The Notebook

Movie Details:

Based on	The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Drama, Romance
Release date	May 20, 2004 (Seattle) June 25, 2004 (United States)
Running time	2hr 3min
Age rating	PG-13
Starring	Ryan Gosling Rachel McAdams James Garner Gena Rowlands James Marsden Kevin Connolly Sam Shepard Joan Allen
Directed by	Nick Cassavetes
Screenplay by	Jeremy Leven
Adaptation by	Jan Sardi
Produced by	Mark Johnson Lynn Harris
Cinematography by	Robert Fraisse
Edited by	Alan Heim
Music by	Aaron Zigman
Production Company	Gran Via
Distributor	New Line Cinema

Cast & Characters:

• Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun
  • James Garner as old Noah / Duke
• Rachel McAdams as Allison “Allie” Calhoun (née Hamilton), Noah’s wife
  • Gena Rowlands as old Allie
• Sam Shepard as Frank Calhoun, Noah’s father
• Joan Allen as Anne Hamilton, Allie’s mother
• James Marsden as Lon Hammond Jr.
• Kevin Connolly as Fin
• David Thornton as John Hamilton, Allie’s father
• Jamie Brown as Martha Shaw
• Heather Wahlquist as Sara Tuffington
• Ed Grady as Harry
• Obba Babatunde as Bandleader
• Starletta DuPois as Nurse Esther
• Paul Johansson as Anne Hamilton’s ex-boyfriend (uncredited)
• Chubbs as Abner, a domesticated pig

Storyline:

With almost religious devotion, Duke, a kind octogenarian inmate of a peaceful nursing home, reads daily a captivating story from the worn-out pages of his leather-bound notebook to a fellow female patient. To keep her company, Duke recounts the fascinating love affair between impecunious but poetic country boy Noah and Allie, an affluent city girl. And little by little, Duke unfolds a Southern, lumber-scented summer romance beneath the tall trees of late 1930s North Carolina. Indeed, it seems as if the silent manuscript possesses the unfathomable power to penetrate the opaque clouds that enclose the silver-haired dame; slowly but surely, the enchanted lady becomes immersed in the strangely alluring fairy tale of the young ardent lovers’ highs and lows. But nobody knows what tomorrow holds. Are all summer loves doomed to fail?

About Movie:

The Notebook is an American romantic drama directed by Nick Cassavetes, adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 novel by screenwriters Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s.

New Line Cinema acquired the film rights to Sparks’ novel in 1996, with producer Mark Johnson overseeing the project. Initially, director Steven Spielberg showed interest in directing the film in 1998, hoping to cast Tom Cruise as Noah Calhoun, but the film ultimately moved forward under Cassavetes’ direction.

Filming took place primarily on location in South Carolina, with scenes set in Seabrook shot in Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston. Other filming locations included Edisto Island and Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner. The house was not actually in a dilapidated state at the time and instead was made to look that way by special effects. 

The winter battlefield scenes were filmed near Montreal, and the nursing home scenes took place at Rice Hope Plantation in Georgetown County. While the college is identified as Sarah Lawrence in the film, the campus seen is actually the College of Charleston.

The Notebook premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 20, 2004, before its theatrical release in the United States on June 25, 2004. Despite mixed critical reviews, Gosling and McAdams received praise for their performances.

The film became a sleeper hit, grossing $117 million against a $29 million budget and later achieving cult classic status. On November 11, 2012, an extended version with deleted scenes aired on ABC Family.

The film garnered several accolades, including the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss for Gosling and McAdams. At the 11th Screen Actors Guild Awards, James Garner was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, and Gena Rowlands won Best Supporting Actress at the 9th Golden Satellite Awards.

Budget & Box Office Collection:

Budget	$29 million
Domestic Opening	$13,464,745
Domestic Collection	$81,417,274
International Collection	$36,813,840
Worldwide Collection	$118,262,229