The Many Reasons I Love ‘The Notebook’ Movie Based On The Book by Author Nicholas Sparks

I am super excited to talk all things ‘The Notebook’ by Nicholas Sparks as I just watched it for like the 100th time as it never gets old. I watched ‘The Notebook’ when it first came out in the early 2000’s and in all honesty it has been my absolute favorite love story ever since. ‘The Notebook’ is your classic love story that just keeps you hooked from beginning to end. It tells the tale of a local mill worker, Noah Calhoun, and a vacationing rich girl, Allie Hamilton. The pair happen to meet one summer in South Carolina and fall head over heels in love. Of course…. Allie’s parents do not approve of the relationship because of the couple’s social differences and her parents work to separate the two. When Noah leaves to serve in World War II, it seems to mark the end of the love affair, and eventually Allie becomes involved with another man. But when Noah returns to the small town of Seabrook years later, on the eve of Allie’s marriage, it soon becomes clear that their romance is anything but over.

This movie is packed with an all star cast too. Gena Rowlands plays the elderly Allie Hamilton and James Garner plays the elderly Noah. The young Allie is played by Rachel McAdams and the young Noah is played by no other than Ryan Gosling. For a bit of trivia fun… I have to share that I found out that Ryan Gosling actually lived in Charleston, SC for two months before the filming began and he rowed the Ashley River every morning and also built furniture in the afternoons. This I am sure was to prep him for the role, as Noah was a Carpenter after coming back from WWII and he was pretty buff looking too which I guess comes from all of that rowing. I grew up in Summerville, SC which is just outside of Charleston which is why this movie is extra special to me. The various scent throughout the film remind me of home which is why it truly never gets old for me. The lake scene on the row boat when Allie and Noah rekindle their relationship with the swans all around…. is in Cypress Gardens and the waters are so black there from the leaves and cypress trees……. that it is breathtakingly gorgeous!

Some more trivia and knowledge for you on ‘The Notebook’…….Entertainment weekly also credited Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams for the Best Movie Kiss Of All Time and if you have not watched this movie yet… they are so right. Best movie kiss ever and from what I remember when the movie first came out… Rachel and Ryan did not like each other much when they first met but things changed during filming as they dated for many years after. On a side note… I secretly would have loved them to stay together… but we can’t get everything that we want 😉

Trivia About ‘The Notebook’ Movie:

*The College of Charleston was used as the backdrop for the Allie’s (Rachel McAdams) college.

*Boone Hall Plantation was used for scenes of the Hamilton’s summer house.

*The house that Noah would rebuild in the movie is located at Martins Point Plantation, historically knows as Bears Bluff Plantation, on Wadmalaw Island. The filmmakers had considered finding a dilapidated house to film which they could then renovate as the narrative progressed. In the end, however, they settled on using a beautiful house they could make look run down for the film’s earlier scenes.

*The famous lake scene with swans was shot at Cypress Gardens. The animals weren’t native to the area, so they were imported and trained 1 month prior to the shoot so they would learn to follow boats and appear on screen as the director wanted. This all had to be done around the month of January so that filming could take place when the resident alligators were hibernating. Visitors to Cypress Gardens taking the walking tour can easily spot the location used in the film and I have been there to see it myself!

*The house that served as Frank Calhoun’s (Sam Shepard) homestead is located on the drive leading to the main house at Sunnyside Plantation on Edisto Island.

*The nursing home scenes were shot at Rice Hope (Black River) Plantation. The house has long rumored to be a kit house ordered from the Sears Roebuck Company but is not.

*Old Village in Mount Pleasant provided the location for the film’s fictional town of Seabrook, South Carolina.

King Street in Charleston is where:
– Noah and Allie lie, watching the traffic light (Katharine Lawrence shares that this light was brought in for production and installed in front of the American Theatre as there is no traffic light at this location).
– The historic American Theatre is located. In the movie, this is where Allie and Noah watch a film.
– The William Aiken House is located. It was used for the wedding dress fitting scene.
– Allie and Noah walk and talk for 3 blocks. To reflect an earlier time, contemporary parking meters were replaced with period-style meters and store fronts were altered with period-style signs (this required formal contracts between the productions company and the store owners).

*The old Navy base area in North Charleston is where:
– Production offices for the film were set up.
– The admiral’s house was used for several interior shots.
– The interior of a desanctified chapel went through multiple set transformations to serve as the backdrop for scenes of the USO Dance Hall, the infirmary, the military physical exam room, and recruiting hall.

Pretty cool right! Now I have to share this really cool new 3D interactive before & after graphic all about the house in the Notebook. This I love because first… I am a huge history buff and love visiting the old homes in Charleston, especially the plantations and secondly… anything that brings some light to the story and all that went on behind the scenes of ‘The Notebook’ that make this amazing movie the masterpiece that it was, is good by me. To me this house is super important as this is where they fell in love when they were young and the two had started dreaming of their futures together. Even when Noah thought all hope was lost and that Allie’s parents had gotten their way and drove Allie into the arms of another… he was going to refinish this run down house in her memory anyway. This is where they first fell and love and also once he completed the house renovation… that is how Allie saw him in the local newspaper and hence… their relationship was rekindled. This I why this house is so special to me and why I had to share. It shows you everything about the house and all that Noah did to make it the beauty that it was when he completed the renovation. Check out this fun 3D interactive before and after graphic today!

So until next time…. I am heading to watch the movie right now! This 3D Interactive of the House from The Notebook has got me itching to watch it yet again! Make sure to stop by and check it out for yourself today!

Deliciously Savvy received product and/or compensation in exchange for an honest and unbiased review and all opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for stopping by and enjoy!