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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:37:48 GMT -5
Lawrence K. (CEO Time Warner Group): It came in as a first novel, it was a great story filled with a lot of the emotional issues that face many generations today, so we just latched right onto it. And then of course, when we met Nick Sparks, we realized that Central Casting had sent us the perfect author. A man who is not afraid to go out and talk about his book.
Nick Sparks: There’s a big different between love stories and romance novels. Um, a romance novel is an updated fairytale. It’s the story of Cinderella and Snow White and Love stories draw from Greek tragedy. So tragedy plays a very central element in the story.
James Marsden: Nicholas Sparks’ original idea for the notebook came from an actual love story in his family.
This is a novel that was inspired by the story of my wife’s grandparents, and how they’d originally met as kids and fallen in love and couldn’t be together, and years later, when she was engaged to someone else, she comes back to find him and they get married and uh, proceed to have this grand love affair over 50 years.
The real life story that inspired the notebook took place in New England. But Sparks set his novel in the South. With its’ rich heritage and rigid class differences, The South had always been a favourite setting for romantic dramas. And you can always count on passions being ignited by the sultry heat of a Southern night. In the Notebook, Sparks combines several classic themes into a tale of enduring love.
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:38:12 GMT -5
Nicholas Sparks: It’s a timeless story. This is uh- young couple can’t be together, you know, finally gets together, something tragic happens. Shakespeare wrote about it in the 1500’s.
Nicholas Sparks does one thing very, very well. He constructs his novel around one, major moment of sacrifice.
Daughter1: Daddy, come home. Mamma doesn’t know us. She doesn’t recognize you. Duke: Look guys, that’s my sweetheart in there. I’m not leaving her. Your mother is my home.
Nicholas Sparks: True love can last forever and even through the darkest hours of our final years.
Doctor: So I understand that you read to Mrs. Hamilton Duke: Yeap. To help her remember. Doctor: hm. Duke: You don’t think it’ll help. Doctor: No, I don’t. Duke: She remembers doc. I read to her, and she remembers.
Gena: Her husband just continuously reads to her, determined that by reading their love story, that he can break through to her and she’ll know him.
James Garner: And every once in a while he does, he brings her back, even for a few minutes.
Duke: They gave a remarkably convincing portrayal of a boy and a girl traveling down a very long road with no regard of the consequences. Old Allie: They fell in love, didn’t they? Duke: Yes, they did. Old Allie: Good. I like this kind of story. Go on.
James Marsden: The Notebook was Nicholas Sparks’ first novel and it spent more than a year on the New York Times’ best-seller list.
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:38:24 GMT -5
Jamie Raab (Publisher): I think he touches on what everyone wants more than anything else and it’s-it’s a story of love everlasting.
Lawrence K. (CEO Time Warner Group): Many women have told us “I can’t believe this book is written by a man” because it has such a great female sensitivity and sensibility.
Jamie Raab (Publisher): It’s a wonderful fantasy. It’s what you want to have happen in life and he makes it happen in his book.
James Marsden: Hollywood saw that Sparks’ had the key to reviving the big screen love story.
Mark Johnson (Producer): I got a copy of this book in galley form and just loved the idea of it, loved the romance of it, and the idea of a love story that has, not just this one big explosive moment, but that has this endurance.
James Marsden: Early in Pre-Production, Nick Cassavetes signed on as director.
Nick Cassavetes: Nicholas Sparks wrote a great book, and when New Line approached me, saying ‘would I be interested?’, and maybe it was, you know ‘not my cup of tea’ because it was ‘too much about love’, I said “what are you talking about? All of my movies are about love.” and uh, I read a great script, and uh, I said I was in.
James Marsden: Cassavetes knew all about the passions and problems of two people who are fated for each other. His parents had that kind of magic. His mother, who co-stars in The Notebook, is the legendary actress Gena Rowlands. Nick’s father was John Cassavetes; equally legendary as the writer/director of edgy, independent films; Many of which starred Gena. In the 50’s and 60’s, they were just about the coolest couple around, and they passed onto their son, their love of film-making.
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:38:38 GMT -5
Mark Johnson: One of the strengths of having Nick Cassavetes direct this movie is that he’s so good with actors. He has been an actor himself. He comes from pretty impressive blood lines in terms of acting with John Cassavetes as his father and Gena Rowlands as his mother.
