There is nothing more overpowering, reckless and
all-consuming than the rush that accompanies first
love…in all of its intensity and obsession, possibility and
promise. It is a timeless theme in modern storytelling,
dating back to Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, but
one that remains urgently current because it serves as a
rite of passage for everyone in every generation.
This Valentine’s Day, one young couple will fight
against all odds for love.
Endless Love stars ALEX PETTYFER (Magic
Mike, I Am Number Four) and GABRIELLA WILDE
(The Three Musketeers, Carrie) in the story of Jade
Butterfield and David Elliot, a privileged girl and a
charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair
made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them
apart. Although separated by class boundaries, their
gravitational pull is undeniable and unstoppable.
During the months following their high school
graduation, Jade, a sheltered young woman with a
limitless future, becomes enthralled with David, a
working-class boy with a troubled past who in turn falls
head over heels for her. Their romance collides with
GABRIELLA WILDE as Jade and ALEX PETTYFER as David in Endless Love.
– 9 –
Jade’s controlling father’s attempts to steer her clear of
David, while her mother encourages the relationship to
thrive and his father advises clear-eyed caution. Over
the course of one unforgettable summer, two young
lovers will defy logic and allow their all-consuming
passion to determine their future together.
Directed by SHANA FESTE (Country Strong,
The Greatest), the romantic drama co-stars a cast
of seasoned and up-and-coming performers, led by
BRUCE GREENWOOD (Star Trek, Flight) as Hugh,
Jade’s overbearing father who never lets her out of
his sight; JOELY RICHARDSON (The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo, Vampire Academy) as Anne, Jade’s
romantic and idealistic mother who has the heart of a
poet; and ROBERT PATRICK (Safe House, upcoming
Kill the Messenger) as David’s father, Harry, a mechanic
who wants his son to have the life he never did.
They are joined by young talents RHYS
WAKEFIELD (The Purge, Sanctum) as Keith, Jade’s
loving, yet rebellious, older brother; DAYO OKENIYI
(The Hunger Games, The Spectacular Now) as Mace,
David’s fantastically reckless best friend; and EMMA
RIGBY (The Counselor, television’s Once Upon a
Time in Wonderland) as Jenny, David’s formidable ex-
girlfriend who refuses to give up on him so easily.
To produce the film, SCOTT
STUBER (Ted, Safe House) of
Bluegrass Films and producer
PAMELA ABDY (Identity Thief,
47 Ronin) of New Regency are joined
by JOSH SCHWARTZ (TV’s Gossip
Girl, The O.C.) and STEPHANIE
SAVAGE (TV’s Gossip Girl,
Hart of Dixie) of Fake Empire.
For Endless Love, Feste commands
a behind-the-scenes team that is led
by director of photography ANDREW
DUNN (Precious, The Perks of Being
a Wallflower), production designer
CLAY GRIFFITH (We Bought a Zoo,
Sweet Home Alabama), editor MARYANN BRANDON
(Star Trek, Super 8), costume designer STACEY BATTAT
(The Bling Ring, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby)
and composer CHRISTOPHE BECK (The Hangover
trilogy, The Muppets).
Based on the book by SCOTT SPENCER,
Endless Love is from a screenplay by Shana Feste and
JOSHUA SAFRAN (Gossip Girl). J. MILES DALE
(The Vow) and TRACY FALCO (Lions for Lambs)
serve as the romantic drama’s executive producers.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Fight for Love:The Production Begins
The idea to draw inspiration from Scott Spencer’s
1979 best-selling novel about teenage lovers and
bring those themes to young moviegoers in the
21st century originated with producers Scott Stuber
and Pamela Abdy, who, early on, attracted a pair of ideal
collaborators. Although this all-consuming territory
has been explored in films for much older audiences,
Jade and David are inseparable.
– 10 –
they were interested in taking an exploration of a love
so intense that nothing will stand in its way and making
it relatable for a “PG-13” audience.
