“A Walk To Remember” Scene Commentary

[Utilizing information from: Adam Shankman (Director), Shane West (“Landon Carter”), and Mandy Moore (“Jamie Sullivan”), Nicholas Sparks (novelist), Karen Janzen (screenwriter), and other various sources.]

[Opening Scene: Cement Factory]

• This scene was shot on the second or third day of filming and the last shot of the night at daybreak.
• Paz (Tracie) had to reloop the word, “animals.”
• This was one of Shane’s favorite scenes because there were no cuts. It was all one camera shot.
• There were eels in the water and they had divers in the water trying to keep the eels away from the actors.
• They had a jacuzzi on the side for Shane and Matt (“Clay Gephardt”) after they got into the water.
• Lauren (Belinda) and Jonathan (Walker) were on the side throwing bread into the water so all the fish would come up and eat it while Shane was in it.
• Matt’s jump into the water was shot eight different times.
• Lauren and Paz asked Adam (the director) if they could go urinate together in the bushes (even though their trailers were ten feet away) as a bonding experience.
• The security guard in the cement factory was the actual security guard on the movie set.
• Al (Eric) didn’t know how to drive stick and he had to pull out of the cement factory several times. Once he finally got the car to reverse it stalled, the rest of his driving was cut.
• The car chase was shot two months after the opening scene was shot because the editor wanted it in the movie. Adam had to shoot that scene because he wanted everyone to know that he could do something other than cotton candy. He wanted an action sequence.

[Landon’s House: The Morning After]

• Darryl (Landon’s Mother) was wearing a brown wig, because she had pink hair. She was simultaneously filming another movie where she played a mafia whore.
• This room and every other room filmed in the studio were from the Dawson’s Creek set.

[Church: Mass]

• This scene was shot on an unbelievably hot day.
• Lauren (Belinda) made a lot out of a tiny part by the expressions on her face.
• Mandy had to re-record her solo performance and she was sick that day.

[Front of School: “Cool kids” diss Jamie]

• Adam did some tumbling with the cheerleaders off-camera.
• They had to do a lot of takes of the part where the girl passes by Landon and they stare at each other.
• Everybody’s favorite line was Paz’s “That Jamie Sullivan sure got style.”
• There was an original PG-13 version of the movie where the teens talk like real teenagers and swear but all the lines with swear words were cut. Many of Al’s (Eric) funniest lines were cut.

[Principal’s Office: Landon’s Punishment]

• The principal could not get his lines.
• The movie was filmed within 34 days, so they were always in a hurry.
• Mandy was a minor during filming so they only could work her for ten hours a day maximum. They had to rush filming a lot of scenes because of this. It was like she was Cinderella, and Adam would always ask her, “Are you a pumpkin, yet?” Shane would have to do dialogue to a pole instead of Mandy or to Courtney in a brown wig.

[Afterschool: Landon’s sweeping and Jamie’s teaching]

• Mandy had to improvise her lines about Haley’s comet and what she was saying to the “Stars and Planets” kids.
• Clayne (Dean) was pissed off at Adam during that shoot because he was so all over the place that Adam said, “You’re making me cut you out of this movie.”
• Clayne’s signature was to tuck the right pant leg of his jeans into his boots. He also had numerous belt buckles. The way Dean was dressed was how Clayne really dresses.

[Night: Landon drives Belinda home]

• Adam says that there was a “porn alternative” that they made of this scene that wasn’t used.

[School House: Tutoring]

• The girl Mandy tutors actually asked her to help her with her math… Mandy’s worst subject.

[School Bus: Driving back to school]

• Adam originally had Linkin Park’s “In the End” as the song Landon listens to in his headphones.
• The bus kept driving around the same block and there were kids on every corner jumping and screaming. There were also kids jumping on trampolines. It distracted Mandy and Shane and they couldn’t hear anything. Shane looks at them when he’s staring out the window. Shane used his frustration with the kids towards anger (he’s supposed to be angry during this scene). They had to go in the studio afterwards and re-do every single line in that scene.
• It was extremely hot on the bus. Adam jokes it was 800 degrees!

[School: Eric drops Landon off for play rehearsal]

• Mandy’s favorite line was Eric’s suggestion to do “West Side Story” with “Maria.”

