THE Notebook is the sentimental romance flick that made Ryan Gosling a star and left millions of women around the world reaching for the nearest kleenex.
To celebrate the fact it's been almost 10 years since the tear-jerker was made, yourtango.com has revealed 10 surprising facts about the mushy movie.
Ryan Gosling lived as Noah for two months prior to filming: To get into character, Gosling moved to Charleston, South Carolina and rowed up and down the Ashley River every morning. During the day he spent hours making furniture and the kitchen table featured in the movie is actually one of his creations.
The two co-stars hated each other during filming: "We inspired the worst in each other," Gosling told the London Guardian. "It was a strange experience, making a love story and not getting along with your co-star in any way." Just a year after the film was made, the actors got over their differences and dated for two years, splitting in 2007.
It doesn’t look like they hate each other ... that’s why they’re actors. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied
Britney Spears could have played Allie: A number of actors auditioned for the role that eventually went to Rachel McAdams. Britney Spears, Ashley Judd and Reese Witherspoon were all keen to star as the female lead but missed out. Jessica Biel was gutted when she wasn't picked, telling Elle magazine, "that's one that I wanted so badly. I was in the middle of shooting Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I auditioned with Ryan Gosling in my trailer, covered in blood. But there's a million that get away."
Tom Cruise could have played Noah: The Hollywood veteran would have been around 40 years old at the time of filming. His name was bandied around as a potential lead star, but when director Nick Cassavetes took over, he demanded the role go to Gosling.
Gosling was picked because of his looks, but not his good looks: Gosling told Company Magazine that the director, Nick Cassavetes, gave him a backhanded compliment when offering him the chance to play Noah. "He was standing in his back yard, and he looked at me and said, 'I want you to play this role because you're not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You're not handsome, you're not cool, you're just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts.'"
Nepotism: The director felt there was only one woman who could play the role of the older Allie and he cast her without question. It was his mum, Gena Rowlands.
Actors James Garner & Gena Rowlands in ‘The Notebook’. Photo: Supplied Source: News Limited
The movie was filmed back to front: The 'after seven years Allie and Noah' scenes were filmed first when Gosling had a thick beard. The cast and crew then went on holidays, allowing Gosling to shave off his beard and lose some weight to look authentic as a younger Noah.
Gosling had to wear contacts: In order to look like the actor who played the older Noah, Gosling wore brown contact lenses. However, if you look closely, there's one scene in the movie where Gosling forgets the lenses and his baby blues are exposed.
Gosling and McAdams have some fun on the beach in ‘The Notebook.’ Photo: Supplied Source: News Limited
The movie's full of historical inaccuracies: In one scene you can see parking metres, but they didn't actually exist in South Carolina at the time the film was supposedly set. Noah and Allie also listen to a Billie Holiday song together in 1940, but I'll Be Seeing You wasn't released until 1944.
James Marsden thought the movie would tank: "I never set out to make a bad movie," Marsden said to OUT Magazine. "Some movies just turn out bad, and I want to scream, 'Why did you pick that take?' Then there are some movies that I've been in that I was sure people would laugh at, that have become huge. I thought The Notebook was going to be a schmaltzy Movie of the Week - type thing, and here we are!"
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