Abdy shares the film’s inception: “When Scott and
I talked about doing Endless Love as a film, we thought
it would be a good idea to approach Josh Schwartz
and Stephanie Savage, who are the king and queen
of the teen genre. They have created such wonderful,
smart work that speaks to that generation: The O.C.
and Gossip Girl and now The Carrie Diaries. At that
point, the development process began and we worked
to make the best, most contemporary version of
a teenage first-love story.”
Stuber shared his fellow producers’ interest in
developing the material. He notes: “I thought this
was a great way to explore two people who have
the ups and downs of their f irst love. The first time
that you feel those emotions, there’s euphoria to
them, and this great love expands who you are. As
well, there’s a great sadness when it goes wrong.
You feel it on such a level that you can’t again, as
there is only one first time.”
For Schwartz, the challenge was to ensure that the
film would both honor the classic movie melodrama
and feel like a current, relevant
romance. “Stephanie and I
have worked together for a
long time, and we love classic
teen drama,” he says. “When
you’re telling a story about
teenagers, everything seems
so heightened and feels like
life and death. We wanted
to create a modern-day epic
love story that still feels
grounded, believable and has
a bit of a ‘Romeo and Juliet’
quality to it.”
With this telling of the
classic story, the producers
believed that their Jade Butterf ield and David
Elliot should discover the beautiful abandonment
and repercussions of falling into your f irst love.
They knew that the intended audience would see
and experience a great deal of their own f irst
relationships in this drama.
“I love romantic movies and love stories,” offers
Savage, “and something that is always a huge part
in the TV shows that Josh and I do is the theme of
young people falling in love for the first time—losing
themselves, making good and bad decisions and
going on a journey—which is relatable for everybody.
You’ve either been in love and had your heart broken
or you want to be in love. Even when you get older,
you often think about that teenage love and the
first time that you fell.”
Schwartz and Savage developed the script for
Endless Love with Joshua Safran, one of the duo’s
Gossip Girl writers, with whom they had worked
for years. Whereas Spencer’s novel has somewhat
more political and darker elements than this film, the
producers remain grateful for its inspiration and took
liberties with his characters and narrative. Commends
Savage: “Josh is smart and is a terrific, emotional writer;
(L to R) David, Mace (DAYO OKENIYI) and David’s father, Harry (ROBERT PATRICK), celebrate graduation.
– 11 –
we love his voice. We knew he would understand the
elevated world of Jade’s family and bring to this original
script the story of a family that had suffered and hadn’t
recovered from the loss of their son. As well, he could
help the audience understand how David, this scrappy
kid from the other side of the tracks, comes into their
lives and ignites Jade’s heart.”
After organizing the core team and commissioning
a draft, the producers approached Country Strong’s
Shana Feste to direct. As Schwartz notes: “Shana came
in with such a great sensibility about the material.
She has an acute understanding of character and love
stories. Most importantly, she vividly remembers being
a teenager and tapped into many of the things that
appealed to the rest of us about the story.”
Savage agrees with her fellow producer’s
assessment: “Shana had directed two previous movies
that had amazing performances, especially from young
actors. We knew that if we could get Shana to direct the
movie it would feel authentic. Her belief in love and the
theme of the movie is imbued in every scene; lightness,
warmth and hopefulness permeate through everything.”
Once Feste signed on to the project, she tailored
the script to her sensibilities. Abdy explains: “The
life of each character is important to Shana, and
she’s thought through every stage—
from working through the story and
writing the script to figuring out the
characters’ relationships and how they
were intertwined.”
The writers imagined Jade as a
sheltered and inexperienced high-
school senior who falls for David, a
dangerous young man with a dark
history. Her father strongly objects
to the passionate relationship that’s
blossoming and the newfound freedom
that Jade’s discovering with a guy he is
certain is wrong for her. There’s little he
can do about her evolution or David’s
increasing presence and influence upon her. In fact,
Jade’s intense feelings for David are a constant, thorny
reminder to both her father and mother of what has
slowly died in their marriage. As Jade consciously says
goodbye to her innocent past, she has an awakening
that will change both of them forever.
