The Best of Me
Release Date: October 17

Relativity Media

Starring: Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Luke Bracey, Liana Liberato, Caroline Goodall, Sebastian Arcelus, Jon Tenney, Gerald McRaney

Directed by: Michael Hoffman

Rated: PG-13

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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.

See the trailer here:

Producer, Denise Di Novi, Takes us Behind-the-Scenes of Putting "The Best of Me" Together!

For the past thirty years, Denise Di Novi has had a hand in bringing quite a few stories to life on the big screen. With a resume that includes such notable films as “Heathers,” “Edward Scissorhands,” The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “Batman Returns,” “Monte Carlo” and “Life as We Know it,” Denise has worked with our favorite stars like Selena Gomez, Johnny Depp, Josh Duhamel, Blake Lively and America Ferrera.

She has also had a very productive working relationship and friendship with author, Nicholas Sparks, which spawned collaborations like “The Lucky One,” (starring Zac Efron) and the sob-inducing A Walk to Remember” (with Mandy Moore and Shane West). The two have teamed up again on “The Best of Me,” a story of first and last love which opens in theaters on October 17.

We sat down with Denise recently to talk about what keeps her coming back to these Nicholas Sparks stories, casting the right actors for the film and sadly, how Paul Walker’s death played a part in the biggest challenge of making this movie.

“Well, this is my fifth one with Nic Sparks,” Denise begins about how she became attached to this project. “I've done ‘Message in a Bottle,’ ‘A Walk to Remember,’ ‘Nights of Rodanthe,’ ‘The Lucky One,’ and now this one. Nic has done two movies and ‘The Notebook’ too with other producers, so I don’t get every single one. Sometimes, I’m making another movie or whatever, but I always want to do every book that he writes. We have an almost 18 year friendship.”

What is it about Nicholas Sparks and his stories that keep her coming back? “He is an incredibly positive, good-hearted person, aside from the fact that he comes up with great stories, and he’s a great novelist. He’s a lot of fun! He’s always fun to be around. He’s just really a good person and he’s a good friend, a really good friend.”

The experienced producer was also fascinated by the story in “The Best of Me.” “This movie, I really was excited about because I think that the first love is a very powerful experience. You know, a lot of research has been done on first love because you never have another first love. You only have that experience where you are completely new to it one time. And there is proof that it kind of really informs the rest of your life. You can never have those same feelings. You can fall very deeply in love with someone in many different situations the rest of your, but it never has that special intensity.”

“I think we all have a memory of that first love,” she continues. “Even if it was painful and didn't work out, it’s a formative experience. And in this story, it’s taken to such a degree of how these people really love each other their entire lives, and struggle with it so much. I just felt like, Wow! We get to see a great love as teenagers. We get to see the great love again as adults. I just loved that concept.”

One of the biggest challenges of any movie is getting the cast right and Denise says that this one was no different. “I think casting the two sets of actors, so that it was believable, and that they were equally great,” she responds when asked what was the biggest challenge of this production? “Every movie it’s really difficult to find a couple that has great chemistry, because more than other movies these movies live and die off chemistry. And just like if you go on a blind date you have no idea if you’re going to have chemistry with that person, sometimes you think you have chemistry with someone and you don’t. And sometimes, you’re not even attracted to somebody and you still have chemistry with them. It’s the weirdest thing. And it’s the same thing with actors, you never know. So, to roll the dice with two sets was even more intimidating than one, and they had to be believable as being the same people.”

“We cast Michelle Monaghan first,” Denise continues about the casting process. “She was just perfect for the character, because you could believe that she’s the kind of girl that a guy would never get over, he’d never replace her, but she seems like a real person, a real woman. She could be one of your girlfriends, your best looking girlfriend!” Denise laughs. “She’s a mom. She’s from Iowa. She really got the character. So we cast her first, and she was just perfect.”

See a clip form the movie here:

“And then we cast Liana. I had worked with [her] in ‘If I Stay.’ I knew she was a great actress. She did a fantastic screen test and she was believable as a young ‘Michelle,’ they’re both very willow-y and tall.”

“Then, sadly, we cast Paul Walker, who then passed away. And then, we cast Luke, who I had worked with in ‘Monte Carlo’. Nic’s characters, the male characters, have to have a combination of masculinity and vulnerability. So, every one of his characters has to have that combo. And it’s hard to find a guy that’s really a guy’s guy and vulnerable and sensitive. Luke, I knew had that. He’s that kind of guy.”

“And then, when we lost Paul, James became available. And I was fascinated by him, because as the girls know he’s done ‘Enchanted,’ and ‘The Notebook,’ and ‘Hairspray’, and ‘X-Men,’ all these different characters. But he never kind of played this guy’s guy, a leading man. And when I met him, I thought ‘Oh, he’s perfect. He’s from Oklahoma, he’s a regular guy!’ So I thought, ‘He’s so gorgeous! He’s such a great actor! Girls are really going to want to see him play this character.’ He’s so good!

Did Denise have a favorite scene during filming? “Wow, there’s so many good scenes. I think when Dawson and Amanda meet again, I really got the chills.”

Up next for Denise is a movie called “Focus” starring Will Smith that opens in theaters February 17. Does the movie industry veteran have any advice for teens who might want to make a career out of movie-making? “You have to want it desperately, because it’s a very difficult field to get in to. The odds are against you. But if you are doing it for the right reasons, if you are doing it because it’s your heart’s passion, then go for it 100%!”

You can see Denise’s latest project “The Best of Me,” in theaters beginning October 17. What does she hope the audience will take away from the movie? “That life doesn't always give you what you think you want, but that when you look back things can make sense in way that you may not have anticipated.”

Join The Cast at Their Star-Studded Hollywood Premiere!

Click on the picture below for photos from the Red Carpet and Celebration!

Mark your calendars for October 17 and fall in love with "The Best of Me!"

Photos by Relativity Media

Click on the picture below for photos from the movie's Nashville Premiere and Party!

"The Best of Me" Is A Rollercoaster of Emotions! How Do You Feel About Second Chances?

The latest movie to be adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel is the sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting, story titled "The Best of Me." The film, which stars veteran actors Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden and crush-worthy semi-newcomers, Liana Liberato and Luke Bracey, tells the story of first love and how life doesn't always go the way anybody expects it to go.

The movie begins with a near-death experience for Dawson Cole (James Marsden) that leads him to wonder why he was given a second chance at life. While facing death, his only thought is that of his first love, Amanda (Michelle). As fate would have it, the two are drawn back together because of the death of someone who was very important to them, a man named Tuck who took care of Dawson when he ran away from an abusive father and a dangerous family situation.

Told in flashbacks with Luke as the younger Dawson and Liana as the young Amanda, the audience gets to watch first time, teenage love at its best. The two, smart teenagers are good for each other in most ways, despite their polar opposite upbringings.

A terrible tragedy causes Dawson to reason that he needs to stay away from Amanda and that she is better off without him, thus causing the two to go down very different paths for over twenty years. Reunited after Tuck's death and Dawson's miraculous survival, there is plenty to catch up on and old wounds to heal.

Amanda is very hesitant at first to repair the damage. Can Dawson convince her to give him a second chance? Is this couple still in love and truly destined to be together forever?

If you've read other Nicholas Sparks novels, you know that that nothing is ever easy for his couples and that most endings are not without a couple of twists that you never saw coming. "The Best of Me" doesn't stray from this path.

Do Amanda and Dawson finally get a happy ending after watching their beautiful love story unfold? You'll have to head to your local theater to find out.

See More From The Movie and Behind the Scenes Here