'Dear' in the spotlight: Allentown's Amanda Seyfried takes on her first romantic lead

AMANDA SEYFRIED was filming "Dear John" in Charleston, S.C., when best-selling author Nicholas Sparks ("The Notebook") arrived in his private jet to check up on the filming of his novel.

Seyfried admired the author (and really admired the jet) and told him how much she'd enjoyed reading "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas."

Sparks thanked her for the compliment, but "Suzanne's Diary" was written by James Patterson.

"That's one I wish I could have taken back," she said.

It could be the only misstep Seyfried has made since we first met the Allentown-raised actress, back during the press event for "Mamma Mia."

Her career has been gaining only upward momentum since with starring roles in "Jennifer's Body," the upcoming "Chloe," in which Seyfried will lock lips (and more) with Julianne Moore, a recurring role on "Big Love" and now her first romantic lead, "Dear John," opposite new "It"-guy Channing Tatum.

She and Tatum were in town last week at the Four Seasons Hotel, part of a tour taking them to a number of cities. Philadelphia, however, is Seyfried's favorite - it's like her fourth home with L.A., New York and Allentown - because sister Jennifer is an artist/musician here and the two get along great.

Although Seyfried has been in her own long-distance relationship, she said that had no bearing on her decision to take on the role of Savannah, a conservative Southern college student separated from her true love by thousands of miles, two wars and lots of handwritten letters.

Her inspiration wasn't her own situation, she said, but Claire Danes in "Romeo and Juliet," a movie she loved as a teenager.

"I know how I felt when I watched 'Romeo & Juliet' over and over again," she said. "I wanted to play a romantic lead and I wanted to do something for girls."

While Seyfried said her star billing didn't lead to anxiety over carrying the film, she did feel "pressure to be pretty."

"You want to be attractive to the audience," said the beautiful 24-year-old, who described herself, as she often does, as looking like a frog.

It must be why princes kiss frogs.

Seyfried said that a key to making "Dear John" work is the chemistry between the lovers because it's "hard to get two people to seem like they're in love."

She said Tatum was perfect for her "because neither of us likes to take things too seriously on set. He's a character and just likes to have fun, but somehow we did get the job done."

"We did, however, fool around most of the time," she said.

(Not literally. Tatum is married to actress Jenna Dewan.)

Tatum did gush over Seyfried.

"She has those big old beautiful eyes, and they just kind of draw you in," he said. "You just want to know what she's thinking and feeling. And with Amanda, there's so much going on in there! She's so talented - she can sing, write, and obviously she can act. She's so creative and talented, she has so much inside of her, and I think people pick up on that."

Seyfried said the hardest part of the role was playing the older version of her character, because she thinks she comes across as young on screen.

"The main ingredient to playing that older version of Savannah," she said, "was to burden her and make everything heavier and less hopeful."

Next up for Seyfried will be something much heavier, "Chloe," which she said is "dark, risky and challenging."

"In 'Dear John,' being in love is really fun," she said. " 'Chloe' is challenging."

This May, Seyfried, who joked that she's "oversaturating the market," will be counterprogramming to "Iron Man 2" in the scenic, romantic drama, "Letters to Juliet," co-starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Vanessa Redgrave.

And after that? Nothing.

She was supposed to star opposite Annette Bening in Bruce Beresford's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "A Woman of No Importance," but it's on hold while the movie industry figures out where to spend its money. She's got an "amazing script" for a small film but the young filmmakers are also having trouble with financing.

"For the first time I don't have a 'next,' " she said. "It's scary."