Filming has wrapped on M. Night Shyamalan’s film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ latest novel, and the bestselling author says leads Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor really brought the love story to life.
“They’re both consummate professionals, and they did the most important thing to me in a film like this,” Sparks, 59, told Us Weekly exclusively of filming the adaptation of Remain, which is expected next fall, while the book was released Tuesday, October 14. “Chemistry is incredibly important.”
He continued: “They both got along. They’re both professionals, but they can act, right? There was chemistry there.”
The New York Times best-selling author spent many days on set during the month-long shoot in Rhode Island over the summer, and he says the dynamic between the two actors while filming was palpable.
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“Of course, I think if you’re Phoebe and looking at Jake, or you’re Jake looking at Phoebe, there might be a little chemistry there, you know, it’s not so hard to fake this,” Sparks told Us. “But that’s the most important thing you look for because this is a love story. It’s a supernatural love story.”
Remain follows Tate Donovan, a New York City architect who comes to Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer house after a period of mental health struggles. His world is turned upside down when he meets a beautiful young woman named Wren, and is soon entangled in the mystery of her past.
Sparks conceptualized the story with Shyamalan before each of them developed the novel and film versions in their own respective mediums.
Gyllenhaal, 44, plays Tate, and Dynevor, 30, plays Wren in the film version, which was written by Shyamalan, 55, and the cast is rounded out by Ashley Walters, Julie Hagerty, Jay O. Sanders, Tracy Ifeachor and Hannah James.
“I was there and did what I do, stay out of the way, let the experts work kind of thing,” Sparks told Us of his experience on set. “It was fun.”
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Another one of Sparks’ novels is getting a whole new life with the national tour of the Tony-nominated musical adaptation of The Notebook.
“The music is beautiful. Bekah [Brunstetter] did a wonderful job with the book and Michael [Greif] and Schele [Williams] did such a great job in the direction of it,” Sparks told Us of the musical based on his 1996 novel, which came after the movie of the same name. “It’s really magical, the show, in the way they flip back and forth through time. I just found it incredible.”
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams starred in the romantic film, which became a cult classic after its premiere in 2004. The musical first opened on Broadway in March 2024 with music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson. The North American tour began in September 2025 and will extend until August 2026.
“You can do things on stage you can’t do in a book or on film,” Sparks told Us of the show. “It’s really fun to see this story told in a brand new medium with music, and there’s a couple showstopping tunes in there. It’s really incredible.”
