Fun Facts From The Set of The Choice!

The best-selling author of The Notebook and Safe Haven, Nicholas Sparks has done it again. I got to visit the set of The Choice movie in North Carolina. I've got exclusive details from the cast of The Choice.

I love a good romantic story. So, it's probably no surprise that I'm a Nicholas Sparks fan. I can literally devour his books in just a day. Often, I wish the story wasn't over yet. I especially felt this way about The Notebook, as I'm sure most women did. The lead characters were easy to fall in love with and although I loved the storyline and ending, I went into that post-book-depression and ended up reading it again (that's when I know it was a really good book).

When I read The Choice I felt like the characters and story were a little familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't until I read about Sparks' inspiration for The Choice - he wanted to parallel The Notebook in a way - that I realized why this story was so moving; I'd felt these emotions before, but now in a whole new way. The Choice was a good book, so I literally jumped at the chance to visit the set of the movie when I received an invitation.

Where was the choice filmed?

Like a lot of Nicholas Sparks' books and movies, The Choice was filmed in North Carolina.

I flew to Wilmington, North Carolina to watch the rehearsal and filming of the pivotal moment when Travis (played by Benjamin Walker) and Gabby (Teresa Palmer) meet for the first time. Not familiar with Travis and Gabby? Let me give you the film synopsis so you can follow along (synopsis from Lionsgate):

When feisty medical student Gabby Holland moves in next door to perennial ladies' man Travis Shaw, it sends them both on a romantic journey neither ever dreamed possible. Travis has always believed a serious relationship with a woman would cramp his easygoing lifestyle, while Gabby is all set to settle down her long-term boyfriend - until an irresistible attraction between the unlikely couple upends both of their well-planned lives. Gabby and Travis wed after a whirlwind romance and build a family together. They make every decision hand-in-hand. That is until one of them is forced to make the most important choice of their life, alone. A poignant and life-affirming celebration of love, marriage, and family that explores the most heart-wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

My visit to The Choice set

1.) The Choice was filmed in "Wilmywood."  Since Nicholas Sparks is a North Carolina native, he often sets his novels in the gorgeous state of North Carolina. The Choice is the fifth of his titles made in North Carolina. It follows A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Safe Haven, and The Longest Ride. Most scenes were filmed in Wilmington. The area is amazingly scenic. It's been dubbed "Wilmywood," since so many shows and movies have been there.

This coastal North Carolina town was everything I hoped it would be. When you're wrapped up in a book you imagine what the scenery might look and feel like. Wilmington delivers big time.

2.) Nicholas Sparks was ON set while we were there. Some authors are heavily involved in decisions regarding filming. Others are left completely out of it. I wasn't sure how involved Nicholas Sparks was in the movie-making process, but I was so excited when I found out that we'd get to meet him on the set of The Choice. Not only did we get to meet him, but we also got to sit down with him and chat!

I read a book and memorize the way it was written. I'm a stickler for the storyline. I'm often let down by a movie adaptation when it doesn't live up to my expectations. Or, when it doesn't parallel the book as closely as I want it to. This is why I was excited to see Sparks on set and with an active roll since he was co-financing and producing with his Nicholas Sparks Productions, alongside Theresa Park and Peter Safran's The Safran Company.

Meeting Nicholas Sparks

We asked Nicholas Sparks, "Is it really hard for you because you can't take your entire novel and translate it to film, so is it hard to cut things out?" He replied: No, it's not. You know in the end, we work with the screenwriters knowing it's an entirely different medium. A novel is told with words. A movie is a story told with pictures. There are going to be differences.

He added: At the same time, sometimes we want there to be differences just to make it feel different than other films, and that's one of the great things about this film, is it's almost has a little bit more of an indie feel. It's got a young, hip cast. It's got a lot of vibrancy and energy. This is the first real ensemble cast. There's a lot of humor in this particular film. We wanted to make sure we had those things for this one because we didn't want people to feel as if they were watching The Notebook again. We've already done that one, let's do something a little different, but just as good in its own way.

This conversation really helped me to understand why films can be so vastly different from the books they're based on. I used to feel a little bitter when the movies strayed from the original storyline. I realize that not every scenario in a book can be transformed into live-action after my set visit. It just isn't possible, especially with time constraints or budgeting.

The Choice set was mostly real.

3.) The "set" we visited was someone's home. And a small house that was built beside it by the production crew. In the novel and in The Choice movie, Travis and Gabby meet because they're next-door neighbors. The production company rented a fabulous waterfront property for Travis' bachelor pad, but there wasn't a residence close by to represent Gabby's house. So, they built a darling little house for filming. We asked if the structure would remain for the current residents. Unfortunately, they didn't obtain permits. Therefore, the structure would be removed once filming ended. It looked perfect and like it always should have been there.

4.) Gabby is... BLONDE!  This one was a little tough for me to wrap my head around. As I mentioned earlier, I'm a big fan of the novel, and as I was reading the book I sort of fell in love with the idea of Gabby having beautiful red hair. When I saw Australian actress Teresa Palmer (Gabby) and noticed she was blonde, I was a little sad.. but then I saw her in action and instantly LOVED (like loved, loved, loved) her. She is so talented and relatable, and not to mention gorgeous.

Baby on board

5.) The Choice movie set was family-friendly.  The scene being filmed while we were there had a few kids running around. Benjamin Walker (playing Travis) looked like he was having such a fun time playing with them. Then, Teresa Palmer came around the corner with her (then) 8-month old baby boy. In fact, she was breastfeeding on set - it was totally amazing. She mentioned that he may even be in one of the scenes in the movie too!

As a new mom, Palmer was excited to sit down with us "mommy" bloggers. She told us how incredible her experience had been working on this film and how fortunate she felt that she could bring her son with her to work every day. Teresa said that being a mum is definitely her priority and that she knew she needed to have her son on-set with her to make acting work for her. This way he never misses a feeding and his mama gets to feed him every day.

As a mom who works from home so that I can be with my kids every single day, I totally related to this. Palmer mentioned that having Bodhi on set enriched her experience. I could definitely see why. She gets to do what she loves but still gets to have her baby by her side. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Palmer.

Another fun fact - Maggie Grace (playing Travis' sister, Stephanie) was able to leave the production to fly across the county to be at her sister's side when she delivered a baby girl. Grace was so excited about her new niece and it was really heartwarming.

Pets welcome

6.) The set was dog-friendly. One of the endearing storylines in The Choice takes place when Gabby accuses Travis's dog of impregnating her beloved dog, Molly. So, it's no surprise that there were some animals on set... but, Nicholas Sparks even brought his dog to the set too! It was really cool to see how laid-back everyone was.

I had such a fantastic time on the set of The Choice and can't wait to see the final product in theaters. I hope you'll check it out!

#TheChoice

Special thanks to Lionsgate for inviting me and the crew and cast of The Choice for having us on set.