Since Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn brought Message in a Bottle to the screen in 2000, author Nicholas Sparks has entertained audiences with his deeply romantic and often tragic tales of love found, lost and regained.

Thirteen years later, Sparks revisits his winning formula again with Safe Haven, the story of a troubled young woman who finds love while on the run from her mysterious past.

But even after successfully creating some of the last decade’s most iconic romances, including The Notebook, the writer says that he’s sure of only one thing when it comes to creating these indelible stories.

“Everybody falls in love,” Sparks tells Celebuzz. “How do you make that original and fresh to somebody? How do you do that new? It’s been done so many times before.”

Sparks admits that he still struggles to find the right way to combine new circumstances and timeless ideas when crafting his latest tome.

“I don’t know still that I’m perfectly comfortable doing it,” he says. “Whenever you’re trying to evoke genuine emotion, it is a tough thing to do, especially when you’re trying to evoke a variety of them.”

Although his work certainly deserves credit for connecting these films with their audiences, Sparks insists that it’s the people on screen who truly make them memorable and effective.

“The elements that have made these films work are the chemistry,” Sparks says. “I’ve had actors with great chemistry. Ryan [Gosling], Rachel [McAdams], Channing Tatum – I’ve had great casts, great directors.”

Safe Haven opens in theaters nationwide Feb. 14. Watch our exclusive interview with Sparks, and let us know in the comments — what do you love most about the writer’s love stories? And which is your favorite?

The Notebook fans, rejoice – Nicholas Sparks is back on the big screen with another tale of romance in a sleepy Southern town.

In the new film Safe Haven, Sparks tells the tale of a young woman named Katie (Julianne Hough), who finds new love with a widowed father of two named Alex (Josh Duhamel) while trying to escape her troubled past.

In a new TV spot exclusive to Celebuzz, the fair fight for one another – sometimes literally – as their relationship slowly unfolds.

Speaking to her new friend Jo (Cobie Smulders), Katie admits that she arrives in town with a lot of baggage – albeit emotional rather than physical.

“I’ve had things happen to me in the past,” she says.

Katie later confesses to Alex that she finds comfort in their burgeoning relationship. She says, “I’m happy here, with you.”

Alex, thankfully, reassures her that he reciprocates her feelings, and wants to protect her, if he can.

“There’s no safer place than here with me,” he insists.

Safe Haven opens in theaters nationwide February 14 – yep, Valentine’s Day. Will this be the movie you take your significant other to see? Or what will you be doing on that special day? Watch Julianne Hough explain how she explain her on screen snogging to real-life boyfriend Ryan Seacrest, and then let us know in the comments section below!

Although she’s currently commanding the big screen as one of the co-stars of the romantic drama Safe Haven, Cobie Smulders established a solid comedic pedigree on TV as a member of the ensemble cast of How I Met Your Mother. But the actress says she defers to her husband, Saturday Night Live star Taran Killam, when time comes to parody the movies in which she appears.

“Taran is much better at coming up with sketch ideas than I am,” she tells Celebuzz.

“For me, I’d be like, yeah, you could do a parody of this movie. But he would go, let’s do a musical version, and then we could do puppets! He’s just so much more creative in that respect.”

That said, Smulders isn’t without her own ideas for sketches.

“I did actually have one great idea I pitched to Vanessa [Bayer],” she confesses. “The Long Island Psychic — anything where you could see that character being blown up and kind of zany.”

“I’m like, you should do that on the show! They’re so great!”

Watch Celebuzz’ exclusive interview with Smulders above to see whether or not her idea made it to the air. And then let us know in the comments section below: what would be a good parody for the actress’ latest movie?

Are they serving fertility drugs at the craft-services table on the How I Met Your Mother set?

Star Magazine reports that there’s been a pregnancy explosion surrounding the show.

First, 34-year-old star Alyson Hannigan announced that she’s expecting her first child.

Now, a month later, Cobie Smulders—who portrays Robin Scherbatsky on the show—has also revealed that she’s carrying a bun in the oven.

The 26-year-old Smulders is due to give birth in the spring. The father is Smulders’ beau, actor Taran Killam, 26, who’s also appeared on the CBS show.

Duhn-duhn-duuhhhn!

Given the huge amount of stunt casting the show has been doing in recent months, this fertility boost could have huge ramifications for the infant population of Hollywood. Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Kendra Wilkinson and Heidi Montag have all been slated to do guest spots on the show.

Heidi Montag potentially reproducing? Isn’t How I Met Your Mother supposed to be a comedy? There’s not much funny about that…