Skip to Content

My Time On ‘The Longest Ride’ Set Including Exclusive Interview #LongestRide (OR Gratuitous Pictures Of Scott Eastwood)

TLR-Image1

That is one good looking specimen. And you know I’m not talking about the horse. Helllooooo Scott Eastwood.

THE LONGEST RIDE

A few months ago, I few down to the Carolinas for a top secret set visit for ‘The Longest Ride’. It was actually during the summer and we weren’t allowed to take any pictures! That’s how serious it all was!! A blogger with her phone and a RULE LIKE THAT. I was sweating! And not because it was 150 degrees!

TLR-Luke

Oh there he is again… Scott. Yum. 

Wait – where was I? During this set visit, I had the opportunity to interview Nicholas Sparks, Britt Robertson and Scott alongside 20 other bloggers.

In case you haven’t heard about The Longest Ride, here’s a synopsis:

Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, THE LONGEST RIDE centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke, a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia, a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City’s art world.  As conflicting paths and ideals test their relationship, Sophia and Luke make an unexpected connection with Ira, whose memories of his own decades-long romance with his beloved wife deeply inspire the young couple.  Spanning generations and two intertwining love stories, THE LONGESTRIDE explores the challenges and infinite rewards of enduring love. 

Starring: Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin, and Alan Alda

Now, I actually had the chance to read the book before I visited the set, so I had a real feel for all of the characters and the story. It was amazing to actually become submerged in the story as it was happening. Nicholas Sparks and the rest of the team went to great lengths to make sure that the visuals MET the expectations of the readers.

TLR-Image5

Oh that Scott — he keeps popping up!

The Longest Ride follows two separate love stories and here’s a little spoiler — the book is slightly different than the movie. SHOCKER, right?! Like that never happens!! One of my favorite parts of the book doesn’t make it into the film (because it just didn’t have a cinematical (yes, that’s a word … for now) punch that the crew was looking for). I don’t want to spoil anything – but book lovers will notice the difference right away … after the car crash. THERE, I SAID TOO MUCH!!

Young love. Seasoned love. True love. Endless love. Timeless love. Hopeless love. It’s all part of the game. Our first interview was with Scott Eastwood.

THE LONGEST RIDE

The movie requires the actor to spend a lot of time on horses. Everyone wanted to know if this was a skill that had to be learned ahead of time. Lucky for Scott, he “grew up around horses” and didn’t have an issue with this requirement.

When Scott first read, ‘The Longest Ride’, he really related with his character.

It was nice. I really responded to the character in the book. He’s kind of a man of few words, and he’s kind of a no-bullsh** kind of guy, and I like that.”

What was his biggest challenge?

I think, reading the book, I got to know sort of the values of this character, and sort of learn what he stood for and what he was about, and then taking all that, just remembering all the characteristics, and sort of what he believed in, and then bringing yourself to it a little bit, and trying to bring yourself to it as well.

Now … let’s talk about bull riding. I mean, we HAVE to talk about bull riding. In all honesty, we asked Scott how long he thought he could stand that test??

Mr. Scott Eastwood: Jeez, that’s–.

Ms. Britt Robertson: –I’ll give you two seconds. I bet you could make out of the–what is it called, the stand?

Mr. Scott Eastwood: The chute?

Ms. Britt Robertson: Chute? Yikes. You could make it out.

HA! Honestly — I’m glad he didn’t get all cocky. Bull riding is NO JOKE. You ever watch that on TV? I can barely keep my eyes open-  I’m so scared. I wouldn’t be able to get ON THE BULL. And if you think I am joking… I am NOT. I wouldn’t be able to SIT on the BULL even if it was strapped down and unable to move. No way. No how.

Every movie has funny moments – behind the scenes. What was Scott’s favorite moment??

One scene we threw in there as an improvised scene, where we had Luiz’ (played by Tiago Riani] character get in the pool. And I was in the shoot helping him.

That was nice because most of the stuff was about me doing the rides and stuff. So, it was nice to have sort of a buddy scene where I was helping him before the ride. That was great.

TLR-Image3

Stay tuned!! I have more interviews coming up — exclusives chats with both Britt Robertson and director George Tillman Jr.!!

TLR-1Sht

Let’s Get Social:

#LongestRide

* Fox invited me to visit the set of ‘The Longest Ride’ and interview the cast and crew. All opinions are my own.  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.