Stuber found soulfulness to Feste’s approach to
the material, one that echoed a classic fairy tale. He
explains: “In the way that Jade is articulated, she’s
Rapunzel. She’s a girl who had a brother who died of
cancer, which inevitably made her mother and father
that much more of helicopter parents. The loss of a
child is the worst thing that could happen to anyone,
and that loss manifests itself in different ways. In the
case of Jade’s father, it turned him into an overbearing
man who has limited his daughter’s ability to be a real
person in high school. She’s lost out on those years and
is a girl in a gilded cage until David breaks her out of it.
He can see her for who she really is.”
Feste elaborates upon her interest in the project: “I
wanted to direct this film because I wanted to make a
contemporary love story. I was immediately drawn to
the idea of making a movie about falling in love and
exploring themes that are important to me—being
brave and putting love first. To have that message reach
Gabriella Wilde is Jade Butterfield.
– 12 –
hundreds of thousands of people in this generation
is an amazing opportunity.”
The writer/director aimed to create an experience
that would have the audience rooting for our couple.
Her goal was to expose the intensity and passion of
first love, and she was determined to put that into
each frame of the movie. The director shares: “I
wanted a happy ending for this story. I wanted our
characters to win, and I wanted love to win. That’s
the story that I wanted to tell: that real love, your
first love, can be the most powerful.”
She continues: “I thought a lot about ‘Romeo and
Juliet’ when I was writing and was also inspired by
the photography of Ryan McGinley. The connection
to teenagers in his work feels inclusive, fun and young
and sexy. I didn’t want the characters’ love to feel
portrayed from a distance. I wanted it to feel like we
were experiencing it. McGinley’s photography lets you
be in the world of his subjects, and that’s how I wanted
to feel when I was watching Jade and David. David
is a brooding, yet charming, guy who awakens this
wonderful, ethereal girl for the first time.”
The self-described romantic admits that what also
drew her to the project was her personal experience of
seeing a love story told on screen for the first time. “I
want what I experienced when I saw my first love story,”
she says. “I walked away from that theater thinking, ‘I
cannot wait to fall in love. I can’t wait to meet that guy
and have all of that.’ That’s what I want every girl in the
audience to think when they watch this movie.”
Abdy was moved by how Feste and Safran had so
beautifully captured the intimacy and explosiveness of
first love. She offers: “The script gave us a Jade and
David who were feeling something they’ve never felt
before: this love and passion and desire to be happy.
But there are other people that don’t understand that
feeling, who may have once found that feeling with
someone but have lost it now, so David and Jade have to
be brave and fight for it.” Agreeing with her director’s
sentiment, Abdy sums: “The movie is about embracing
that love again, believing that no matter what age you
are, everyone can feel love and passion.”
Instant Connection:Casting the Drama
Finding talented young actors who could provide the
essential chemistry of David and Jade was the filmmakers’
top priority. They discovered the ideal performers in
Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde. Shares Schwartz:
“In a love story, this is the whole ball game. The first
time we saw Alex and Gabriella on screen, everyone
was very aware of their chemistry. You just felt it was
there. Beyond the fact that they are both very attractive
people, you felt this real connection between them.”
Schwartz admired his director’s knack with the
talent. “Shana is wonderful working with young actors
and getting them to open up to one another and letting
the audience into that love story,” he says. “She spent
so much time in rehearsal with Alex and Gabriella
helping them forge that connection and open up
Alex Pettyfer is David Elliot.
– 13 –
not only to each other, but to the camera as well. It’s such
a challenge for an actor to be exposed, and her patience
and guidance have resulted in terrific performances.”
As part of the rehearsal and bonding process, Feste
says Pettyfer and Wilde spent a good deal of time
together off set and did a lot of fun exercises, including
dancing to loud music. As filming started, the director
felt inspired by the talent and commitment of her young
actors. She shares: “They came to respect each other
so much. When you’re doing a love story, you have to
know that the other person has your back.”