[School: Play rehearsal]

• Marisa (Miss Garber) is Adam’s oldest friend. He’s known her since he was 9-years-old.
• Shane could not stop laughing at Marisa’s parts during the premiere.
• Eric (Eddie Zimmerhoff) was a punk rocker with spiked-out hair in real life, and they made him look like such a geek with a bowl haircut.
• Paula (Sally) cracked Mandy up with her lines. Many of them were cut from the movie.
• This was Shane’s least favorite scene to shoot because he was supposed to “act bad” but he wasn’t sure if he was acting bad enough.

[Outside School: After practice]

• Eddie Zimmerhoff says, “You’re so pretty,” then Jamie quickly says, “Okay, bye!” That part of the scene had to be re-recorded later in studios.
• This was taped early in the morning, so Mandy and Shane’s eyes are puffy.
• This was shot at a location really far from their set in Wilmington and Adam wasn’t too happy about that.

[Jamie’s Car: Jamie drives Landon home]

• The car Mandy drove was such a “clunker.” The doors were hard to open, the windows barely rolled down, and it was hard to drive.
• Adam and Mandy are really into the Rachael Lampa song that plays on the radio during this scene. Shane and Mandy said they met Rachael at the premiere and she was very sweet.
• The line where Landon says, “Getting a new personality?” was originally, “Getting drunk and getting laid?” but they changed it when the rating of the movie changed from PG-13 to PG.
• Mandy’s least favorite line in the movie was “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
• The driving scene was shot in two different places: Southport and Atkinson.
• The Fisherman’s Wharf that they pass in the end is the same one from “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

[Outside Landon’s House: Eric helps Landon]

• The Christians hated the part where Eric humps the bench (it was his improv).
• Al (Eric) invented the recurring handshake between Eric and Landon. Adam got a comment that it was a “satanic gesture” because of the smoking/burning.
• Shane enjoyed doing this scene.
• Adam hated that he had to cut a lot of Darryl’s scenes.

[School Hall: Landon asks Jamie for help]

• They hated how blue the entire room was and how Shane’s blue shirt matched it.
• Mandy hated the outfit she wore in this scene and Adam had her wear it on six different days.
• Mandy couldn’t hit her mark at the end of the hallway.
• When Landon says, “That’s not a problem,” Mandy says that it was very “Shane West” of him to say that.

[Jamie’s House: Reverend and Jamie in the kitchen]

• The kitchen scene and the part where Landon comes over was filmed on two different days.
• The kitchen scene was the only scene Shane wasn’t in.
• Mandy loved making the iced tea.
• They all loved the house that Jamie’s house was filmed in. When they drove around on a location scout, Adam said he wanted a house that looked like this one and it coincidentally had a “for sale” sign in front of it.
• Mandy says Peter (Reverend) was very intimidating onscreen.
• The pictures on the mantle were actual pictures of Mandy as a little girl.

[School: Dean asks Landon where he’s been]

• Mandy says Clayne (Dean) always had to be authentic with the way he dressed.
• The song that plays in the background is by Matthew Hagar, Mandy’s manager.
• Shane hated the jeans he had to wear in this scene.

[The Cemetary: Jamie shows Landon her telescope]

• This was the first scene that Mandy and Shane shot together.
• This scene was originally ten minutes longer.
• They were still getting Mandy’s make-up down so she looks extra pale and her lips look extra pink. Julio Macat (AWTR’s Director of Photography) said, “God, her lips are so beautiful! What are we gonna do? She doesn’t look plain. She’s beautiful!”
• Adam sat on a headstone and it fell over twice. Adam says he’s going to hell!

[School Hallway: Landon disses Jamie]

• This was a hard scene to shoot for Mandy because Al (Eric) would always say some wise crack comments to her as she got off scene and she’d burst into laughter.
• Lauren (Belinda) is arm in arm with Shane as they leave the hallway because she didn’t realize that the cameras were still rolling.

[Jamie’s House: Jamie’s angry with Landon]

• This was Mandy’s favorite scene to shoot because she loves slamming the door on Shane’s face.
• Shane and Mandy make fun of their “hunchback” postures.
• Adam wouldn’t let any of the other kids talk to Mandy in the beginning because he wanted her to feel like an outcast.

