March 22nd, 2010 @ admin

The small Savannah beach community of Tybee Island, is gearing up for its big screen debut on March 31^st in The Last Song starring Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear and Kelly Preston. This Disney/Touchstone major motion picture was filmed on Tybee Island during the summer of 2009.

The screenplay for The Last Song and the novel by the same name were both written by Nicholas Sparks with the screenplay being finished before the novel was released last fall. The film is a coming of age tale about seventeen-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller (Miley Cyrus) who is sent by her mother (Kelly Preston) to spend the summer with her estranged father (Greg Kinnear) on Tybee Island. Over the summer father and daughter connect over the one thing they have in common, their mutual love of music and along the way Ronnie experiences her first love with the local town hunk Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth). Other noteworthy books written by Sparks that have made it to the big screen include A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe and Dear John.

The film originally set for production in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina was changed to Tybee Island once location scouts discovered Tybee’s unique charm. Georgia’s tax incentives set in place by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue sealed the deal. Having won the film Tybee Island welcomed with open arms the cast and crew of The Last Song during the filming of the movie. Some of the scenes shot during the filming of the movie were the carnival and seafood festival shot by the Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion, a beach volleyball tournament and shots of the church built especially for the movie. The church still remains on Tybee and with the help of Stacye and Lannie Jarrell owners of Oceanfront Cottage Rentals, the church is being renovated and will be used as a facility for weddings and special events.

Tybee will celebrate the release of The Last Song in classic Tybee fashion with a “Flip Flop” Red Carpet Party scheduled for March 31^st. Organizer Susan Kelleher, owner of Seaside Sisters, will have a pre-movie event complete with food, cocktails, live music and of course a red carpet. Attendees will board a trolley, cab, limo or private car for a Tybee star studded caravan to the theater. A post-film party and awards ceremony will take place later in the evening.  All funds raised after ticket and transportation costs will be donated to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center Sea Turtle Project.