When they meet, the temperaments of the soon-
to-be young lovers are as different as their cultural
and economic status. Feste praises her leading man,
who plays David as a young man you root for: “Alex
is a total romantic. What struck me the first time I
met him is how open he was talking about the love he
wants to find. Most 23-year-old guys are not talking
openly about love! David believes that he deserves
love and Alex believes that he deserves love, and
that translates in the movie.”
Pettyfer discusses his director’s process: “We did
some interesting rehearsing, and that helped. Shana
guided us along the path. She comes from such an
interesting place of wanting people
to relate and connect. It’s not so
much about a sole performance;
it’s about collaboration. She’s given
me a new look into how to connect
with who I’m playing and where I’m
going in the story.”
Stuber adds that the care his director
put into the on-screen couple finding
comfort in one another was one of
the virtues of the production: “There’s
a complete and utter believability to
all of their interactions. Gabriella and
Alex are natural and organic; they have
chemistry and feel like people in love.
That’s a testament to their work as
actors, as well as Shana and the time she put in so that
they could talk through the places that they were going to
have to go with each other.”
When David connects with Jade, he finds a girl who
has suffered a loss in her family that has taken her out of
the social world of school. Even though she’s beautiful
and bright, she’s not outgoing and hasn’t become a
part of the high school. While he encourages her to see
that she is a free spirit and that someone could
fall in love with her, she gives him the confidence
to believe in himself.
The filmmakers found that the British-born Wilde
embodies many of Jade’s traits. Feste explains: “I
pictured Jade as gorgeous, and Gabriella definitely
is that. But how Gabriella wears her beauty is her
strongest suit. She has no idea how gorgeous she is.
As we were starting to rehearse, I saw Gabriella open
up. She is close to the character of Jade: aware of what
people think of her and quite shy. She’s an introvert,
and I imagined that Jade would be an introvert. Seeing
Gabriella as Jade let love change and inspire her has
been fun to watch. Her arc is so strong in this movie,
and that’s when you forget how beautiful Gabriella is
and just realize that she is an amazing actress.”
Hugh (BRUCE GREENWOOD) confronts David.
– 14 –
Wilde walks us through the story’s beats: “David
awakens Jade to her own voice and to her youth. At
the beginning, she’s quite serious and burdened by a
sense of guilt toward her family following the death
of her brother Chris. She’s someone who’s trying to
make it all okay all of the time, and this is where David
gives her license to be herself. She finds her voice in
the movie as she’s falling in love. Jade goes from being
suppressed to putting everything aside to fight for love
and what she believes in.”
Feste wasn’t the only one impressed with Wilde’s
demeanor. “Gabriella is amazing,” praises Pettyfer.
“She has this beauty that takes you aback. She looks
like a supermodel, but she also is grounded and actually
quite shy—the most beautiful girl mixed with the
quiet girl. She was perfect for Jade.”
To play Jade’s parents, the production cast the
accomplished veteran actors Bruce Greenwood as
Hugh Butterfield, a father whose desire to protect his
daughter leads to awful results, and Joely Richardson
as Anne Butterfield, Jade’s sympathetic mother who is
just as romantic as her only daughter.
Greenwood, an award-winning actor who has starred
in such acclaimed films as Star Trek Into Darkness and
Flight, brings to life Jade’s menacing, if well-meaning,
father. Discussing the part, the actor
offers: “One of the foremost things
that interested me about the character
was that he was a father learning to
let go of a child that he loves beyond
all measure, after having lost a child.
Trying to keep her from harm, but at
the same time guide her is a tremendous
struggle for him; he begins to overreact
and becomes rigid in the way he looks
at his daughter’s aspirations.”