[Landon’s Room: Landon flips through the yearbook]

• Mandy remembers the photoshoot for the yearbook and she says that it was the geekiest picture, but Shane says that around her picture was the geekiest pictures.
• Adam says that he got attacked by a reporter at the press junket who asked him when they would stop saying that girls with ponytails are ugly. Shane and Mandy disagree and say that the movie never said Jamie was ugly.

[School House: Tutoring]

• Mandy had to crouch down and her butt was sticking out so she could be at the same level as the window.

[Play Montage]

• The song in the background was Mandy’s favorite song in the whole world.
• Mandy cracks up at Marisa when she’s teaching her how to walk.
• Adam says Shane was checking out Mandy and her tush during this scene, but Shane says that he was amused.
• The part where Jamie passes Landon in the school hallway was the last scene Mandy shot and she burst into tears afterwards.
• There was a picture taken from the scene in the hall where Shane and Mandy have their arms around each other with Julio (the cameraman) in the background that sparked a controversy whether Mandy and Shane were together in real life.

[Hospital: Landon visits Clay]

• This was the last scene filmed for the movie.
• It was depressing for Shane because all the other actors had already gone home.
• Matt (Clay) made a lot of money because he only had two scenes and they each were filmed in the beginning and the end of the movie.

[Theatre: The Play]

• The dress and the cape that Jamie wore in this scene cost more than the set.
• Mandy wanted to keep the dress. She jokingly said she could wear it to prom. Adam said he could look into it for her.
• Adam and Shane said that the cape made Mandy look like she was straight out of “Star Wars!”
• Nobody noticed Landon’s bullet hole in his shirt. He was trying to keep his left arm immobile so it looked like it was paralyzed, but still nobody noticed.
• This was the one day Mandy got to wear make-up. Adam calls it her “hottie” moment.
• Shane was waiting for Mandy to fall down because of the long train on her dress.
• Shane said that “Only Hope” haunted him for a long time, but in a good way.
• Brandon, the guy sitting next to Darryl (Landon’s Mom) was an extra that seemed to make it into almost all the scenes.
• Mandy said that she would have loved to go to the studio and made “Only Hope” more dynamic.
• The theatre was on the top floor of a building in Wilmington, North Carolina, and it was also where the cast had their wrap party.
• They thought the theatre was haunted because Tucker, Adam’s dog, would bark at the walls for no reason.
• Shane said everyone was worried about keeping their pits down because it was so hot in there.
• The steady-camera operator had to run up and down the stairs to circle Mandy, and Shane had to try hard not to stare at him waiting for him to trip (which he did a couple times).
• Adam wanted to open a coffee shop called “Darryl’s Wig.”
• Shane loved leaving Marisa (Miss Garber) with her big smile on her face.
• Mandy and Adam say that David (Landon’s Dad) is a big sweetheart.

[Cafeteria: Landon talks to Jamie]

• This was Shane and Mandy’s audition scene together.
• The slurping of the orange juice was re-recorded.
• Shane’s interpretation was more harsh, because during the audition he acted more harsh than gentle.

[Outside School: Landon wants to be with Jamie]

• Shane swung Mandy around really far.
• It took hundreds of takes for Mandy to open the car door and back out of the parking spot. Mandy says it was like driving a boat. It took her two minutes to back out, while Shane was just standing there waiting for her to leave.

[Outside Landon’s House: Landon works on car]

• Adam kept one of the Camaros and they wanted him to drive up to the premiere in it but he declined. The Camero was recently auctioned on eBay
• Shane also kept a Camaro and as a joke he was going to go to the premiere with Clayne and Al in the car.
• Mandy and Adam love the Jars of Clay song.
• Shane thought the set for this scene was very cool.

[Jamie’s Front Porch: Landon gives Jamie a gift]

• During the filming of this scene, there was a car-jacking down the street, so there were people running and police cars chasing them. They had to re-record their lines in the studio because of the sirens in the background.
• This scene was heavily cut. Reverend Sullivan was originally much harsher, but they didn’t want the movie to be too fake and too Christian. Adam says that it’s not a Christian movie, it’s just a movie with a Christian character. Adam thinks it’s funny that he, as a “gay Jew,” made this movie.

