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00:00Way back when, before there was this elderly couple who makes us all cry just thinking
00:06about them, there was another elderly couple who stole the hearts of millions of people.
00:18The Notebook has as many fans as it has detractors. Years later, it continues to spark debate about
00:25whether it is the most toxic love story we have seen on screen in years or the quintessential
00:30romantic story of the genre. Inspired by the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks,
00:36the author has seen up to 11 of his novels adapted for film in the following years, but
00:41none achieved the resounding success and ascent into the collective imagination, as The Notebook
00:46has.
00:48But what is it that makes it so different from other films? What makes it so memorable? What
00:53is it about The Notebook that prevents it from being forgotten, but continues to be one of
00:58the favorite films to revisit year after year? Accompanied by a box of tissues and a tub of
01:04Hagendas as big as your head.
01:07Let's take a look behind the scenes of this film and take a look at some details that you
01:11probably didn't notice, like the fact that Ryan Gosling wore brown contact lenses throughout
01:16the film so as to blend in with his older counterpart.
01:20And as always, before we delve into this strangely peaceful goose pond and watch Noah build the
01:27Moyo doyokasa house with her own hands, don't forget to subscribe to the channel and hit the
01:32bell icon to find out about more videos like this one if you enjoyed them.
01:39When Nicholas Sparks wrote this love story inspired by his wife's grandparents, he had no idea what
01:45kind of success awaited him. He sent the text to several publishers, but they all slammed the door
01:50in his face until his future employers rescued the manuscript from the discard pile at the literary
01:56agency where he worked. After reading it, she personally offered to represent him herself and when
02:03the novel was published, it was a bestseller the very first week and remained at the top of the
02:07bestseller list for an entire year. Obviously, production companies were quickly interested in
02:14the story. They loved the idea of it, loved the romance of it and in the idea of a love story
02:23that has not just this one explosive moment that has a love story that goes on such a long time.
02:28New Line Cinema bought the rights to the book in 1996 and Jeremy Levin was commissioned to adapt
02:38the novel into a screenplay. Two years later, in 1998, the script began circulating among directors.
02:46One of the first interested parties was Steven Spielberg, who wanted to cast Tom Cruise in the
02:50lead role, but between the whistles and the flutes he ended up committing to other projects.
02:55So New Line Cinema put Jim Sheridan in the director's chair and set the start of filming
03:01for 1999, but apparently the script was not entirely convincing and they continued to rewrite it non-stop.
03:09Eventually, Sheridan also dropped out to move on to another project.
03:13Then it was Martin Campbell who entered negotiations to direct it in 2001,
03:18but he also ended up backing out because he didn't feel comfortable with the film's romantic focus.
03:22It all seemed like a never-ending story until Kasavitz arrived,
03:27who did feel connected to the story and yes, he is indeed the bad guy in Faisal.
03:35For the role of Noah, Kasavitz was clear that he wanted Ryan Gosling,
03:39because although he was young and not yet very well-known,
03:42he had already played several roles before this film,
03:45being especially acclaimed by critics for his role in Debeliver.
03:48Kasavitz wanted him as Noah because, in his own words,
03:57he considered Ryan as someone who was not excessively handsome,
04:00but rather, seemed like a very normal guy with, perhaps, slightly crazy eyes.
04:05But that is precisely what gave him some charm and that he would ideally embody a character like Noah.
04:10But finding Allie was a headache.
04:16Many famous actresses auditioned with Ryan Gosling to play the character,
04:21but none of them really felt like Allie Hamilton.
04:25Even Britney Spears herself auditioned,
04:27and in fact, she was a very serious option considered in the final stretch
04:31because, to everyone's surprise, she auditioned quite well.
04:42For S years, no matter what I did, I couldn't get you out of my mind.
04:50And then and then I told him and really do.
04:52But then you never really after this parade of actresses.
04:56The script finally reached Rachel McAdams the day before the casting and at the last minute.
05:01And two.
05:07Everyone's even greater surprise and with such short notice,
05:10Rachel nailed the role.
05:11Maybe it's about something else, let's be honest.
05:13Maybe it's about security.
05:16He does have a lot of money, yeah.
05:18The final decision was very close between Rachel and Britney,
05:21but they ended up ruling the singer out because she was so famous
05:25that she could end up overshadowing the production in some way.
05:31And Rachel at that time was an unknown face.
05:36The same year that she filmed Me Girls, she also filmed The Notebook.
05:40And this change of register and versatility was what later catapulted her to international fame.
05:46Of course, filming with the two actors was not a bed of roses or, well, in this case, a walk in the park.
05:53Apparently, Ryan and Rachel didn't get along at all on set,
05:56to say the least that they almost hated each other.
06:00They argued a lot between scenes to the point that Ryan didn't even want to do his lines with her,
06:05but with any other actress off-camera and that they would film separately when the frame allowed.
06:12Nick Kasipcha got really fed up with it and one day he put the two of them
06:16and the executive producer in a trailer to resolve the conflict once and for all.
06:21According to witnesses, the scene was quite picturesque.