James Garner: I’ve always admired Gena. I think she’s one of the top 5 – 10 actresses ever on-screen. I didn’t know that Nicky, the director, but I figured if he came from that family, he’d be alright and is.
Gena: The most noticeable thing to me, the similarity between his father is that they actively love actors. I mean you could just see them. They –uh-beam with this – so much similarity in their personalities towards their actors.
James Marsden: But there are big differences too.
Gena Rowlands: I think Nick directs more than John did. He’ll give more suggestions. John gave as little direction as possible. He felt that uh-you have to figure it out yourself and that was the way to do it. Nick is a little tougher about holding you to the exact line; the words. But he creates a very, very nice climate for acting.
James Garner: I mean, it’s really cute when he said “Okay Mom, Action.” And the first time I heard that, I just about fell out of my chair it was so cute.
Gena Rowlands: I just love it. As a director as well as my son.
James Marsden: You need a great director to make a great film. But to make a great love story, you need something more. The romantic leads have to create a sense of genuine passion. Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic. Bogart and Bacall in anything. They had it. Call it magic or chemistry, but whatever you call it, a romantic movie lives or dies by it.
Mark Johnson (Producer): So You may have two great actors, the two best actors for the part individually, but the chemistry isn’t there between the two of them, and that movie is doomed.
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:38:54 GMT -5
James Marsden: For the notebook, Cassavetes wanted fresh faces and new blood. I really didn’t want to do a movie where you’ve seen the leading lady kiss a thousand times a leading man and then they’re going to tell the unique story of this one, true, perfect love after they’d done it 20 thousand times already on-screen.
James Marsden: Cassavetes choice for Noah was anything but conventional. Ryan Gosling had been building a career playing dark, intense characters, not romantic leads. On the other hand, dark and intense works for love scenes too.
Ryan: My character is somebody who really is just, like a one guy, you know? His one friend and one girl and he had one parent now, and there’s something beautiful about that.
Sam Shepard: He’s a wonderful actor. Quite surprising, an-and unique, I think. You feel there’s an instinctive thing going on—and as well a lot of feeling.
Mark Johnson (Producer): Ryan is an actor I’ve been hearing about now for about two years. And he is the actor other actors talk about.
Nick Cassavetes: I just though he was just, sorry Ryan, but weird enough in a certain respect, that you would believe that he would know that he could take one look at somebody and know that was the person for them.
So Cassavetes had one part of the chemical equation. Now he had to find the perfect Allie for Gosling’s Noah. If he couldn’t, the notebook would never get made. The search was on.
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:39:12 GMT -5
Mark Johnson: We tested 10 actresses with Ryan, 9 of them, very well known.
Nick Cassavetes: We went around with a video camera, and we just you know, looked up people that were working and interrupted them from their movies and some of them were really, really great. But when Miss McAdams came in and read, it was apparent she was the one.
James Marsden: Rachel McAdams happened to be in Los Angeles one weekend, doing publicity for a film. Her agent arranged for her to try out for the role of Allie.
Nick Cassavetes: I didn’t know who she was. She was a last minute addition and you think “oh well I hope this one works out”.
Rachel: I read the script the night before and bawled my eyes out. I’m surprised that I even got up the next day; I was just wrecked by it.
Rachel (Audition): Hi, my name is Rachel McAdams.
Rachel: And uh, went in there and met Ryan and met Nick.
Ryan: Every girl wanted to talk about the scene and the character and all of those thing and we talked about, just like endlessly. But Rachel came in and we said “Do you want to talk about it” and she was like “No”. And like “nothing” and she was like “no,no,no, let’s do it.”<br> Rachel*Audition*: You know, for so many years, all I could think about was you. My long lost love.
Rachel: So we sat down and did the first scene, and Nick was like “Okay, let’s do the next scene.” And we did the next scene, and uh, we were all sort of crying an-and uh, Matthew Barry, the casting director, was filming, and had to stop and get a tissue and stuff. It was really—it was really nice
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:39:32 GMT -5
Ryan: She was just really prepared and really like, ready to try anything, and uh, unintimidated.
Rachel: And then we did the third scene, and it was pretty electric.
Rachel*audition*: I will always love you Noah Calhoun.
Rachel: It was just a feeling there, everything sort of fit and everything worked and It was the best audition experience I’ve ever had, and I just walked out of that room and I was just in another world, like I just couldn’t catch my breath.
Ryan: She left, and Nick and I were just like “oh my god” and just gave each other a hug, and it was- it was really a big relief.
