You are beaten, it is useless to resist. Admit it, guys, your gal has dragged you to every one of the umpteen Nicholas Sparks adaptations that come out each year. It's not stopping any time soon, as they don't cost much for studios to produce, and always draw a decent profit regardless of who stars in them. Safe Haven managed to perform well even facing off against A Good Day to Die Hard and teen romance Beautiful Creatures.
So it's no surprise that a bidding war broke out for Sparks' next book, The Longest Ride, with Fox 2000 walking away the victor. Sparks will earn a hefty $5M on the deal, with the plan to have the film fast-tracked for release on Valentine's Day 2015. Might as well start booking your reservations now, dudes. It's going to be one of those nights. The date isn't really a surprise, since studios have been wise enough to position many Sparks films around the holiday. Makes sense.
The Longest Ride follows two intertwining love stories. One has a 90-year old man stuck and snowbound in his vehicle on the side of an isolated road after a terrible accident. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he has visions of the woman he loved, who died earlier. Together they reminisce about their life together, including the difficulties upon his return from WWII and a war wound that prevented them from having children. The other story is between a young art history major and handsome bull rider from different backgrounds who fall in love. He's got life threatening injuries but a ranch to save, and both have their own aspirations. A strange occurrence allows both generations of lovers to save each other.
Sounds hokey and convoluted, like every other Nicholas Sparks story. The Longest Ride doesn't hit bookshelves until September 24th. [Deadline]
