The Notebook wasn’t the first Nicholas Sparks novel that Hollywood decided to adapt for the big screen — that distinction goes to 1999’s weepy Kevin Costner–Robin Wright Penn–starring Message In A Bottle — but it was the one that signaled Sparks’s breakthrough into the big time and elevated both Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling into the upper strata of today’s acting crop. The next Sparks adaptation to hit the big screen, 2008’s Nights in Rodanthe, hauled in a totally respectable $41 million at the domestic box office, and now comes our first look at his next pic. Dear John, which is set to open in the always romantic month of February, stars two hot young actors both sitting on the cusp of superstardom: Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum. As you might expect, the plot revolves around the evergreen story of young love torn apart by circumstance (which, in this case, is the Iraq war). However, this movie is directed by two-time Oscar nominee Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), which gives it some cred that other films that target the Lifetime/Oxygen set can’t boast.
Exclusive ‘Dear John’ Trailer Premiere [Oh No They Didn’t]