‘The Choice’ Star Benjamin Walker Explains Why Movie Isn’t a ‘Chick Flick’

— -- “The Choice” is the 11th film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks hit novel, and in the film, Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer play two North Carolina neighbors whose relationship is put to the ultimate test.

ABC News’ Sara Haines met with the actors and Sparks himself at Tavern on the Green restaurant in New York to talk about the project.

Palmer is a big Nicholas Sparks fan, and Haines asked her what it was like for her to appear in a movie based on one of his books.

She called being offered the role “a blessing.” Her own young son played her character’s son in the film.

“If I could go back to my 18-year-old self who was so obsessed with ‘The Notebook’ and tell her that one day I would be in my very own Nicholas Sparks movie, I probably would just drop dead on the spot,” she said during the Wednesday interview.

Palmer has previously appeared in “The Grudge 2” and “I Am Number four,” among other projects.

Walker – whose previous projects include in “Abraham Hunter: Vampire Hunter” and “In the Heart of the Sea” -- explained why “The Choice” shouldn’t be labeled a “chick flick.”

“Well first off, chick flick is kind of an offensive term because it's insulting to women and men and limiting to the story, this is a much more human story,” he said, adding that the film was funny and a love story, adding: “This movie when I see it, I come out and I go, ‘this makes me want to call the people I love,’ call my mother, call my wife, make sure I'm taking care of those relationships, and choosing those relationships every day, and that is not exclusive to one gender ... .”

“The Choice” is the first film from Sparks’ own production company.

He said he worked collaboratively with the producers on getting every element of the project right – including the music, the setting and the humor between the protagonists.