Hugh is a successful surgeon in
Atlanta who strongly objects to the
relationship that’s blossoming between
Jade and David. It was important to
Feste to have the audience also see the warmth of his
character, so as to not have Hugh appear as a clichéd
villain. His on-screen daughter reflects on Greenwood’s
talent. “Bruce is a brilliant actor,” lauds Wilde. “There’s
a danger that Hugh could have just been a villain, but
Bruce has kept the humanity in Hugh. While he is a
villain—what he does is frightening and wrong—
you can understand where it all comes from; he’s
done that brilliantly.”
Producer Schwartz was taken with Greenwood’s
performance and ability to bring an incredible humanity
to stoic Hugh. Schwartz shares: “When you see Bruce
on screen, you sense a strength and integrity to him.
This makes the fact that he’s the antagonist of the movie
very interesting. Hugh will go to great lengths to keep
his daughter from David in ways that the audience may
not agree with, but can always understand.”
Feste shares that they conceived of the parents by
seeing them in shades of gray. Both Hugh and Harry
protect their children the best way they can. The
director explains: “Do either one of them understand
the love that David and Jade have? I don’t think so. I
think maybe toward the end of the film they start to.
Are they afraid of it? Yes, sure, because that intensity
is frightening to see because it’s all-consuming.
Sabine (ANNA ENGER) and Keith (RHYS WAKEFIELD) get the party started at his family home.
– 15 –
Anne is the one character who is not afraid of that love,
but is drawn to it and wants to celebrate it.”
Anne is a published author who hasn’t written in
years. Like Hugh, she mourns the loss of their eldest
child, but while her husband’s grief pushes her away,
she wants to hold on to their marriage. Stuber explains
why this character is so pivotal to Jade and David’s arc:
“Anne has a husband who’s cheating on her, and she’s
aware of it. She’s living a lie. But seeing this young
man who’s being honest with who he is and authentic
in his love for her daughter…that’s a big deal to Anne.
That’s something she respects to the point that she gives
David information she likely shouldn’t.”
For her part, Richardson was impressed with Feste’s
directorial style, one that allowed her to play Anne as
a forgiving character who operates from a base of love
for others—as well as a woman who has lost herself
to a controlling husband. Richardson shares: “Shana
is precise, thinks outside the box and knows exactly
what she wants. As an actor, you can be used to self-
directing. With Shana, she thinks of these imaginative
scenarios to get you to do the scene the way she’d like.”
While Greenwood’s Hugh feels immediate disdain
for David, Richardson’s Anne feels drawn to the young
man’s spirit from the beginning. Richardson explains:
“She has that mother’s instinct that
picks up that he’s a good guy. But the
big thing that wins her over is that David
has this enormous love for her daughter,
and that melts her heart.”
Savage compares the character of
Anne to Richardson’s real-life persona,
a woman inspired by love. She notes:
“Joely is elegance personified. Anne is
a character who is very observant. She
is the glue that holds her family together
and Joely is great at playing all those
small moments, the looks, the gestures.
She’s always taking care of her family,
concerned about where everybody is
emotionally and how to keep them together. Joely is
tuned into that in a great way.”
On the other side of the tracks, David’s father Harry,
an automotive mechanic who works in the shop he owns,
hasn’t considered love in a long time. His wife walked
out on him a few years earlier, and he’s closed his heart.
Unlike his co-stars (Pettyfer, Wilde, Richardson) who
are British and Canadian (Greenwood), veteran actor
Robert Patrick is from Georgia. “With his Southern
roots,” says Savage, “Robert brings texture and a
completely different flavor. The Butterfields are a very
refined family, and Harry represents this whole other
aspect of David’s world.”
Patrick sheds some light on the background of his
character: “Harry is raising his son the best way he
knows how. It’s a loving environment. When you meet
Harry, you know that he’s a good, salt-of-the-earth guy.
He’s a man’s man who is used to getting dirty, and
he’s raised his son that way—to stand up for himself
and be who he is.”
The actor recalls his first meeting with his new
son: “When I met Alex, it just felt great; we had an
instantaneous chemistry. He even looks like my son,
which was funny to me, Alex and my son. They’re
so similar that we actually used pictures of my little
Jade visits David at work.