[Cafeteria: The flyers embarass Jamie]

• The bikini on the flyer that Jamie looks at was drawn on during editing for the PG rating. The original flyer had a fully naked body and you can see that none of the other flyers have bikinis on them.
• Adam said that they all stood there and jeered at Mandy (saying things like, “You’re ugly!” or “You’re stupid!”) to make her upset during this scene, but it made her laugh even more.
• They cut a lot of dialogue from Landon and Dean’s fight.
• Someone had to catch the kid that Clayne (Dean) pushed because he pushed him so hard.

[Outside School: Landon comforts Jamie]

• Adam got Mandy so upset to film this scene and she could not separate from that emotion when she was done shooting it. She was upset for the rest of the day. She didn’t want to talk to Shane or Adam. Adam says that take after take Mandy was getting more and more upset and he couldn’t shoot her doing that scene anymore.
• This scene was improv dialogue. Shane said they were just like, “Are you okay? Are you okay? Okay, let’s go.”

[Church: Landon asks Reverend for permission]

• Mandy and Adam were sitting in the pews while they shot this scene.
• MTV came with their “Mandy Cam” this day.
• The first day of shooting was on Mandy’s 17th birthday and Fox Family came and made Adam give Mandy balloons!

[Restaurant: Landon and Jamie’s first date]

• Adam puts Seth (the Maitr’d) in every one of his movies. Adam always wants Seth to pay a member of service in each of his movies.
• Mandy ate about four pieces of the peanut butter pie.
• Mandy comments that they had to dance to the most lame music. They were screwing around dancing because they didn’t know what they were doing.
• Mandy and Shane were freezing during this shoot.

[State Line: In two places at once]

• Mandy had already reached her ten hour max, so they had to rush to do this scene.
• This is the scene that made Adam want to do this movie.
• Both Adam and Mandy said they would absolutely die if someone did this for them.
• They mentioned that many people cried during this scene and that it was a favorite scene for a lot of people.

[Landon’s Car: Landon gives Jamie a tattoo]

• During a five-hour break, Shane and Mandy went to a restaurant/bar called the Undercurrent where Shane dabbled in a few alcoholic beverages. When they came back to do this scene, Shane was a little tipsy!
• Mandy hated that her song was playing in the background during this intimate scene.
• It took Shane forever to get the tattoo on because he couldn’t get the whole thing to stay on her shoulder.

[The Pier: Landon tells Jamie, “I love you”]

• Landon was paranoid and asked for a few re-takes during this scene because he felt that it was a really serious moment and he wanted to get the “I love you” right.
• On Mandy’s close-up, Shane said it was “very cute” that Mandy’s eyes were darting back and forth and going crazy. She was just trying to look into both of Shane’s eyes.
• Mandy had a rash around her nose that was really bad, but they covered it with make-up.

[Outside School: Landon and Jamie hold hands]

• Shane said that he could not keep his lips together and his mouth kept moving throughout the entire film.
• Everyone was saying how they had to get more coverage of Landon and Jamie walking together, but Adam said that the important thing was filming the friends’ reaction to them being together.

[Outside Jamie’s House: Reverend scorns Jamie]

• Adam calls this half of the movie the “Switchfoot” half. Switchfoot’s “You” is Adam and Mandy’s favorite Switchfoot song.
• Shane had the day off this day, but he had to enter or exit every single scene and drop Mandy off so he really didn’t have the day off.
• Mandy points out her bad posture again, but says that it was good for Jamie, because it’s a sign of self-consciousness.

[Cemetery: The International Star Registry]

• This scene was filmed on the first day of shooting and it was very late.
• They never go the insert shot of the lantern, so it just looks like a house is on fire.
• Mandy and Adam hated that outfit.
• There was a part of this scene that was cut out where Shane starts to grope Mandy and gets near her breast, and that’s why he says, “Okay, okay, I’m stopping.”
• Mandy’s lips were really red and her face was really pale, because they hadn’t got her make-up down yet.
• Mandy said she would die if someone named a star after her. The producer, Denise Di Novi, named a star after Mandy and Shane for their cast gift. Adam tells Mandy that somebody else named a star after her.
• This was Mandy and Shane’s first kiss.
• Adam mentions that when they’re kissing, Jamie’s holding the star registry, then when they sit down, the star registry disappears.

