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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