Soccer players from France Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud seemed to mirror a romance classic after their win against Poland during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On Monday, Giroud’s final goal saw France win 3–0 in the 16th round. The win allowed France to advance to the quarter-finals.
After the win, Mbappe jumped into his teammate’s arms for joy. Since then, the photos have gone viral on social media. Fans even made comparisons to Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling’s famous hug and kiss in the 2004 romance film The Notebook.
Nicholas Sparks’ book of the same name inspired The Notebook. Also chronicled is the story of Noah Calhoun (Gosling), a poor factory worker in 1940s South Carolina who falls in love with a rich girl (McAdams).
Between 2005 and 2007, Gosling and McAdams had a relationship. After winning the award for best movie kiss at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, they also recreated the kiss.
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The Notebook Cast
It’s hard to imagine any other actor playing the Noah and Ally characters in the movie. But George Clooney shared a shocking revelation, saying he almost got the role of Gosling.
“And I was going to do it with Paul Newman. I was playing the flashback. And Paul Newman was the old guy,” he stated, pointing to the older Noah portrayed by the late James Garner.
“Paul and I talked about doing it. And we were sitting there one day, and I was looking at him. I go, ‘I can’t do this movie, Paul.'” Clooney recounted.
“He was like, ‘Why?’ I was like, ‘Because everybody knows what you look like at 30 years old. You got blue eyes. I got brown eyes. You’re too famous at 30 for me to be playing you at 30. It’s never gonna work.’ And he’s like, ‘I guess you’re right.’ We bailed out, and I think ten years later, they made it.”
Book Journey
The Notebook marked Nicholas Sparks’ first published novel. He wrote it in a period of six months in 1994.
Theresa Park, a literary agent, found Sparks by scanning her agency’s slush pile, picking a book, and reading it. Then, Park proposed to represent him.
Fast-forward to October 1995, and Park obtained a $1 million for the book from the Time Warner Book Group. And they published the novel in October 1996. It topped the list of the New York Times Best Seller in its first launch week.
The Notebook became a hardcover best-seller for over a year.
In his interviews, Sparks stated that he based the story on his wife’s grandparents. The couple had been married for over 60 years when he met them. In his novel, he attempted to depict the lone romantic love of that couple.
Apart from the film, the novel also inspired a television series. Writer Todd Graff developed the show. Furthermore, he executive produced it with Sparks and Park for Warner Bros. Television and Nicholas Sparks Productions.
Additionally, a musical adaptation is now underway. And it will be on Broadway.
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