[Outside Landon’s House: The morning after]

• The day this scene was filmed was incredibly cold. The actors were freezing. At one point, Darryl (Landon’s Mom) improvs, “Oh… It’s chiiilly.”
• The wind was fickle. Shane’s shirt looks like it’s going to be ripped off his body, then the wind calms and the air is still again.

[The Boardwalk: Landon finds out]

• This was Mandy’s hardest scene to shoot.
• They had a couple of options to which disease Jamie was going to have.
• Adam told Mandy to think about what it would be like when the movie was over, and that got her really upset.
• Mandy thought Shane was really good in this scene, and then he says, “No, I thought you were really good.”
• Mandy asks Shane why he didn’t run after her and help her. He said if it happened in reality, Shane would have not run after her because he would need to take it all in.
• Originally, Landon was scripted to run away, not Jamie.

[Landon’s Dad’s House: Landon asks for his help]

• Adam and Mandy’s lips are sealed about what happened to the role of Landon’s Dad’s new wife. People thought it was Mrs. Garber coming out of the house.

[Landon’s Car: Landon drives home]

• Mandy said that this scene kills her with that Switchfoot song in the background and that Shane did wonderful in this scene. He tells her, “Thank you, baby.”
• This scene was filmed after the wedding scene was filmed.
• Shane says this day was weird because he got married in the morning, drove home crying without his wife, and then gets water thrown on him afterwards being chased by the police cars for the opening scene.

[Outside Landon’s House: Eric visits Landon]

• The entire crew was running down the swampy hill to film this scene at sunset. Shane had to do a costume change in the car.
• Shane points out that the handshake comes back but in a gentle way.

[Outside Jamie’s House: Landon brings Jamie flowers]

• Mandy and Shane question whether Landon brought all the flowers on the front porch. Adam tells them of course. Mandy says, “Damn that must’ve cost a lot of money, Shane.” Adam jokes, “How does he afford that restaurant? He doesn’t have a job.” Shane jokes that he steals money from Darryl (Landon’s Mom).
• Landon’s mom was supposed to be an accountant in this movie but many of her scenes were cut that showed her occupation.

[Outside Landon’s House: Landon and Jamie make up]

• This was a really hard scene for Shane and Mandy to do, and they were always iffy about whether it was good enough. Adam says that he always knew it was good.
• Mandy says that nobody understands why Jamie says, “To death.”
• Shane is good at having an emotion and then pulling himself out, but Mandy has a hard time pulling herself out.

[Jamie’s Balcony: Landon and Jamie dance]

• Shane and Mandy felt so cheesy dancing on the balcony. Adam had a megaphone telling them, “Spin her! Smile! You’re having fun!”
• Mandy points out that her shoulders are tan and her face is white.

[Cemetary: Landon and Dean reconcile]

• This was the first shot of the movie ever filmed. Shane hadn’t even seen Mandy on the set yet.
• Adam and Shane said that the first day of shooting is always hard because they’re establishing how they’re going to act for the rest of that film.

[Jamie’s Room: Jamie collapses]

• They cut a lot out of this scene.
• Landon originally sings “Only Hope” to Jamie while she’s in bed, but it was so depressing that they cut it out.
• Mandy had trouble collapsing because she was so scared that Peter (Jamie’s Dad) would drop her.

[The Hospital]

• Adam says that Peter’s adlibs were so “out there” sometimes. He says things like, “She’s been looking a little weird around the eyes,” or he tells the doctor, “Things are looking so good.”
• Adam says that the music was unbelievable.
• Mandy says that this scene kills her father and her manager.
• This was filmed on Mandy’s last day on the set.
• Adam says that the crew was sitting behind the monitors crying because it was so sad. Shane didn’t know what was going on when they were crying, since he was in the beginning of the scene.
• The way the movie originally got shot, Jamie was much sicker and she stopped going to school. Adam jokes that Shane originally had a scene where he says, “I’ll drive her to school. I’ll scrub her clothes… Her filthy underthings!” It pushed the movie into more melodramatic themes and they didn’t want to do that.

[Outside Landon’s House: Belinda apologizes]

• Mandy hated the line where Lauren (Belinda) says, “I know,” because it wasn’t like she would really say that. It felt more like she was saying a line. Shane liked it.
• Landon’s “I don’t even know why” didn’t make sense to them, either.
• Shane lost the chain that he wears throughout the movie. He wore it long after the movie was done and he thinks that the props people on the set of “Once and Again” misplaced it.