Nick Cassavetes: At the end of the day, we went the best person for the job.
Mark Johnson: At one point, I found myself on the phone and I just had to hang up because I was watching--re-watching daily and said “My god. These two are really good and heartbreaking.”<br> James Marsden: Rachel and Ryan had to understand the mindset of young lovers, in the South in the 1940’s. But the notebook shows the steamy side of their affair in ways that would have been impossible to film back then.
Rachel: We were just thrown into it completely and not knowing each other and stuff and I think it’s going to be an interesting quality. It’s going to give an interesting quality to the film.
James Marsden: Cassavetes demanded a lot from his actors and we all tried to give him everything he asked for and more.
Ryan: Rachel’s like “as many times as you need” no matter how uncomfortable it is for her.
Allie: What are you doing? Noah: Just come on.
Ryan: Like we were out I don’t know, like 13, 15 degrees or something and she was in this slip and it was very sheer dress her dress and like, just – nylons and she just went like toe-to-toe for every take and everything we needed to do she was just up for it and she was great and one of the medics on the set came up and said “That girl’s got more guts than most of my firefighters.”<br>
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:39:49 GMT -5
All: One, Two, Three Allie: *she swings into the water, screaming her head off*
James Marsden: The Notebook marks the return of romance to motion pictures, without irony and without apologies.
Allie: It’s like a dream.
Ryan: There’s no other way to put it-it’s just a love story, which I-I haven’t seen in a long time and uhm, I think it sort of stands out, amongst sort of, what’s out there right now.
Sam Shepard: Well, I thought in this day and age, particularly now in the whole political climate and all the rest that’s going on, that this is a very, sort of courageous act in a way, in an odd way, to do something that was so purely and simply about love.
Nick Cassavetes: I believe in love. I believe in the biggest kind of love and I believe that it can all work out. And I really do believe that.
Gena: Can love create miracles? Well love itself is a miracle to begin with.
Nicholas Sparks: Love is a timeless theme Love is an emotion. The feeling of love in 100 years will feel the same as it does today, which is the same as it did 100 years ago, and 200 years before that.
Allie: Mm…smell that, does it smell funny? (I think that’s what it says..) Allie: *sticks the ice cream on Noah’s face”* Noah & Allie: *laugh*
Rachel: It’s the uncertainty between us, that’s where the passion comes from is Will we make it? Will we be okay? We fight and then we make up and then we fight again.
Noah: Come here. Allie: Don’t touch me. I hate you. I hate you. Noah: I’m gonna go. Allie: So why don’t you just go? Now! Leave! *screams in anger and frustration and kicks the truck* Noah: *drives away* Allie: Oh no, just wait a minute; we’re not really breaking up, are we? Come on. This is just a fight we’re having and tomorrow it’ll be like it never happened right?
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 3:40:21 GMT -5
Rachel: But it says right there in the script, you know, that we challenge each other everyday. And I think that’s what everlasting love is really all about – The exciting ones anyway. The ones that—for the history books.
James Marsden: The Notebook is part of a long tradition of movie love stories. It’s a fresh view of themes that will always resonate as long as people fall in love. I’m James Marsden. Thanks for watching.
[glow=red,2,300]*phew* and I'm done.... wow. that took FOREVER. I'm going to sleep now.[/glow]
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Post by Angel on Jun 30, 2004 8:19:22 GMT -5
WOW! These are all great thanks so much for typing all these up!!!
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 12:02:23 GMT -5
lol -- I was going to say "it's noting" but it was -- it took FOREVER. but hey, it's cool
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Post by katryna on Jun 30, 2004 13:56:11 GMT -5
wow...you must have too much time on your hands j/k...thanks a lot! ;D
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Post by LadyKatie on Jun 30, 2004 16:14:01 GMT -5
haha -- i did it at midnight while I was talking on MSN -- so ... it wasn't like I ditched my plans for the day lol
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Post by trueloverawks on Jun 30, 2004 20:38:35 GMT -5
That was great!!!! Thanks a lot for all the work you did! I understand the movie a lot more now that I read the making of the notebook!!
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ryangoslingfan
Junior Member
"its not about keeping your promises its about following your heart"
Posts: 58
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Post by ryangoslingfan on Jul 2, 2004 0:35:34 GMT -5
haha -- i did it at midnight while I was talking on MSN -- so ... it wasn't like I ditched my plans for the day lol wow you stayed up that late to type these!
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