The Last Song (2010 film)

The Last Song is a 2010 American coming-of-age teen romantic drama film developed alongside Nicholas Sparks' 2009 novel of the same name.

The Last Song stars Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, and Greg Kinnear, and follows a troubled teenager as she reconnects with her estranged father and falls in love during a summer in a quiet Southern United States beach town.

Veronica and her younger brother, Jonah, travel to Georgia to spend the summer with Steve, a former Juilliard professor and concert pianist who now lives quietly in his hometown of Wrightsville Beach.

Ronnie stays with Steve in the hospital, while Jonah and Will return home to continue rebuilding a stained-glass window to replace one lost in the fire.

Steve opts not to relay the truth to law enforcement, but Ronnie breaks up with Will, horrified that he has allowed her father to carry the guilt for so long.

The Last Song began when Disney executive Jason Reed met with Miley Cyrus to discuss her future career plans.

[17] Disney called Adam Shankman, director of A Walk to Remember,[20] who signed on to produce the potential Cyrus film along with his sister and Offspring Entertainment production company partner, Jennifer Gibgot.

Wary of venturing above 50 again after his best-seller The Notebook, Sparks had already been leaning toward writing a teenager story when he received a phone call from Gibgot on behalf of the film in August 2008.

[5] Once the proposal had been agreed upon by Cyrus, her family, and Offspring Entertainment, Sparks, with the aid of co-screenplay writer Jeff Van Wie, completed the screenplay before starting the book.

[17][24] Sparks explained that such an arrangement was necessary to accommodate filming in summer 2009, as Disney had scheduled,[22] but, "this is similar to the way it's gone with movies based on my novels; it's just out of order.

As dictated by the Writers Guild of America, Sparks receives full credit for his work, although the amount of his original screenplay retained in the film is uncertain.

[43] After being introduced to Cal Johnson, the film's stunt coordinator, Adam Barnett landed the role of Teddy in May 2009 due to his previously developed talent in juggling and hackey sack.

[48] The Motion Picture Association of America reviewed the film and issued it a PG rating for "thematic material, some violence, sensuality and mild language" three weeks later.

[51] Still, Disney remained interested in North Carolina and offered to film there if the state would reduce the amount the company would save in Georgia, around $1 million, in half.

North Carolina officials searched for ways to accomplish this, including applying unsuccessfully for state and Golden LEAF Foundation grants.

[52] To determine the specific town, location scouts scoured the state for an aged, isolated, oceanfront property to use as the Miller family's home in the film.

[58] While most of the filming took place on the natural Tybee Island beach or on preconstructed private property,[59] Coates oversaw the re-painting of the pier and the construction of the carnival and church.

[54][60] According to Savannah Morning News reporter Lesley Conn, it "was built in classic rambling beach style [... designed] to allow ocean breezes to sweep through wide, wraparound porches into cool, heart-pine rooms.

"[54] The church set was built over a six-week period on a vacant lot on the corner of 13th Street and Sixth Avenue,[61] near residential homes.

[78] Due to the conflicting personalities of his protagonist couple, Sparks faced difficulty in finding a vehicle that would draw Will and Ronnie to spend time together.

[5] Said Mike Dodd of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the biologist who supervised the scene, the hatchlings "did all they know how to do: They crawled down to the water and swam off.

It featured contributions from OneRepublic, Alpha Rev, Allstar Weekend, José González, Maroon 5, Edwin McCain, Eskimo Joe, amongst several others.

[87] Cyrus was originally planned to go to the UK premiere of the film, but due to the April 14, 2010 eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull that blanketed Europe in volcanic ash and grounded all flights to and from the continent, she was unable to attend.

The critical consensus is summarized: "As shamelessly manipulative as any Nicholas Sparks production, The Last Song is done no favors by its miscast and over matched star, Miley Cyrus.

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle says the screenplay's faults include several "scenes that make no emotional sense" and claims, "The plot construction is weak.

"[94] Rob Nelson of Variety writes, "Cyrus, alas, hasn't yet learned not to act [...] But she does show off her considerable chops as a pianist and remains reasonably likable throughout.

"[95] A. O. Scott of The New York Times believes that although "her Hannah Montana persona has a certain aggressive charm", in The Last Song she "play-act[s] rather than exploring the motives and feelings of her character.

A. O. Scott writes, "it's nice to see Mr. Kinnear play an entirely sympathetic character for a change [but] his slyness and subtlety seem wasted in a project that has no interest in either.

"[96] Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune writes, "Reliably honest and affecting, [Kinnear] fights off the waves of corn in much the same way that Tibetan monk defied the tsunami in 2012.

[94] Stephen Witty of The Star-Ledger commends "newcomer Carly Chaikin [who] plays the "bad girl" ... with an exciting mixture of wildness and vulnerability.

From left to right, cast members Adam Barnett, Nick Lashaway, and Carly Chaikin make their way to the filming of the bonfire scene under the Tybee Island pavilion on July 30, 2009
A side-view shot of a female teenager with long brown hair who smiles as a woman with dark brown hair, glasses, and a white shirt bends to brush the teen's face with make-up. The teen sits in a chair. Beside her is an identical chair with its back facing the camera; the chair's back has the words "The Last Song" written across it.
Actress Miley Cyrus sits in make-up on set
On the left in the foreground, a left facing man in a light blue shirt faces a woman with short brown hair and a green jacket. In the background, a shirtless male teenager with black shorts talks to a shorter man wearing a black shirt. The people are standing on a volleyball court with the net stretched across the background.
Director Julie Anne Robinson talks to stunt coordinator Cal Johnson while Liam Hemsworth is coached on beach volleyball.
Two men, dressed in white shirts and loose pants, are seen beneath a wooden pavilion. The pavilion's legs stick out diagonally from the pavilion. One man carries a pipe which he points toward a pit in the sandy ground. The second man walks toward him.
The Last Song crew members installed propane pipes and gas lines to create a controlled burn for the bonfire scene.
Blue, red, and yellow flags raised on poles are lined up in the sand on a beach. The flags are connected with light strings. The ocean and people are visible beneath the flags in the background.
Remnants of the carnival set, such as these flags and light strings, were re-established to create the illusion that the beach scenes filmed in late July had taken place during the festival filmed in June.
A small grey-brown turtle lies on its stomach on sand. It lies diagonally across the picture frame with its head in the lower-left corner.
The loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings featured in the film were stragglers collected from nests on Tybee Island and Sapelo Island . [ 79 ]
A female teenager with long brown hair and a black dress stretches her fist upward. Only the teen's back is visible, as she is facing a large screen behind her. On the screen is the silhouette of a male teen caressing the face of a shorter female teenager.
Cyrus sings "When I Look at You" during her Wonder World Tour while facing a screen playing a film clip of Will and Ronnie.