– 16 –
boy as David when he was younger.”
The energy and versatility that Patrick brought to
the story and his role was put to good use. Pettyfer
felt that in spades: “It was so crazy. Robert came on
set, I hadn’t met him yet, and I wanted to seem very
professional and I’m nervous: ‘I’m...I’m Alex. Very
nice to meet you. I play your son.’ And he gives me a
massive hug and says, ‘This is my son, everybody.’ It
was exciting to work with him.”
After assembling the two leads and their parents,
the team got to work building a stellar up-and-coming
supporting cast. As there is darkness in Jade’s past and
David’s background, there was a potential of making
the film too serious. The talented young actors brought
humor and liveliness to the project.
Filmmakers encouraged the entire cast to hang out
and get to know each other off camera, which helped
to enhance each relationship on camera. Abdy offers:
“In rehearsals, they got to know one another, become
friends and learn to tell truths about each other so
that you feel that there’s a life behind the movie.
We encouraged them to go do fun things by
themselves. Shana brought all that to the table as a
director who is very character-driven. Because she’s
a writer, too, she’s very much into the context and
the life of each character.”
Australian Rhys Wakefield plays
Keith, Jade’s flippant, charming and
protective older brother. “What I
like about Keith,” says Wakefield,
“is that he has this deep-seated pain
within him. There’s this history of a
father-son relationship gone awry.
His purpose in this film is to help
Jade along in her journey and to
welcome David into the household,
acting as a bridge between the parent
and this outsider. David represents
healing to Keith as well, coming in
as he does and mixing things up,
which is something that the whole family is
in great need of.”
It was important to Feste that Keith and Jade’s
relationship was based on support for each other. She
shares: “Rhys is an incredible actor. He’s mischievous
and has this wonderful smile. The minute Rhys and
Gabriella got together, I knew they would be perfect
because they genuinely support each other as actors.
I feel incredibly lucky to have cast Rhys because
he adds so much to Keith that the audience will be
celebrating when he embraces this message to be brave
and fight for love.”
David’s best friend, Mace, is played by Nigerian-
born Dayo Okeniyi, who is best known for his role in
The Hunger Games. “Dayo is incredibly charismatic,”
says Feste. “Mace represents David’s old world—
peaking in high school. Dayo is one of those actors who
brings such a fresh, fun energy to the film. Most of what
he does is all improvised. I love his improvisation—
he’s so clever and so funny.”
Okeniyi shares what drew him to the role of Mace:
“Before Endless Love, I’d come off projects where I
was sci-fi intense, with a lot of death and destruction,
and for the first time, a character came my way that
was down to earth, if a bit on the wild side. When I
Hugh, Jade, David and Anne (JOELY RICHARDSON) at the Butterfield lake house.
– 17 –
was testing for the role, Shana said that he should
be the light of the movie. Whenever Mace comes on
screen, he should just be that breath of fresh air, the
reaffirming friend. At the same time, she didn’t want
him to be a caricature.”
When David meets Jade, he has just broken up with
his girlfriend, Jenny, played by British actress Emma
Rigby in her first American feature-film role. Jenny and
Jade are complete opposites: she’s overtly sexual and
flirtatious with David, which makes us understand why
Jade feels threatened. As David and Jade’s relationship
develops, Jenny refuses to watch passively. Her act of
revenge succeeds in separating them—possibly forever.
Feste wanted to explore the character of Jade by
contrasting her with Jenny, while also making sure
that there was a genuine relationship between Jenny
and David. “Emma has a tough role,” says the director,
“because Jenny is the girl that you want to hate. Still, there
were takes where I said, ‘Emma, it’s just making me too
sad, you are too good right now; just do less, because I’m
feeling too much for you. You look too heartbroken that
David has chosen someone else and we always have to
be thinking that Jade and David have the strongest bond.’
But Emma is such a strong actress that sometimes you
can’t help but have your heart go out to her.”
