Lesson 24: Nicholas Sparks Is Not The Author Of Your Life

If you have yet to endure the torture that is a Nicholas Sparks movie marathon, I highly suggest you look into it purely as a service to yourself. Though the sappy movies seem out of place in single girl world, they’re actually a pretty effective learning tool – of what not to do.

Nicholas Sparks, author of our favorite tear jerking, secret guilty pleasure movies, shared the formula to his book-to-movie love stories. “(Romances) are all essentially the same story: You’ve got a woman, she’s down on her luck, she meets the handsome stranger who falls desperately in love with her, but he’s got these quirks, she must change him, and they have their conflicts, and then they end up happily ever after,” Sparks said.

While the roller coaster dramas from the likes of The Notebook and Dear John work beautifully on your television screen, they don’t transfer so well into reality. Even as Sparks’ novels point out some valid points about love, like that it can happen unexpectedly or that it can change a person or it’s tendency for turbulence, it’s imperative that single girls not set a “Nicholas Sparks Standard” for their love lives. Read More »

Exclusive: ‘The Last Song‘ star Miley Cyrus dishes on ‘When I Look at You,’ the theme to her new film, which hit theaters yesterday, in an exclusive video that PopEater is proud to unveil. According to Miley, the emotional ballad is “a song that really describes this entire movie,” which is based on the bestselling novel by Nicholas Sparks (famed author of ‘The Notebook’ and ‘Dear John’).

In the video, we get a sneak peak at some scenes with Cyrus and her co-star — and current boyfriend — Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus also talks about learning the piano for her role as Ronnie Miller, a teen who rejects an acceptance letter from Julliard. Have a look at the ‘Last Song’ featurette right here.

Tomorrow’s a big day. The big day. The day that I’ve been dreaming about for months.

Yes ladies, tomorrow marks the release of Dear John and I. just. can’t. wait.

Call me cheesy. Call me girly. Call me pathetic. Just don’t call me between the hours of 9pm and 11pm when I’m soaking up the chick-flick of the decade with my girls and an overpriced, oversized package of Twizzlers.

And don’t tell me you’re not excited about this one, too. Dear John has all the elements of the perfect movie and here are 5 reasons why I’m already holding tickets to the opening night premiere.

1. I love a good cry. Dear John is adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel by the same name.  Sparks also happens to be the tear-jerking genius who wrote The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, both of which left me heaving into my Diet Coke in the movie theater. As sadistic as it sounds, sometimes I just need me a good cry and after having watched the trailer, um, a lot, I’m positive this movie will give me one.

2. Channing Tatum. As if I even need to mention this. I have admired his chiseled jaw, gorgeous lips, and Adonis-like abs since Step Up came out in 2006. Even after I finally gave up trying to teach myself all the dances in the movie, my love for Channing stuck with me. He was my profile picture on Facebook for awhile. I mentioned him in my final article for my school newspaper. I planned my life as Mrs. Zahra Tatum…

Where was I? Read More »

Making a great book into a movie is often the kiss of death. Fans of the book criticize the movie to no end, critics shame the director for fouling such a work of art, etc, etc. Everyone and everything surrounding a book-to-movie production seems very, well, dramatic. And unsuccessful. However, there are a few movies out there that got it all right, enhancing the book and even telling the story even better than the book itself.

And this is coming from a self-proclaimed reading snob.

I’ve created a list of my top 4 books made into movies. Granted, I have not seen every movie ever made that is based on a book, but I think I have a pretty good base to choose from. Let me know if you agree or add your own to the list

#4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I know that I’m probably going to get flack for this one from the hard-core fans, but making “The Lord of the Rings” novels into movies was not only one of the best financial decisions ever made (raking in a cool BILLION on ticket sales and rentals alone), but also a smart pop culture move. Before the movies, the books and whole “culture” of LOTR were fairly underground; some people read the books in school, but other than that, they weren’t terribly popular. And I’d like to think I know why.

I tried to read the books. I barely got through the first one and had to give up. I’m not a detail person so I found several pages describing the movement of grass in a valley to be WAY too much. But then I saw the movie – which obviously eliminated all that need for boring description – and it. was. awesome. The story, the drama, the imagination that went into coming up with all those characters and details. Good move with the movie, LOTR people. A good move, indeed. Read More »

I’m really not a crier. Not at movies, when I’m sad, when I’m frustrated, nothing. It just doesn’t happen. My entire family is that way, we just aren’t wired to shed tears.

I flew home for a funeral two months ago and my mom’s best friend from childhood came over, sobbing her condolences as she handed us boxes of muffins and pastries. After she left, the three of us looked at each other, our brows furrowed, until finally my mom asked aloud, “What’s wrong with us?”

That’s not to say we don’t mourn. Oh, we mourn, we grieve, but we’re more the type to crack a joke or tell a story about the departed than clutch a box of Kleenex and let our mascara run. Well, my mother and I. Dad doesn’t wear mascara.

When I picked up and left home to move for my career, as we all call our first job after college in attempt to take ourselves more seriously, I really only cried when I said my goodbyes to my college roommates and after I walked my parents to their taxi. For like a minute, and then it was time to get real. Since I’ve been here, it’s just not something I have time or privacy for. Read More »