| The Last Song | |
| Directed by | Julie Anne Robinson[1] |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Executive Producer Tish Cyrus[2] Producer Adam Shankman[3] Jennifer Gibgot[3] Co-Producer Dara Weintraub[3] |
| Written by | Novel Nicholas Sparks Screenplay Writer: Nicholas Sparks Co-writer: Jeff Van Wie[3] |
| Starring | Miley Cyrus Kelly Preston Greg Kinnear Liam Hemsworth Bobby Coleman Hallock Beals Carly Chaikin Nick Lashaway |
| Cinematography | John Lindley[3] |
| Editing by | Nancy Richardson |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | United States January 8 2010 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Last Song is an upcoming 2010 coming of age drama film starring Miley Cyrus. Cyrus' representation hired Nicholas Sparks to write the screenplay and a novel by the same name to serve as a star vehicle for Cyrus as she moves away from the Hannah Montana franchise. The film is Julie Anne Robinson's feature film directorial debut.[1]
The story centers on rebellious teen Ronnie Miller as she reconnects with her estranged father during a summer in a Southern beach town. Along with Cyrus, the film stars Kelly Preston, Greg Kinnear, and Liam Hemsworth, and is produced by Touchstone Pictures, an alternative film label of The Walt Disney Company. Filming began on location in Savannah, Georgia and nearby Tybee Island on June 15, 2009 and will continue to August 18, 2009.[4][5] The film is expected to be released on January 8, 2010 in the United States.
Plot
After her parents' divorce, seventeen-year-old New York City dweller Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller (Miley Cyrus) becomes rebellious and distances herself from her parents, especially her father. Three years later, Steve Miller (Greg Kinnear), Ronnie's father, gets the chance to reconnect with his daughter when Ronnie's mother (Kelly Preston) sends Ronnie to spend the summer with him. Steve, a former Juilliard professor and concert pianist, now lives a quiet life in small Georgia beach town, laboring over a piece which will serve as a centerpiece for the local church. Although she is initially hostile and defensive toward those around her and desires to return home to New York, Ronnie slowly bonds with her father through their mutual love of music and builds a romance with Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth), a popular athlete who aspires to attend an Ivy League university.[6][7]
Cast
- Miley Cyrus as Veronica "Ronnie" Miller,[6] an angry seventeen year old. Cyrus' role as Ronnie is a part of her transition to adult fare and an attempt to broaden Cyrus' image beyond the pop persona she developed through the Hannah Montana franchise. Cyrus therefore will only act, not sing, during her performance in the film.
- Kelly Preston as Ronnie's mother,[8][9] who raised Ronnie in New York City after her nasty divorce.
- Greg Kinnear as Steve Miller,[8][9] Ronnie's father and former Juilliard professor and concert pianist. During the summer, Steve reconnects with Ronnie through their mutual love of music. Steve immerses himself in helping to rebuild the local church after a fire and creating a piece for it. Steve's mentor is Pastor Harris.
- Liam Hemsworth as Will Blakelee,[9][10] a popular beach volleyball player interested in attending a top university.
- Carly Chaikin as Blaze,[11] Ronnie's rebel friend.
- Bobby Coleman[12][13]
- Hallock Beals[12][13]
- Nick Lashaway
Development
In 2008, Disney announced plans to create a film starring Miley Cyrus scripted by Nicholas Sparks, then known as the "Untitled Miley Cyrus Project".[14][15] According to producer Jennifer Gibgot, the project began after Disney executive Jason Reed met with Cyrus to discuss her career plans.[15] Cyrus' acting representation, United Talent Agency, then recruited novelist Nicholas Sparks, also a UTA client, to write a novel and movie script with Cyrus in mind for the lead.[16] Cyrus' role was hand-crafted by Sparks and Cyrus' representation to help Cyrus expand her image beyond the pop persona she developed through the Hannah Montana franchise and to serve as a star vehicle for Cyrus during her transition to adult fare.[15]
Sparks told Variety Magazine that Miley Cyrus and her family "were very familiar with the work I've done in the past. That played a role in this project coming together." After the premise was agreed upon by Cyrus, her family, and the film's producers, Sparks turned his attention to creating a novel of equal caliber to his previous books.[15] "On this one, I wrote the screenplay first and then the novel. That's the first time I've done that," Sparks said during a talk at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tennessee.[17] Sparks reported, "This is similar to the way it's gone with movies based on my novels; it's just out of order. Certain opportunities garner your interest, and this was one of those."[15]
During the development, the plot of the film and novel remained a tightly held secret, but Gibgot suggested A Walk to Remember as an example of what she hoped for.[2] Sparks later described the plot as "the story of 17-year-old Ronnie Miller, who moves to North Carolina to spend the summer with her estranged father – and she's very angry at her father. I write love stories, so something will probably happen along those lines." The novel will be published in fall 2009 by Grand Central Publishing.[17]
On June 13, 2009, Cyrus wrote an entry titled "A New Start" in her official blog, in which she discussed The Last Song. Wrote Cyrus, "This is such a new beginning for me. I'm in a new city, in a new home, with a new hair color, doing a new movie with a completely new character. Its going to be a great challenge for me to play such a diffenent part. Im really happy and excited to start this new chapter in my life. Ive waited to do something like this for a long time." Cyrus explained that this is the first time she has had the time to film a movie because of her music, tv show, tours, and Hannah Montana: The Movie. "Im so grateful Im getting to this and have been so blessed to be doing a role Im so passionate about. Ive always been a fan of Nicholas Sparks and his books and movies and to have him write this specifically for me is a dream come true!" Cyrus continued.[18]
Filming
Principal photography began on June 15, 2009 and continues to August 18, 2009 in Savannah, Georgia as well as nearby Tybee Island.[19][5]
During pre-production, a Production Manager and location scouts held a private meeting with Georgia land owners and residents who would be directly affected by filming to address their concerns. The crew gave the attendees specific shooting dates, times, and locations.[5] Most of the filming takes place on private property and along the Tybee Island beach and pier. The beach will never be closed to the public and filming will not take place during weekends. "People are still going to be able to get to and from Tybee, just as they always have," said Jay Self, director of Savannah Tourism and Film. "It's not going to be crazy, so people should be able to go to the beach and have fun."[20]
Originally, Sparks had set The Last Song in Wrightsville Beach and Wilmington in North Carolina, but cost incentives caused filmmakers to move shooting to Georgia. Bass Hampton, the film's location director, explained that although they had intended to masquerade the area as North Carolina, "We had a hard time trying to hide the fact that this was Tybee and Savannah was Savannah." Filmmakers convinced Sparks to change the location to Savannah and Tybee Island. This allowed them to include landmarks such as Tybee Island's lighthouse and the Savannah Historic District.[21]
The Last Song is expected to bring 250[5] to 500 jobs and $17.5 million in revenue to local businesses to Georgia.[21]
Book Talk
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