Actor Scott Eastwood has been cast in the lead role of “The Longest Ride,” a feature film set to film in Wilmington this year.
The son of legendary actor-director Clint Eastwood, Scott Eastwood will play the role of Luke Collins, a cowboy who falls in love with a college student in the film adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel.
The Hollywood Reporter, which reported the casting yesterday, notes Eastwood’s credits include the feature film “Invictus” and a recent stint on the TV series “Chicago PD.” Eastwood has also appeared in several of his father’s directorial offerings, including “Gran Torino” and “Flags of our Fathers.”
Eastwood is the first actor cast for the film, which is currently in preproduction. The film is being produced by Temple Entertainment, led by Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen, the production team behind “Safe Haven,” another Nicholas Sparks adaptation that was also filmed locally in 2012.
Fox 2000 plans to release “The Longest Ride” in April 2015.
Related story: Nicholas Sparks movie ‘The Longest Ride’ to film in Wilmington
“The Longest Ride” centers on a couple falling in love whose lives converge with a 91-year-old man who hears his late wife speaking to him in the wake of a car crash. A synopsis of the novel on Sparks’ website starts:
Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together—how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage…”
“The Longest Ride” is the third feature film set to shoot in Wilmington in 2014. “Max Steel,” based on the Mattel action figure line, started filming this week, as did “The Sin Seer,” a suspense thriller produced by Overflow Entertainment. A shooting schedule for “The Longest Ride” has yet to be announced.
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