The Real Reason ‘The Notebook’ Has A Different Ending On Netflix
It’s been 15 years since Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams dazzled us in the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook, and we still can’t get enough. The film is set in the 1940s and follows Noah Calhoun (Gosling) — a mill worker who lives in the country with his father. Over the course of one summer, Noah falls for Allie (McAdams), a girl from a wealthy family who is visiting his town.
Though the pair initially butt heads –they fall helplessly in love despite Allie’s family’s disapproval. Unfortunately, World War II and Allie’s family rip them apart and they don’t cross paths again until Allie is engaged to another man (James Marsden). The Notebook is set to begin streaming on Netflix on March 1. However, Netflix users in the U.K. were horrified to discover that their version of the movie has a different ending.
The real reason The Notebook has a different ending on Netflix U.K.
Instead of watching the older Noah and Allie clutch hands as they passed away (sorry if we just spoiled it for you), fans of The Notebook in the U.K . have an ending that is shorted by a full minute. Instead of grabbing their tissue boxes, viewers were greeted with a picture of a flock of birds flying over a lake and then –the film credits.
The ending was so shocking for those who adore The Notebook that many fans thought it was some sort of glitch in Netflix’s system. Things got so bad that the Netflix UK and Ireland Twitter account had to address the situation while letting fans know that they didn’t botch The Notebook as some personal vendetta against the beloved movie.
Netflix U.K. tweeted, “Things you should know…We did not edit The Notebook. An alternate version exists and was supplied to us. We are getting to the bottom of it asap. Apparently, some films have more than one ending?!”
This is what Nicholas Sparks said about The Notebook‘s alternate ending
While Netflix is known to crop movies so that they can offer the best aspect-ratio for their viewers, they don’t typically chop endings or switch things around. Apparently, the U.K. ending for The Notebook was out of their control. Nicholas Sparks didn’t even know about the alternate ending. He told the Today Show, “I didn’t know it was coming, right? So I find out the same way everyone else does.” When asked about which ending he prefers, Sparks was loyal to the OG material. He said, “I like the original film!”
What version of The Notebook will stream on Netflix in the U.S.?
Since Netflix doesn’t want us to literally riot, Netflix U.S. has assured everyone that The Notebook ending that we know and love will be the one that’s streaming when the film hits the platform on March 1. They responded to the Netflix U.K. & Ireland statement by tweeting, “But rest assured that the version of The Notebook coming to the US on March 1 will be the version that has always made you sob.” Fans in the U.K. and Ireland will also be pleased to know that their version has been fixed also.
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