Books & Review | Cole Garner Hill
Updated: Aug 16, 2012 12:22 PM EDT

josh duhamel

(Photo : Socialite Life)

Nicholas Sparks fans, count today as a win. While there still might not even be a teaser trailer for "Safe Haven" yet, Sparks' latest film adaptation of his novel of the same name, there's still reason to rejoice. Socialite Life has released photos spotlighting a very, very shirtless Josh Duhamel shooting with co-star Julianne Hough on the beach in South Carolina.

(Photo: Socialite Life)

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(Photo: Socialite Life)

Sparks has called Duhamel "perfect" for the role of Alex Wheatley. And clearly spent a long time wrestling with finding the right actress to play his love interest Katie Feldman, "We were looking for an actor who could pull off this conflicted role," said Sparks. "With Julianne, you are looking for someone who can really pull off this vulnerability with underlying strength and she is doing an amazing job at that," Sparks explained.

(Photo: Socialite Life)

(Photo: Socialite Life)

The eighth novel of Sparks' to be adapted to a movie in a resume that includes "The Notebook," "Message in a Bottle," and "The Last Song," the film's plot concerns a young woman with a mysterious past who lands in Southport, North Carolina, where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.

(Photo: Socialite Life)

(Photo: Socialite Life)

Sparks, who lives in New Bern, South Carolina, said after visiting Southport, he wanted to set one of his stories in the Brunswick County town.

"I remember coming to Southport years ago when they were filming A Walk to Remember here and I came through and spent some time down here and I said, one day I'm going to set a little novel here," he said. "It has got to be exactly the right novel. So, I set Safe Haven and then we were just fortunate that everything worked out that we actually were able to film here as well."

"Safe Haven" will premiere February 8, 2013.

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