy Moore
8."You" — Switchfoot
9."If You Believe" — Rachael Lampa
10."No One" — Cold
11."So What Does It All Mean?" — West, Gould, & Fitzgerald
12."Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough" — New Radicals
13."Cannonball" — The Breeders (2003 Special Expanded Edition bonus track)
14."Friday on My Mind" — Noogie (2003 Special Expanded Edition bonus track)
15."Empty Spaces" — Fuel (2003 Special Expanded Edition bonus track)
16."Only Hope" — Switchfoot
CD includes multi-media track of Mandy Moore video "Cry".
Complete listing of music in the film[22]1."Cannonball" — The Breeders
2."So What Does It All Mean?" — West, Gould, & Fitzgerald
3."Empty Spaces" — Fuel
4."Lighthouse" — Mandy Moore
5."Friday on My Mind" — Noogie
6."Anything You Want" — Skycopter 9
7."Numb in Both Lips" — Soul Hooligan
8."Tapwater" — Onesidezero
9."If You Believe" — Rachael Lampa
10."No Mercy" — Extra Fancy
11."No One" — Cold
12."Enough" — Matthew Hager
13."Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough" — New Radicals
14."Only Hope" — Mandy Moore
15."Get Ur Freak On" — Missy Elliott
16."Flood" — Jars of Clay
17."Dancin' in the Moonlight" — Toploader
18."Someday We'll Know" — Mandy Moore and Jonathan Foreman
19."Learning to Breathe" — Switchfoot
20."All Mixed Up" — 311
21."Dare You to Move" — Switchfoot
22."You" — Switchfoot
23."It's Gonna Be Love" — Mandy Moore
24."Only Hope" — Switchfoot
25."Cry" — Mandy Moore
In other media[edit]
In the HBO television series Entourage the character of Vincent Chase was credited as having a small supporting role in the film. In the fictional Entourage universe, Chase has an on-set relationship with Mandy Moore during the filming of A Walk to Remember.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Sparks, Nicholas (2000). "Background information on A Walk to Remember, from a speech given in Berlin, Germany for Heyne Verlag". Retrieved 2007-07-12.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Adam Shankman (2002). "A Walk to Remember" DVD Commentary.
3.Jump up ^ Shankman, Adam. "Interview with Adam Shankman, Director of "A Walk to Remember" by Rebecca Murray and Fred Topel". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d "A Walk to Remember - About the film - casting". Warnerbros.com. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
5.Jump up ^ Kaufman, Amy (February 4, 2010). "Nicholas Sparks is a master of romance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
6.Jump up ^ Sparks, Nicholas. "Nicholas Sparks on the Movie Adaptation of A Walk to Remember". Archived from the original on 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
7.Jump up ^ Sparks, Nicholas. "FAQ on 'A Walk to Remember' - Did Jamie Die?". Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
8.Jump up ^ "A Walk to Remember.". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
9.Jump up ^ "A Walk to Remember". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
10.Jump up ^ "A Walk to Remember". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
11.Jump up ^ Kepnes, Caroline (2002-07-12). "Reviews — A Walk to Remember". Retrieved 2007-07-12.
12.Jump up ^ Romero, Frances (May 26, 2010). "Top 10 Worst Chick Flicks - A Walk to Remember". Time. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
13.Jump up ^ Overstreet, Jeffrey (January 23, 2002). A Walk to Remember. Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 2008-05-03
14.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (2002-01-25). "A Walk to Remember". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
15.Jump up ^ "A Walk to Remember". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
16.Jump up ^ Roca, Octavio (January 25, 2002). "FILM CLIPS / Also opening today". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
17.Jump up ^ "30 Most Romantic Movies of All Time - A Walk to Remember". Us Weekly. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
18.Jump up ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/walk_to_remember/?nopopup=true
19.Jump up ^ http://fanpagelist.com/category/movies/view/list/sort/fans/page2
20.Jump up ^ Tyner, Adam (July 3, 2002). "A Walk To Remember". DVD Talk. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
21.Jump up ^ "Switchfoot Featured in 'A Walk To Remember'". 2002-01-21. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
22.Jump up ^ End credits, A Walk to Remember, 2002
External links[edit]

Portal icon 2000s portal
Portal icon United States portal
Portal icon Film portal
Official website
A Walk to Remember at the Internet Movie Database
A Walk to Remember at allmovie
A Walk to Remember at Rotten Tomatoes
A Walk to Remember at Box Office Mojo


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Categories: 2002 films
English-language films
2000s drama films
American coming-of-age films
American romantic drama films
American teen romance films
Films about cancer
Films set in North Carolina
Films set in the 1990s
Films shot in North Carolina
North Carolina in fiction


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