Capturing the Passion:Design and Locations
The paths of David and Jade’s
story are reflected in the design of
the film. Feste assembled a stellar
behind-the-scenes team—led by
cinematographer Andrew Dunn,
production designer Clay Griffith and
costume designer Stacey Battat—to
bring her vision from script to screen.
For Griffith, the inspiration for the
colors of the production began by
sitting down with Dunn, Battat and
Feste, and pulling photographs that would reflect
their shared, desired palette. Griffith recalls: “It’s
not often that the director, director of photography,
costume designer and production designer sit down
and conjure up the look of the film. But we did, and
it was fantastic.”
Because they were on location in Atlanta for 34
of the 37 shooting days, and not on a soundstage,
the color palette was more difficult to control. But
Griffith worked with costume designer Battat to
create the film’s signature look. The costume designer
describes the style evolution of Jade’s character
progressing from girl to woman: “We wanted Jade
to be more of a little girl at the beginning and then
progress into being a woman. The fact that she’s still
a kid means she might want to wear her dresses with
Converse high-tops. Jade’s color scheme is what I
like to call a ‘1920s color palette’—soft, muted pale
pinks, peaches and minty greens with occasional
reds when she’s being defiant of her father. When
she chooses David, she’s in red.”
On the opposite end, it was important that
David’s wardrobe reflect his demeanor of little
change. Shares Battat: “David is a stable force
in the movie, so his wardrobe always remains
Hugh refuses to listen to Anne.
– 18 –
constant; his look remains consistent, like a
James Dean-type character.”
One of Feste’s priorities was to find a romantic
to shoot the film. Enter BAFTA Award-winning
director of photography Andrew Dunn, who allowed
for specific spacing of the characters to reflect
Feste’s vision. “We initially created a tightness of
space around Jade,” notes Dunn. “As she becomes a
woman, develops her own point of view and finds her
place in life and in love, we created more freedom
of space around her. She becomes more the
mistress of her environment and her
space becomes freer.”
Something of critical importance
to Feste was having a team that was
very open to love. Reflecting on Dunn,
she compliments: “He is so incredibly
generous and calm and his spirit is so
giving that I knew he would be perfect to
shoot a love story. It’s great that he’s so
open and not cynical. When I explained
what I wanted in a scene or how I wanted
a kiss to go and he said, ‘Oh, that’s
beautiful,’ I knew that he meant it. On top
of that, he’s made the actors feel so free
with their emotions.”
The camaraderie was felt between
Dunn and Feste. “Working with Shana
was an energizing and uplifting
experience for me. She has such a special
view,” notes Dunn. “She is wonderful
with the actors, understands the story
so well—and it all comes from her
heart. Shana is very inspiring. She’s
a writer, she understands her subjects
and what she is trying to get from the
story, which has inspired me to go on
a journey with her and draw out that story
through the images, through the lighting,
camera placement , movement that
we created together.”
Endless Love’s set was located almost entirely
in and around Atlanta, from May to July 2013.
“Josh and I had never shot in Georgia before,”
says Savage, “so this was our first time here. There
are so many different places to shoot—from the
beautiful Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead, where
the Butterfield house is, to the more urban spot
where we found an amazing old garage for Harry’s
place, to the gorgeous lake house on Lake Jackson
outside of the city. From the diversity of looks, the
Nothing will keep David and Jade apart.
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great local crews and the good restaurants—
we really enjoyed our time here.”
Sounds of Romance:Building the Soundtrack
Little is more impor tant in a romantic
drama about the f ight to keep the one you
love than the music that encapsulates those
intense emotions. To create a soundtrack that
incorporated each mood experienced by Jade
and David, Feste worked closely with producer
Schwartz. She shares: “Josh and I wanted a
young, fun soundtrack for this f ilm, but it
was also important to utilize music that takes
us through the ups and downs of David and
Jade’s relationship and their intense growth.”
