The Best of Me is a dramatic love story. Relationships between lovers, parents, and friends are deeply explored in this film. Based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me calls all romantics in search for a love story. Entertainment Affair was at the press conference and got to hear what the cast and filmmakers had to say, including a few words from award-winning band Lady Antebellum, who contributed the ideal capstone to the film.

“I think they did something here that is so difficult, where they told the story of the film in the song as well in a way that it doesn’t give it away but just really deepens it,” said producer Denise D. Novi. I Did With You tells the story of the production, when two people who are in love bring out the best in one other. Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum commented, “This was a good fit for us because we love writing romantic songs.” Charles Kelley added, “Dave came in with this really beautiful guitar melody… it kinda came together really nicely, honestly. We had that basic idea of I Did With You and it was like you know, through all these journeys it’s like you’re the one that I still hold on to.”

Giving life to these characters is a cast of talented actors. Michelle Monaghan plays Amanda Collier, a loving wife and mother who is numb to the possibility of change until her first love is back in her life. “When I first read the script, it really touched me… I loved this character because she was complicated and she was conflicted. And I think that there’s this part of her that she’s lost and from the outside she looks like she’s, you know got the ideal life but truly there’s something missing inside as a result of this life experience.” Michelle describes her character’s reunion with her past love, Dawson Cole, as impactful. James Marsden comments, “One of the things about this movie, is that you know we as humans… we like to look at the road not traveled and it’s easy to sort of romanticize on what that might have been.”

Amanda and Dawson had not seen each other for years, but the decision of letting go was one Dawson saw necessary. However, the emotional stakes are just as high as they were back then. Knowing what they had was real Tuck (Gerald McRaney), the man who helped Dawson growing up, reached out to the two. Gerald McRaney commented on working with the actors. “I just thought that they all did a remarkable job on understanding the character’s that they were playing and understanding that that sense of loss and reclamation in coming to terms with the first great love of your life.”

While James and Michelle give life to the couple, the film delves into the timeline of second chances. Playing Young Amanda and Young Dawson are Liana Liberato and Luke Bracey. The two agreed that working on set was a great experience. Director Michael Hoffman confessed that while he was conflicted in casting young Dawson, something Liana said helped him decide. “Liana was cast first and then she auditioned with three or four very good actors in the sort of final audition for the young Dawson… I thought Luke was great and I loved him and I was just still trying to figure out exactly how to go and Denise said ‘Oh I spoke to Liana and I said to her, ‘who was the most fun to kiss?’ And Liana said, ‘well Luke was.’” The chemistry between the young couple is magnetic.

Nicholas Sparks shared the importance of having love in your life as well as why writing this novel was so important to him. “The forties is a period of time in which you’re kind of giving up some of these things that you thought might happen and at the same time you’re trying to come to peace with it. And all of that brings into these questions of ‘how did I get here?’ You know it’s almost as if I ended up here and I’m not even sure always exactly how… I have another half of my life left to live and I get to do it all over, ‘what would I do now?’ To me that’s just such a really wonderful question because it’s a very universal question that all of us ask ourselves at various times in our lives, and I just wanted to center it around what I think is the deepest and most meaningful of emotions, which is love.”

The Best of Me is rated PG-13 and is in theaters today.