Are there any other facts about the book or movie that we may find interesting?

Yes. Here are the ones I have found:

bullet The inspiration for Jamie Sullivan’s character and some of the events in the book/movie is from Nicholas Sparks’ deceased sister, Danielle Sparks Lewis (whom the book and movie are dedicated to).
bullet The pictures of “Jamie” on the mantle of the fireplace in the Sullivan house are real pictures of  Mandy Moore when she was a little girl (notice that she is blonde).
bullet The wedding, car crash from the beginning of the film, and the scenes of Landon driving after he found out about Jamie’s illness were all filmed the same day, back to back.
bullet The wedding vows were added to the scene on stage and did not appear in the script (Landon and Jamie’s middle names were made up by the actors and director)
bullet Mandy was sick the day she filmed her church solo (“Lighthouse”) so they had to re-record it later.
bullet Since Mandy was a minor (under 18) they were only allowed to have her on set 10 hours/day. The film makers were constantly asking her “are you a pumpkin yet?” or “how long until you turn into a pumpkin?” Because of this limitation filming was sometimes tight. For example, the scene where Landon helps her be in two places at once by straddling the Virginia/North Carolina state line was filmed in only 20 minutes, including all of the “coverage” (close ups). This is considered quite a feat.
bullet Mandy’s dress and cape in the play cost more than the cost of the entire play set (this may have been a joke, but if you look closely at what they used for the sets it is entirely possible)..
bullet The comet Hyakutake that Jamie wanted to see was a real comet that it was conceivable that she would want to see in the late 1990’s.. This was changed from Haley’s comet, which hasn’t been seen since the late 1980’s, to make it more believable. But Halley’s Comet was still mentioned by Jamie in the film when she was talking to the Stars and Planets kids.
bullet When Landon visited the church to ask the Rev. Sullivan permission to take his daughter out to dinner, Mandy Moore was sitting next to Adam Shankman in one of the pews watching.
bullet Weather almost stopped them from filming the scenes at the out-door restaurant, but at the last minute the wind stopped blowing.
bullet Early drafts of the script had LANDON running away after Jamie told him about her illness. This was changed to make it more believable at the director’s request.
bullet The original cut of the movie began with Landon returning to see Rev. Sullivan, but it was moved to the end in editing.
bullet The corny school play was written by the production team (not Karen Janzen) to add humor to the story.
bullet The character of Eric (the black guy) was extensively rewritten by the actor playing him and director to to add humor to the story.

 

What is Leukemia?

** This passage has some errors in it. Watch this spot for a revised/corrected version of this in the near future or check out the WEBMDwebsite for more information. ***

Leukemia is cancer of the bone morrow. Bone morrow is a special type of tissue located in the center of your bones that creates red blood cells. (Have you ever looked at a broken chicken bone and saw the red center of the bone? That is bone morrow.) Red blood cells move oxygen to, and waste (carbon-dioxide) away from your body’s cells  for the process of cellular respiration (among other things). Red Blood Cells have a limited life expectancy. Without bone morrow to create the red blood cells, the body’s cells do not get the oxygen that they need and die. That is why Jamie feinted that first time at home and had oxygen tubes hooked up in the hospital.

There is no cure for Leukemia and it is fatal. Research continues into this and so far the most promising treatment is a bone morrow transplant from a close relative. The specific treatment that Jamie underwent is not specified in the movie. While Jamie also had Leukemia in the book, there was a great deal if discussion during the writing of the screenplay as to what she should have. They discussed cancer and a brain tumor, but went back to Leukemia because they needed an illness that would allow Jamie to keep her hair. [Both radiation and chemo-therapy, the treatments used in treat those other ailments, result in hair loss.]

Why is it called “A Walk To Remember”? What “walk” are they talking about?

The title is a leftover from the book. In the book, when they got married, Jamie was much sicker than she appeared in the movie (in fact an earlier cut of the film had her practically at death’s door when she got married).

In that version, she was wheelchair ridden and they did not know if she would be able to walk down the isle or not. She did and Landon thought “It was the most difficult walk that anyone had ever had to make. In every way, a walk to remember.”

The film-makers tried to explain this — with mixed success– by adding the bit of narration from Landon about “the visions of Jamie walking toward me will stay with me forever.”