What was most challenging about this adaptation?

The real challenge was crafting a very realistic angry teen while
simultaneously making the viewer or reader like her. Sometimes
teenagers are just not that likable, and we all know it! But you
still have to show an element of humanity and that there's
something more than meets the eye”.

Did you write the role of Ronnie, specifically with Myley Cyrus
in mind?

In this instance a bit of coincidence took place. I was approached by Overstock Entertainment to
create a scrip for Myley Cyrus, coincidentally as I was thinking of writing a novel about a 17 year
old girl. We were kind of on the same page, and though I knew that The last song would be a
Novel no matter what, there was no guarantee that the film would get made, because as we
know in these situations the studio has to like it, the producers have to like it and Myley had to
like it more than anything else they had seen in the 6 months it took to come up with the story
and put everything together. So Myley was certainly in mind a little bit, but you certainly can't
write that way.

Unlike most of your previous adaptations, this time you went from screenplay to novel.
Was it challenging?

I didn't find going from screenplay to novel particularly challenging. The entire idea was formulated
first. So, when I presented it to Disney (in August of 2008) I explained that this was the story in
the novel that I was preparing to write, and I essentially did the same with Miley and her people.
So after I came up with the idea it did not matter which one came up first, whether I had written
the novel and then the screenplay, it would have pretty much been the same.

As an author are there subject matters which are off limits?
I won't write about adultery. I guess that comes from my moral underpinnings, coupled with
the practical side of me which says, I just don't want to glamorize that, because I think I would
be upset if my wife would have an affair. Another thing I am not willing to do is use profanity.
That is as much as part of my moral upbringing, as it is the fact that the writer in me says that frequently, the use of profanity is for shock value—perhaps because the writer is incapable
of creating the emotion he needs to create.

Why write about a young character's life transition?

It's been a while seen I have written about characters who were so young. The last time I did
was 10 years ago with a Walk to Remember. As a novelist I strive to keep the stories fresh and
original, so one of the ways that I do that, is by varying the age of the characters. At the same
time transitions, challenges and tragedy can befall people at any age and are certainly not limited
to adulthood. I think there's a lot to be said for how someone responds to life's challenges which
in the end goes back to the films central themes of family, redemption and forgiveness.

What do you hope audiences will come away with?

I hope that audiences will not only enjoy the film but that they will bring their families to see it.

D. Smith