The 2000s were a time when romantic movies and series were all the rage, and one such movie from that time is A Walk To Remember, directed by Adam Shankman. The 102-minute-long film stars Shane West and Mandy Moore as the main characters and is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks.
A Walk To Remember revolves around the emotional story of Jamie and Landon, young high schoolers who end up falling in love with each other despite having completely different personalities. The novel may have been set in the late 50s, but the movie is set in the 2000s to make the story more realistic.
When it was released, the Adam Shankman film ended up receiving tons of negative reviews for how predictable it was, but A Walk To Remember remains sincere and still leaves its viewers all teary-eyed no matter how many times they watch it. A Walk To Remember ended up winning three awards in the year it was released worldwide.
Besides Shane West as Landon and Mandy Moore as Jamie, the cast of the film consists of Peter Coyote in the role of Reverend, Darl Hannah plays Cynthia, Lauren German plays Belinda, Clayne Crawford stars as Dean and Paz de la Huerta plays the role of Tracie.
Filming Locations
With Julia Macat as the cinematographer, filming for A Walk To Remember began in the summer of 2001. The major filming location for the movie was Wilmington, North Carolina, a place that was already hosting other productions like Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Dawson’s Creek at the same time.
North Carolina, USA:
The scenes of the high school and the play were filmed at Atkinson, a town in Pender County, NC. For A Walk To Remember’s small-town setting, Atkinson was a perfect choice considering how it’s barely populated and had only industries and other companies all around instead of entertainment spots like malls and restaurants.
In 2021, this cozy little town in NC had only 300 people living in the area, which just goes to show how secluded life here can be. This one-of-a-kind atmosphere is also the reason why other productions like Bloodworth and Sleepy Hollows were filmed here.
Areas like Wilmington, North Carolina, also made it into the Shankman film. A picturesque port city in the southeastern parts of the state, Wilmington is the best place to visit and stay if you’re a fan of sunny weather and the warm beachy sand. It gives the same small city feel but without a lack of beachside restaurants, cafes, and much more.
While the amenities may make it look like Wilmington could be an expensive place to live, that’s not the case at all because the cost of living in this stunning port city is 4% below the national average. The pristine blue waters have attracted movies and TV shows like One Tree Hill, The Summer I Turned Pretty, We’re The Millers, Outer Banks, and even the latest release of Scream.
The Orton Plantations, lying in Brunswick County, NC, can be spotted in a few scenes of A Walk To Remember. Owned by Louis Moore Bacon, this is a nature-filled historic plantation house that’s nestled between fully-grown oak trees and flowery bushes. When it was first built, the plantation used to be where rice was grown by laborers, but now it’s a private residence that has all kinds of trees and plants all around it.
While A Walk To Remember was being filmed here, the TV show Dawson’s Creek was also present at the site. Other productions that have been filmed at the Orton Plantations include Firestarter, Idlewild, Crimes of The Heart, and One Treet Hill.
The church where Jamie and Landon got married was located in Southport, NC. Southport is another seaside town that has been the host for countless romantic TV shows and movies. Once you see the views and places to hang out that Southport offers, it’s understandable why producers would want Southport to be a part of their projects.
With charming shops and restaurants, cozy waterfront homes, fine dining, historical places, and whatnot, Southport offers more entertainment and vacation spots than any other place in North Carolina. Productions like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Safe Haven, and The Wedding were filmed in Southport.
The crew filmed some of the interior scenes at EUE/Screen Gems Studios located at 1223 N 23rd Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. These studios offer a wide blank space for any movie or TV show and have been a filming location for Iron Man 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
This sums up the filming spots for A Walk To Remember, now available on Prime Video and Netflix.
