The latest movie to be based off a book by Nicholas Sparks, “Dear John,” came to theaters on Friday, Feb. 5.
It is the story of John Tyree (Channing Tatum) who is a soldier home on leave who falls quickly for a conservative college girl, Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried).
Instead of returning home, Tyree re-enlists after the attacks on Sept. 11. Over the next seven years the two are separated but stay in touch by sending love letters overseas as a way to feel together. Eventually the distance starts to take a toll on the relationship.
About young love Tatum said, “I think that this is about that first love that you have. I hope people think of their first loves. It’s really important once you find someone that you care about to really take care of them and hold on to them as hard as you possibly can. I think in a society today with over a 50 percent divorce rate, it’s rare to find love and to make it work.”
Seyfried adds that amidst war, love can be rough addition.
“That’s a whole other story. Not only are you risking your life, but you’re risking what you have here in the States. I think it’s big of both of you for trying to make it work, no matter where he goes, you’re getting married, so it’s big commitment. I think it’s a beautiful thing because you know it’s real,” she said.
Tatum has been in many manly roles, so playing John Tyree was a bit different for him.
“This is my third soldier role now. GI Joe was more of Star Wars. It was Star Wars and X-Men. It really wasn’t a representation of a real soldier in real life, but Stop Loss was and I’ve gotten to know a lot of soldiers and some of them are my best friends no,” he said. “It’s in no way shape or form in my head at all that what I do makes me understand a soldier because I don’t think me or anybody else that is not in the armed forces will ever know what it’s like to be a soldier.”
Although neither actor has ever gotten a Dear John letter, they both had something to say about love letters.
“I got a love letter that’s like something I still keep really near and dear. It was the most romantic thing anyone’s ever written to me. It’s from an old boyfriend and I still read it and I feel like a princess when I read it because someone went through all the effort to write it. It’s amazing,” Seyfried said.
“I think I’ve gotten love letters and stuff, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a Dear John letter. I’ve been broken up with after I got off the bus stop at school, I think a girl stuck her head out the window and just broke up with me. But I’ve never gotten a letter, though. I think if you haven’t written, guys, especially, guys, listen, if you haven’t written a love letter in a long time, you don’t have to sit and mail it. You don’t have to do anything, just write whoever your loved one is, write her something and you’ll be amazed at the reaction,” Tatum said.
Another big part of this story is the distance, which a lot of people in college can relate to; both actors had something to say about that as well.
“It’s hard to connect, when you have that much time away from somebody, it’s hard to stay connected in each other’s lives. So that’s one thing that you’re really fighting. If you lose that battle, I still think that if it’s meant to be, it’s going to come back to you. Love is just like that all the time. I definitely think there’s that one person in the world for everybody. It’s completely possible,” Seyfried said.
“I think you can make work whatever you really, really want to make work. I think it gets painful and it’s really funny, the person not being there, what it does to you. You start fighting over stupid things that it’s not about. All of a sudden, you’re having an argument about nothing and it’s really just that you miss the person so much. I absolutely think these relationships can work. You just have to really want it and you can’t just give up on them,” Tatum said.
If you like this story you may also want to check out The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Lucky One or The Wedding, all also by Nicholas Sparks.
