“Safe Haven” based on Nicholas Spark’s book of the same name has been filming in Southport. The film, which stars Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough, has had to work through some tricky filming situations in the Southport area.
One of the scenes involved burning a general store set that was built for the movie. The film’s special effects crew had to do some creative filming since the set is surrounded by 140-year-old oak trees. The film crew also had to recreate the annual 4th of July Parade for a scene in the film nearly a month after the big holiday.
Nicolas Sparks, who visited the set, said the film, or at least what he has seen of the movie, already exceeds his expectations. Sparks, whose many novels are set in the Coastal North Carolina area, is no stranger to local film sets. Films based on his novels including “Dear John,” “A Walk to Remember,” and “Message in a Bottle” were all filmed in the area.
