The two romantic leads have been cast for the next Nicholas Sparks film project, “The Choice,” which is set to start shooting in Wilmington this month.
Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer have been cast as Travis Parker and Gabby Holland, the main characters in the novel on which the movie is based.
Entertainment trade site Variety also reports that Ross Katz, a co-producer on 2003’s “Lost in Translation,” is signed on to direct. The screenplay adaptation is written by Bryan Sipe.
Walker, who played the title character in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” is also known for roles in “Flags of our Fathers” and “Kinsey.” Palmer’s film credits include “I Am Number Four” and an upcoming remake of “Point Break.”
“The Choice” is the latest Sparks adaptation to be filmed in the Wilmington area—the second this year. Production recently wrapped on “The Longest Ride,” which filmed in Wilmington this summer. Other titles filmed over the years include “Safe Haven,” “A Walk to Remember” and “Nights in Rodanthe.”
Related story: ‘The Longest Ride’ rolls cameras at the Cameron
Sparks, who resides in New Bern, is known for setting his stories in coastal towns in North Carolina. “The Choice,” while filmed primarily in Wilmington, is set in Beaufort.
Sparks is serving as a producer on “The Choice,” along with Peter Safran, whose credits include the Wilmington-filmed “The Conjuring.” Chris Bromley, who worked with Safran on that film, is serving as unit production manager.
A synopsis of “The Choice” on Sparks’ website describes the story as “spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family.” The story centers on Travis Parker, a bachelor whose attempts to be neighborly with a woman “leads them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen.”
Cameras are set to start rolling in two weeks, with production expected to last about a month.
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