Over the years, we have seen a string of Nicholas Sparks novels adapted for the big screen - resulting in a series of great romance stories.

The Longest Ride

The Longest Ride

Every romance story needs a leading actor and actress and these movies have brought together some big names to make terrific partnerships.

The Longest Ride is the latest of Sparks' books to get a movie makeover and we take a look at some of our favourite leading lovers.

- The Notebook (2004) - Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams

Hard to believe that The Notebook is a movie that was released back in 2004 and is already over ten years old. It was the third of Sparks' novels to be adapted into a film and came hot off the heels of Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember.

Ten of Sparks' novels have been turned into films over the years but it is The Notebook that is the most famous, the most successful and the most loved.

The movie saw Ryan Gosling team up with Rachel McAdams in the central roles of Noah and Allie - and they are widely regarded as one of the best romance movie couples of all time. It is also one of the roles and films that are both synonymous with.

The Notebook follows Noah and Allie two lovers in 1940 that are separated by social and financial differences - but are they meant to be together? In the present day, an elderly man is reading a romantic story from a notebook to a fellow patient at a nursing home.

It is the chemistry between Gosling and McAdams that really makes this movie what it is as the pair just sizzles together. The Notebook is a romantic, emotional and a thoughtful film that will have you reaching for the tissues every time you watch it.

The Notebook

- Dear John (2010) - Channing Tatum & Amanda Seyfried

Dear John was the fifth of Sparks' novel to get a movie makeover and hit the big screen in 2010 - the first of two films based on Sparks' novels that would be released that year.

Directed by Lasse Hallström and adapted for the big screen by Jamie Linden, Dear John follows a soldier who falls in love with a college student while he is home on leave. The pair writes letters during their time apart but the distance between them puts a strain on the relationship.

Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried take on the central roles of John and Savannah - two people in love who find themselves tested by the situation that they find themselves in.

Dear John is a sweet romance that explores bumps in the road that so many relationships have to deal with and overcome.

However, for me, the standout relationship in Dear John is that between John and his father - played fantastically by Tatum and Richard Jenkins - really touching performances.

Dear John

- The Last Song (2010) - Liam Hemsworth & Miley Cyrus

The same summer Dear John hit the big screen, The Last Song was released and saw Miley Cyrus team up with Liam Hemsworth for the first time.

The Last Song came at the beginning of both Cyrus and Hemsworth's acting career as they teamed up with Greg Kinnear, Kelly Preston and director Julie Anne Robinson - the first female filmmaker to direct a Sparks' adaptation.

The film follows the rebellious Ronnie Miller, who is sent to stay with her father for the summer. The pair starts to reconnect over their love of music and falls in love with Will Blakelee.

The Last Song is an honest and sweet movie that sees Cyrus and Hemsworth charm in the central roles - the pair would go on to date after working together on this project.

However, much like Dear John, it is a parents/child relationship that really steals this one for me as Cyrus and Greg Kinnear play out a truly heart-wrenching storyline.

The Last Song

- The Lucky One (2012) - Zac Efron & Taylor Schilling

In 2012, Zac Efron took on a romance role as he led the cast in The Lucky One, which saw him team up with filmmaker Scott Hicks - this was his first feature since The Boys are Back back in 2009.

The Lucky One follows Logan, a Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war. He takes a job at her family-run local kennel and a romance blossoms between them - until her past starts causing her problems.

The Lucky One is a movie that is very much about second chances and grabbing hold of them when they pass you by and both Efron and Taylor Schilling play up to this theme and idea well.

They make a great romance couple and there is genuine and rather tender chemistry between them.

This is another heartfelt story of redemption and love and will have you reaching for the tissues once again.

The Lucky One

- The Longest Ride (2015) - Scott Eastwood & Britt Robertson

The Longest Ride is the latest of Sparks' novel to hit the big screen and it is set to be released at the end the week.

George Tillman Jr. is in the director's chair for the film, while Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Jack Huston, and Oona Chaplin are on board as Luke, Sophia, Ira, and Ruth as the film follows two different love stories.

The Longest Ride centres on the star-crossed love affair between Luke, a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia, a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City's art world.

As conflicting paths and ideals test their relationship, Sophia and Luke make an unexpected and life altering connection with Ira, whose memories of his own decades-long romance with his beloved wife deeply inspire the young couple. Spanning generations and two intertwining love stories, The Longest Ride explores the challenges and infinite rewards of enduring love.

Robertson and Eastwood are two of the big screen's rising stars and this is one of a string of exciting film projects that they both have on the horizon.

If you are looking for some romance on the big screen this weekend then The Longest Ride is a movie that is right up your street and cannot be missed.

The Longest Ride

The Longest Ride is released 19th June.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
find me on and follow me on