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The Lucky One Trailer: Zac Efron Returns From War to Romance His Good-Luck Charm

Shannon Vestal — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:44:50 PST

It's been a while since we've seen a Nicholas Sparks adaptation, but the wait is over with The Lucky One, which has every Sparks element we've come to expect: soap, sex, and plenty of cheese. Zac Efron stars as Logan Thibault, a soldier who has just returned home after fighting overseas. He credits his survival at war to one object: a photograph of a woman he randomly found in battle. When he comes back to the states, his one goal is to find the girl in the picture. He has no trouble locating Beth (Taylor Schilling), a young single mother who has plenty of her own problems, including a lowlife ex.

Logan doesn't tell Beth how he "knows" her, which you know will lead to some sort of conflict for the budding couple, which you know they'll get past so they can roll around in the softly lit hay. How do we know this? Because we all know what happens in a Nicholas Sparks movie. Still, if you need a syrupy sweet trailer fix (bonus: no shirt on Efron toward the end of the trailer. I repeat: no shirt on Efron), watch the preview for The Lucky One after the break.

Link Time - Nicholas Sparks Is Not the Author of Your Life

TresSugar — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:15:00 PDT

Why Nicholas Sparks novels don't make good life road maps - College Candy
The new generation of leading men - Ask Men
Who's the sex initiator in your relationship? - Betty Confidential
Saudi Arabian women are fighting back against driving ban - The Frisky
Lesbian love advice - The Hairpin
Why do men contact their exes? - Em & Lo
Five tips for moving in together - YourTango
What do you think about "trading up"? - Glamour

Video: Zac Efron Shares Family Photos

PopSugarTV — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:32:43 PDT

Zac Efron brings some family photos with him to The Today Show to explain how his relationship with his own brother helped him prepare for Charlie St. Cloud. Plus, he just signed on to a Nicholas Sparks project.

Zac Efron Will Be Nicholas Sparks's Lucky One

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:25:49 PDT

Zac Efron's soulful turn in this week's Charlie St. Cloud definitely won't be his last foray into tearjerkers. Efron has just signed on to star in The Lucky One, from the romantic drama master himself, Nicholas Sparks. He'll play the central character, former soldier Logan Thibault, who seeks a woman in the photograph that became his lucky charm overseas.

But don't go thinking Efron is about to pigeonhole himself in sentimental flicks; he has also attached himself to edgy flick Die in a Gunfight as a young man who falls for the daughter of his father's nemesis. Factor that in with the other recent projects he's gotten involved with, including comedies and drug thriller Snabba Cash, and I might be able to see Efron following in the footsteps of some other iconic actors.

Liam Hemsworth and Nicholas Sparks Share Miley Stories

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:00:08 PDT

Yesterday I shared my chat with Miley Cyrus about her film The Last Song; now, I'd like to switch gears to show you what her costars had to say about working with the teen queen. Here, her boyfriend onscreen and off, Liam Hemsworth, gives us the scoop about their big kiss - and about taking his shirt off. Turns out, he may have a thing or two to learn from Taylor Lautner!

To hear what author turned screenwriter Nicholas Sparks had to say, including his own daughters' reactions to the star - and who they'd like to see him work with next (hint: it's another Disney actress!) - just

Nicholas Sparks: Creating Miley's Character

PopSugarTV — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:30:00 PDT

Nicholas Sparks talks to us about collaborating with Miley Cyrus to create her character in The Last Song and reveals his daughters want him to work with Selena Gomez next!

Speed Read! Latest Nicholas Sparks Movie a Miss?

TresSugar — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:30:10 PST

BuzzSugar's not excited about Dear John, out today - BuzzSugar
Kristen Stewart served on the jury in a prostitution trial - PopSugar
Speaking of prostitutes, Eliot Spitzer is looking to get back in politics - Daily Beast
Missionaries formally charged with kidnapping children in Haiti - Jezebel
Howard Stern rumored to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol - Page Six
The Pentagon stocks health facilities with morning after pill - Washington Post

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Dear John: Not Enough to Write Home About

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:30:00 PST

Movies based on the work of writer Nicholas Sparks are very hit or miss. Though he consistently uses the same cliches in his tragic loves stories, the results aren't quite as consistent. On the one hand, the film versions can be romantic and endearing, like The Notebook, but other times, the formula produces a schlocky dud (sorry, Nights in Rodanthe).

The latest, Dear John, hangs somewhere in the balance. It's not a total miss but it's far from a home run - mainly due to the lack of chemistry between Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. The two play John and Savannah, a mismatched army man and affluent college girl who share a Summer romance and then keep in touch through letters while John's deployed overseas. It's the kind of movie you have to be a Nicholas Sparks fan to appreciate, but even his biggest supporters won't be satisfied. I'll tell you why when you

read more. It's not Tatum and Seyfried's fault John and Savannah's love story doesn't shake to your core; there may not be a lot of onscreen couples who can convince you that true love can be found in just two weeks. Thus, these are the shortcomings of Dear John: it's an unromantic love story with contrived twists that would be better suited in a Spanish telenovela. There are a few elements that save the movie from being truly awful. As John's father, Richard Jenkins steals many scenes with his careful, sensitive portrayal of an autistic man who can't connect with his son. Tatum rises to the occasion as well, showing impressive range in his heavier scenes with Jenkins. Though his love scenes with Seyfried never really take off, the father-son relationship is enough to convince me that Tatum wanted his role to show he can act. The other benefit the movie has is Lasse Hallström's direction. As in his previous films, like The Cider House Rules and What's Eating Gilbert Grape, there's an evocative, brooding atmosphere. It brings some weight to the screenplay, which would otherwise be overwhelmingly cheesy. But like most Nicholas Sparks films, there's tragedy: For Dear John, it's the movie's inability to romance its audience.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

A Notebook to Remember: 5 Nicholas Sparks Clichés

BuzzSugar — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:30:00 PST

These days, you pretty much know what you're getting into with any film adapted from a Nicholas Sparks book, and Dear John, out this Friday, is the latest in his line of romances. The poster alone features famous Sparks conventions - a couple falling in love in a beach setting - and it got me thinking about the other common themes that show up repeatedly in Nicholas Sparks movies.

Movie Preview: Miley Cyrus in The Last Song

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:30:56 PST

Are you ready for your second Nicholas Sparks movie preview in as many months? (Last month's was the romance Dear John.) Here it is: The Last Song stars Miley Cyrus (cue The Soup's "It's Miley!" sound bite) as a girl who's dropped off at the home of her estranged father to spend the Summer. Obviously she doesn't want to be there, obviously she falls for a local boy, and obviously she and her father end up bonding.

You couldn't call me a Miley fan, but I do love Greg Kinnear, who plays her well-meaning father. From the trailer, the movie looks very sweet and very schlocky - which is exactly how Sparks usually does it. Interestingly, Sparks was commissioned to write both the screenplay and novel simultaneously, with Cyrus in mind. While I don't know that I'll be rushing to the theater for this one, it's probably something you'd find me secretly Netflixing later on; I'm kind of a sucker for the addictive cheesiness of a Sparks movie.

Check out the trailer for The Last Song when you