FOX 2000 to Bring Nicholas Sparks' THE LONGEST RIDE to Big Screen

With the success of the big screen adaptations of Nicholas Sparks 'The Notebook' and 'Safe Haven', Elizabeth Gabler's Fox 2000 has announced that it has acquired the rights to the best-selling author's latest novel THE LONGEST RIDE. Deadline reports that the studio has just inked a deal worth $5 million upfront.

Temple Hill's Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen will produce with Nicholas Sparks and Theresa Park. Said Gabler, "It has been a dream of ours for many years to bring one of Nicholas Sparks' books to life as a film. We are elated that this dream has finally been realized with The Longest Ride. This wonderful novel captures the finest elements we seek for our films - an incredible story about love and the strength of the human spirit. We look forward to a wonderful partnership with Nicholas and Theresa."

Added Sparks, "I am delighted to embark on my first film with Fox 2000. I've long been an admirer of Elizabeth Gabler and her commitment to developing books with integrity and passion. I can't overstate my excitement at partnering with such an able and well-regarded studio."

The Longest Ride will be published September 24, 2013 by Grand Central Publishing. According to the report, the love story "opens with a 90-year old man snowbound and stuck in his car after a major crash on an isolated road. As he drifts in and out of consciousness awaiting rescue, the man sees visions of his life love, who died earlier. Together they reminisce about their life together, including his difficulty in returning from WWII, and being unable to have children with her because of a war wound.

They become renowned art collectors and the man has been lost since she died from a stroke. The other romance is between a young art history major and a handsome bull rider who fall in love despite coming from completely different backgrounds. Each has aspirations and dreams, and the cowboy is fighting the clock and should not be riding due to past injuries, but has a family ranch to save. A strange occurrence allows the two generations of lovers to save each other."