[The hospital: Jamie gives Landon the book]

• Adam and Mandy’s mom sobbed during the filming of this scene.
• Shane and Mandy were extremely happy with how the scene was filmed and it was really satisfying to finish this scene.
• People went crazy over Shane’s Red Monkey watch. Red Monkey is Adam’s friend’s company.
• It was weird for Mandy and Shane to see their heads so big on screen.
• Adam and Mandy love the Corinthians passage and want it to be read at their weddings. Mandy says she’ll always remember it.
• There are synthesized angel voices in the score.
• Adam and Mandy say that Shane looks “hot” in this scene.
• Adam wanted a single violin playing because he says that the second you hear a single violin, you know she’s a “goner.”
• It was really hard for Shane to listen to Mandy say, “You’re my angel,” because it’s an incredibly depressing line.

[The hospital: Jamie gets discharged]

• This scene was hard for Shane because Mandy was laughing and Peter messed up on his lines.
• Adam had a cameo pushing Mandy in her wheelchair.
• Adam pushed Mandy too fast and she would have to say her lines when she was already off screen.

[Outside Landon’s Dad’s House: Landon thanks his dad]

• It was hard for Shane to cry once he was on David (Landon’s Dad).
• Adam was on the megaphone saying, “Pull his shirt!”
• Mandy says Shane was amazing in this scene and it makes you tear up.

[Outside Jamie’s House: Landon finishes the telescope]

• Mandy and Shane gave the telescope to Planet Hollywood in New York, but no one understood it because no one had seen the film yet.
• Adam thinks no one understood that Landon was trying to finish the telescope so Jamie could see the comet on time.

[Jamie’s Front Porch: Landon proposes]

• It was a very difficult scene to shoot. It was originally much longer. Mandy had to play really sick in this scene.
• Adam jokes that Mandy says, “It’s so beautiful,” but the telescope so ugly! Mandy says, “You didn’t even paint it or anything, Shane!” and he says, “I didn’t have time! You were dying on me!”
• Mandy said she cried during this scene when she watched the movie.
• The entire audience at the premiere gasped when Landon proposed.

[The Church: Landon and Jamie’s wedding]

• They wanted Jamie to be okay in the wedding and not too sick.
• Darryl’s smile was really heartwarming to Mandy.
• The shot of Landon’s Dad was shot in a studio and inserted into the scene because they forgot to shoot David at the wedding.
• Mandy and Shane made up Jamie and Landon’s middle names on the spot.
• The vows weren’t originally in the script.
• Mandy wore Birkinstocks outside so her wedding shoes wouldn’t get dirty.
• Shane was happy that they kept the “I love you’s” in the vows and whispered.
• There were gators around the area and Adam sent his dog home because of it.
• Shane and Mandy were trying to not look at the camera and get their heads smacked in the part where the camera pans between them and down the aisle. They bust up laughing when the camera was gone.

[Jamie’s House: Four years later]

• Mandy loves how preppy Landon has become.
• They thought it was funny that Landon had a cool car and then now drives a Ford SUV.
• This scene was originally in the beginning of the movie, and Landon was going to give back his wedding ring because he had found someone new. That idea was quickly thrown out because the audience would have hated it. He gives back the book instead.
• The wedding photo on the mantle moves to the side table.
• Shane jokes how much Peter has aged.
• Mandy points out how Shane and Peter look really tan.
• The Reverend’s “It was you” was from a completely different take.

[The Pier: Landon reminisces]

• This was the same pier as Landon and Jamie’s date.
• Shane had to run and change his clothes down the incredibly long dock during this scene.
• They joke that Mandy’s voice came singing from the grave.
• Mandy thought it was perfect that this song was in the movie. When they were filming, Mandy’s album hadn’t come out yet and Adam listened to the album and wanted to have “Cry” in the movie coincidentally.
• Shane said that he had a great time in the film meeting everyone and it was really depressing leaving North Carolina. Shane was very proud of this film.
• Adam and Mandy say that making this film made them want to reevaluate life.
• Mandy says that this experience was amazing and it could never be duplicated.
• Adam jokes that they’ll start seeing this movie on airplanes and hotels.

The End