06:24Ryan and Rachel argued at the top of their lungs,
06:27so much so that you could even hear it behind closed doors
06:30and Kasibeth kept coming out every now and then to smoke a joint outside the trailer.
06:34But it was for the best because they weren't allowed to leave
06:37until they had resolved things between them and that's exactly what happened.
06:40After that day, tensions eased, filming continued normally,
06:44and there were no more arguments on set.
06:50I don't know if you know this,
06:52but geese are quite aggressive and territorial animals
06:55and they weren't even native to South Carolina.
06:57So the producer told Nick Kasavitz that it would be impossible to do this scene,
07:02but Kasavitz refused to give up on this moment in the film.
07:09Nick was so obsessed that months before filming
07:12he personally found some geese and raised them himself by the lake
07:15so that when the time came to film,
07:17the geese would feel comfortable both in the place and with people.
07:22And well, it seems that it did indeed work,
07:25giving one of the most iconic scenes in the film.
07:29Another thing is that Nick Kasavitz was totally committed to this film,
07:33so much so that the actress who plays the elderly version of Ali
07:36is actually his mother, the great Gina Rollins,
07:39without whose moving performance,
07:41this film would undoubtedly not have been the same.
07:49As we've already mentioned,
07:51Nicholas Sparks has had up to 11 of his novels adapted to film,
07:55but the rest of the films, unlike The Notebook,
07:57have gone largely unnoticed by the general public.
08:00This could be due to many reasons,
08:04but I personally believe that there are three elements in The Notebook
08:08that make it much more cinematic than other adaptations.
08:12On the one hand,
08:13the script improved on Nicholas Sparks' original novel.
08:18Adaptations often fail to live up to the original work on which they are based,
08:22but in this case the film is clearly better than the novel.
08:25The book only contains Noh's perspective and we are never told how Ali feels.
08:33But the film balances the story much more in this regard,
08:36as we see both Noh's and Ali's moments of solitude,
08:39helping us to empathize with both characters equally.
08:43It should also be noted that it was his first book,
08:45so there were many things that could be improved.
08:48Something that caught my attention while reading Jerem's script
08:51and Kasavitz's revisions is that there were several scenes
08:54that were quite different from how they were presented in the final film.
08:58For example,
08:59the controversial Ferris wheel scene where Noah supposedly threatens to jump
09:03if Ali doesn't accept a date with him.
09:06In the script,
09:07the context of this scene changes quite a bit.
09:09For starters,
09:10before this moment happens,
09:12in the script,
09:13Noah and Ali had already flirted before
09:15and it's obvious that they like each other from the beginning.
09:19Their first contact is that they stare at each other
09:21and Ali raises her hand to greet him
09:23and he does the same and after that they interact.
09:26When Ali gets on the Ferris wheel,
09:28she doesn't do it with another guy,
09:30but with her friend Sarah.
09:32And at the last moment,
09:34Noah gets on the seat and sits between them.
09:37Then the technician stops the Ferris wheel
09:39and tells him that there can't be three people on it.
09:42So Noah hangs on and jokes that he's going to slip
09:44if they don't let him stay in the seat with them.
09:46I mean,
09:48it changes the whole meaning of the scene.
09:50And this scene,
09:51for example,
09:52doesn't exist in the script,
09:54but instead a dance scene is presented a week after the carnival.
09:57And Ali is the one who approaches Noah to ask him to dance with her
10:00and he says no because he doesn't know how to dance
10:03and he's embarrassed.
10:04Or this scene doesn't exist in the script either,
10:07but instead they go to a lake at night and have their first kiss.
10:10And now you're going to say,
10:11but if none of this is in the movie,
10:13why does this make the movie better?
10:15Okay,
10:16my point is that there are many parts that are as they were in the script,
10:20but I thought it was important to mention some things that were changed
10:23because they are changes to the most controversial scenes in the film
10:26and the ones for which it has received the most criticism,
10:29interestingly enough.
10:30But the rest of the script still has the essence of the story it wants to tell,
10:34which I'll get to later.
10:36What also makes the script very cinematic is its dual narrative storytelling.
10:41Although it's not too hard to guess,
10:43the script tries to keep some suspense around the characters we're introduced to.
10:48They don't tell us,
10:49this is Noah,
10:50and this is Ali,
10:51but visually they leave us clues about the relationship between these four characters,
10:56from the conversations themselves to the colors of their clothes.
10:59The viewer is asked questions that are answered with time jumps,
11:03and what happens in the future of this couple contextualizes the entire story of their past.
11:08And the thing is that without this simple detail,
11:11without showing us these scenes of Noah and Ali as old people,
11:15the film would be completely different and would tell a completely different story.
11:20And this brings me to the last element,
11:22and I think the most key to what elevates this film,
11:25which is the performances of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams,
11:28but also that of Gina Rowlands and James Garner.
11:31But let's take it one step at a time.
11:33On the one hand,
11:34both Ryan and Rachel had a lot to prove in this film.
11:38Even though their careers hadn't really taken off yet,
11:41they both dazzle with a talent only reserved for big stars.
11:44There's something very captivating and honest about the way Ryan looks in this film,
11:49especially when he looks at Ali.
