After surprising us on Friday with its first-place debut, Think Like A Man has surprised again with its estimated $33 million haul from 2,015 locations.  That is the best per-screen average of the week (wide releases) and it nearly doubles expectations for the comedy. In second place, The Lucky One earned a solid $22.8 million and then there’s The Hunger Games… not sick of hearing about that one yet, are you?

International best-selling author Nicholas Sparks sat down with us recently to talk about Dear John, the latest film to be adapted from one of his novels. Directed by Oscar nominee Lasse Hallström, Dear John tells the story of John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a young soldier home on leave, and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), the idealistic college student he falls in love with during her spring vacation. The film also stars Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins.

Sparks, who currently resides in North Carolina with his wife and five children, has published fifteen novels of which six have been turned into films. They include The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Last Song, Dear John, and Nights in Rodanthe. Sparks also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel, The Last Song. The film rights for his novel, The Lucky One, have been sold to Warner Bros. with Douglas McGrath attached to direct. Sparks has also sold screenplay adaptations of True Believer and At First Sight.

Nicholas Sparks talked to us about walking the fine line between drama and melodrama, how pleased he is with the way Lasse Hallström and the cast captured his vision on film, and what a love story like Dear John has in common with the Humphrey Bogart classic, Casablanca. Here’s what he had to say:

January brings us the fourth season of HBO’s Big Love, but it may be the last to feature cast member Amanda Seyfried on a regular basis according to TV Guide. Seyfried plays the eldest of eight children of a polygamist family in suburban Utah, and will be written off the show in the eighth episode of the season.

The show’s creator, Will Scheffer, had this to say, “She’s been exploring her movie career for a couple of years now, and we’ve been giving her a lot of room to do that. I know having a commitment to a show for six months definitely cuts into her ability to pursue that career.” Just so there’s no confusion, Scheffer continues, “She’s moving away”. Hit the jump for what effect this may have on the show.