The Last Song is a 2010 American coming-of-age teen romantic drama film developed alongside Nicholas Sparks' 2009 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Julie Anne Robinson in her feature film directorial debut and co-written by Sparks and Jeff Van Wie. The Last Song stars Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, and Greg Kinnear, and follows a troubled teenager as she reconnects with her estranged father and falls in love during a summer in a quiet Southern United States beach town.
Sparks was approached to write both the film's screenplay and the novel. Sparks completed the screenplay in January 2009, prior to the completion of the novel, making The Last Song his first script to be optioned for film. The setting, originally in North Carolina like the novel, relocated to Georgia after the states had campaigned for months to host production. Upon beginning production in Tybee Island, Georgia, and nearby Savannah, The Last Song became the first movie to be both filmed and set on Tybee Island. Filming lasted from June 15 to August 18, 2009, with much of it occurring on the island's beach and pier.
The Last Song was released by Touchstone Pictures on March 31, 2010, and was later released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 17, 2010. The film garnered negative reviews from critics, with many criticizing the script and Cyrus's performance, who felt she was miscast in the role. In spite of this, it grossed $89 million worldwide against a $20 million budget, making it a box office success.