To compose the f ilm, Feste sought out
award-winning ar tist Christophe Beck, who
has scored such beloved teen movies as
Pitch Perfect and Crazy, Stupid, Love., not to
mention drafted the signature sounds for the
teen series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of his
interest in the project, Beck shares: “What
made Endless Love fun was the challenge
of scale. Young love isn’t a soaring, operatic
adventure; it’s a much more intimate experience.
So in approaching the music, Shana and I had
to f ind balance between keeping the size of the
musical ideas appropriate for the self-discovery
and introspection that are central to the story,
but still evoke the timelessness that people feel
when they reflect on their earliest experiences
of falling in love.”
Brought aboard to perform the f ilm’s theme
Writer/Director SHANA FESTE and GABRIELLA WILDE as Jade on the set of Endless Love.
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was a beloved duo. Over the past 13 years,
twin sisters TEGAN and SARA QUIN have
built an avid global fan base with songs such
as “Walking With a Ghost” and “Alligator.”
The duo’s hit singles have been covered by
the likes of The White Stripes and Passion Pit.
Intimately familiar with teenage angst and the
power of falling in love for the f irst time, Tegan
and Sara have appeared on The CW’s 90210.
Schwartz, however, became a big fan of the duo
after seeing them perform at Coachella in 2005.
Discuss ing the f i lmmakers ’ cho ice ,
Schwar tz enthuses: “Coming from Gossip
Girl and The O.C., I knew the importance of
courting musicians that speak intimately to
our core audience. Tegan and Sara understood
the tone we were going for with the music and
delivered in a manner that knocked us out.”
In addition to the contributions of Beck
and Tegan and Sara, the soundtrack—brought
together by accomplished music supervisor
RANDALL POSTER—features fun-loving
songs inc luding FRANZ FERDINAND’s
“Right Action,” NONONO’s “Pumpin Blood
(The Jane Doze Remix)” and CULT’s “Go
Outside,” and such romantic ballads as LORD
HURON’s “Ends of the Earth,” ECHOSMITH’s
“Sur round You” and THE BIRD AND THE
BEE’s “All Our Endless Love,” featuring
MATT BERNINGER.
Feste sums up the contributions of the
multiple artists who brought to life Endless
Love’s soundtrack and themes: “Our goal with
this movie was to seamlessly merge David and
Jade’s feelings for one another into a cohesive
soundtrack. From the incredible ta lents
of Randall and Christophe to Tegan and Sara’s
recording of our theme song, ‘Don’t Find
Another Love,’ I know that we have taken the
audience along the gamut of the emotions
fel t by our hero and heroine, especial ly
faith, hope and love.”
****
With production wrapped, the cast and
crew reflect on lessons learned from the shoot.
Concludes Stuber: “In the f ilm, there’s a
beginning love story between Jade and David,
who are f iguring out who they’re going to be
in the world. Then there is this decaying love
story between Jade’s parents, and we wonder
if they can possibly f igure it out. Love is a
complex thing; it’s a muscle that has to be
worked out. Shana has shared so much of the
complexity of love in this f ilm. It’s not just
about the people you meet here….it’s about
love in its broadest terms.”
****
Universal Pictures presents a Bluegrass
Films/Fake Empire production: Endless Love,
starring Alex Pettyfer, Gabriella Wilde, Bruce
Greenwood, Joely Richardson, Robert Patrick.
The f ilm’s music is by Christophe Beck, and
the music supervisor is Randall Poster. The
costumes are designed by Stacey Battat. Endless
Love is edited by Maryann Brandon, ACE,
and the production designer is Clay Griff ith.
The f ilm’s director of photography is Andrew
Dunn, BSC. The executive producers are J.
Miles Dale, Tracy Falco. The romantic drama is
produced by Scott Stuber, p.g.a., Pamela Abdy,
p.g.a., Josh Schwartz, p.g.a., Stephanie Savage,
p.g.a. Endless Love is based on the book by
Scott Spencer, and its screenplay is by Shana
Feste and Joshua Safran. The f ilm is directed
by Shana Feste. ©2014 Universal Pictures.
www.endlesslovemovie.com
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