11:51The way he reacts to dialogue with his eyes is very subtle,
11:55without taking away the intensity of his gaze,
11:58and he knows how to use his body when he can't express it with words.
12:01At the same time, Rachel seems to use every muscle in her face to move from one emotion to another.
12:07Being a girl raised in etiquette,
12:09she has those moments of a perfect and immutable face that ends up breaking
12:12due to the intensity of the emotion she can't hide.
12:16Or she also highlights that imposed etiquette when she uses her whole body,
12:20opening it up and moving it in a violent and exalted way
12:23that is very inappropriate for the class she belongs to,
12:27giving her a personality that is very different from where she is supposed to belong.
12:32Not to mention that the two of them obviously have a chemistry that transcends the screen.
12:37Simply visually, they are very beautiful to watch together,
12:40and if not, just ask the millions of T-Bear walls that flood the internet.
12:45The scene that culminates for both of them, without a doubt, is the final argument they have.
12:49On the one hand, Ryan is able to portray a character with mixed emotions,
12:54like being furious,
12:54but at the same time doing everything he can on the inside not to break down in the middle of the conversation,
13:01because of the fear and sadness he feels.
13:03Like this moment where his brow lets out a glimpse of that suffering and confusion.
13:07Or this smile that escapes Rachel during Ryan's dialogue,
13:16who doesn't know if it's from joy, sadness, anger, happiness or all of the above,
13:22but it's so genuinely human that it hurts.
13:24And then we have Gina Rollins and James Garner,
13:32who for me are the real star couple.
13:35The most iconic kiss in the film is the one we've seen a thousand times
13:38as the only poster for the film and the one that's always the most memorable,
13:42but it's not really the best kiss in the film.
13:44When you see this kiss you get horny,
13:47but when you see this kiss you get emotional.
14:03This scene is set as the climax of the story,
14:06where Garner's character is shown throughout the film to be strong, hopeful and stubborn,
14:11as the doctor tries to explain to him the reality of his situation.
14:21His wife has a degenerative disease that no miracle can cure.
14:26So when this moment arrives and Garner breaks down in tears,
14:29we see the reality of his character.
14:32Despite everything, behind that strong facade,
14:34he is also an old man lost and powerless in the face of reality.
14:37And just as she needs him during this last part of her life,
14:41he also needs her, despite her condition.
14:45The notebook has often been heavily criticized
14:48for supposedly showing romantic ideals that are unattainable for any real-life couple,
14:53as well as questionable seduction dynamics.
14:56But, as we have said, these scenes were not in the original script,
15:01and I honestly have not been able to find information about why they were changed,
15:04but these types of decisions can be made by the director,
15:08the producer or the distributor itself,
15:10for multiple reasons,
15:12because they might find it boring to leave it like this,
15:14or, perhaps, to give the matter a bit more melodrama.
15:18And the fact that this script had so many rewrites
15:21makes me suspect that it is more about this theme
15:23than because these scenes actually served to tell the story they wanted to tell.
15:28The film ends up seeming a bit contradictory
15:31because on the one hand Noah is portrayed as a creepy guy
15:34who is incapable of accepting no for an answer,
15:37but on the other hand he is simply shown as a simple man
15:40who is very down-to-earth and keeps his word.
15:43For me, the essence of the film is not about the passion of a teenage romance,
15:48but about the powerful emotion evoked by the reunion of lovers.
15:52Marina Abramovic, for example,
15:54is a performance artist who has explored the contradictions
15:57of heterosexual romantic relationships in her different video art pieces.
16:02And one of her most famous pieces,
16:04which I think best represents this emotion,
16:07is her performance at the MoMA in 2010.
16:10It involved her sitting and staring at visitors for a minute without any reaction.
16:15But her ex-partner, Alpreza,
16:17after they hadn't seen each other for 22 years.
16:21And this was her reaction.
16:22After hours and hours of not reacting,
16:47her eyes watered and memories of their love surfaced.
16:50We've all experienced a romantic breakup for multiple reasons,
16:54but the idea of reuniting is very powerful.
16:57Seeing each other differently after so many years,
17:00but at the same time seeing the things that haven't changed
17:02and that seem like they were yesterday.
17:05Thoughts and imaginations about whether it could have been different,
17:09missing what was and remembering what made us love the other person.
17:12I think that's the emotion that The Notebook manages to explore in a more melodramatic way
17:18and in a certain way fulfilling that fantasy of having another chance with that person we lost in the past.
17:25Other films sometimes explore the opposite,
17:27like in The Bridges of Madison County,
17:29where the female protagonist doesn't stay with her summer love,
17:33but instead chooses the most logical and stable option and regrets not having followed her heart.
17:38Or in the Before Sunrise trilogy,
17:40where lovers also have a fleeting encounter that haunts them throughout their lives.
17:45The Notebook doesn't endure because it's a manual on how to have an ideal romantic relationship,
17:51but because it connects with that feeling of chemistry that people can have with others,
17:55whether they end up together or not.
17:57It's a chemistry and a spark that can last for years and years
18:00that we'll never be able to completely forget
18:03and that, with a glance,
18:04makes us feel again everything that person made us feel before.
18:19Ah.
18:20Ah.
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