The Nicholas Sparks juggernaut just keeps rolling along. Until, that is, the tragic-but-manly juggernaut meets its perfect match in a curvy, rich delivery truck and they drive off into the sunset together. But before that happens, the latest Sparks novel being turned into a film – 2009’s The Choice – has just cast more actors, with Alexandra Daddario, Tom Welling, Maggie Grace and Tom Wilkinson joining the ensemble.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’s Benjamin Walker and** I Am Number Four**’s Teresa Palmer are headlining this one, starring in the tale of Travis Parker, a man who would appear to be living the perfect live. He has a good job, great friends and the ideal living situation in a beautiful waterfront North Carolina home. Where women are concerned, he’s quite content to be the love-‘em-and-leave-‘em type until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Though there's initially more frustration than romance between them – and she already has a long-term boyfriend – they’re destined for one another… But of course, their romance won’t be quite that easy.
According to The Wrap, Daddario’s role is being kept quiet (which must be tough given that the book has been out there for years, unless it’s something that screenwriter Bryan Sipe has added to the story), with Welling as Ryan (presumably Gabby’s boyfriend), Wilkinson as a doctor named Shep and Grace as Travis’ sister, Stephanie. Ross Katz is in the director’s chair and the film will start shooting shortly on Sparks' home turf, North Carolina.
If you're jonesing for a Sparks fix, however, you won't have to wait long, because The Best Of Me arrives in the UK next Wednesday, starring James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan, and will be followed by The Longest Ride on April 10, 2015. To keep track of previous Sparks efforts, meanwhile, have a look at our flowchart here to tell them apart.