FAQ

Unsure whether or not she's about to become a divorcée, Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane) retreats to her friend Jean's (Viola Davis) bed & breakfast in Rodanthe, a tiny coastal town in North Carolina, and agrees to care for the inn while Jean is away in Miami for the weekend. The only other guest, Dr Paul Flanner (Richard Gere), is also facing his own emotional damage. As an impending hurricane threatens the inn, the two take refuge in each other.

Nights in Rodanthe is a 2002 novel by American author Nicholas Sparks. The novel was adapted for the movie by screenwriters Ann Peacock and John Romano.

Rodanthe is a village on Hatteras Island off the eastern coast of North Carolina. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and by Pamlico Sound to the west. At one time the entire north end of Hatteras Island was known as Chicamacomico, but the U.S. Postal Service changed the name to Rodanthe in 1874. By the early 1900s, three distinct villages had become established in the area: North Rodanthe, South Rodanthe and Clark. The northern village kept the name Rodanthe, and the other two were renamed Waves and Salvo.

Row-danth-ee. Emphasis is on the middle syllable.

Those who have been there confirm that the movie was really shot in North Carolina on the Outer Banks (the chain of islands along the eastern coast) and in the Wilmington, NC area. Highway 12 traverses the island in the north/south direction and takes you to the Hatteras lighthouse. However, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is not used in the film.

Yes. At the time of filming (2008), the house known as "Serendipity" was the first beach house on the left as one enters Rodanthe from the north. The house was renovated to make it look like a bed and breakfast, but it actually functioned as a vacation rental home. All external shots and deck scenes were filmed there. However, the house was damaged after being hit by a nor'easter in November 2009, and shoreline erosion left it completely in the surf. The house has since been moved to a nearby lot at 23289 E. Beacon Rd. in Rodanthe, and the owners are again offering it as a vacation rental.

According to Ford Media Center, the gray car being driven by gray-haired Paul Flanner is a 2008 Jaguar XK coupe.

The story refers to Edward Teach [1680-1718], better known as the English pirate Blackbeard. Teach/Blackbeard was beheaded during a battle with the Royal Navy on the inner side of Ocracoke Island, south of Hatteras Island. Sometimes a strange light can be seen coming from the shore on the Pamlico Sound side of Ocracoke Island, especially during the strong storms that frequently batter the coast of North Carolina. It is called "Teach's Light", and several legends have grown up about it. One is that Blackbeard's ghost floats on the surface of the water looking for his head. Another is that the light guards a store of treasure that Blackbeard buried.

Mrs Torrelson came to the hospital for removal of a hemangioma, a strawberry-colored birthmark. A hemangioma is a bright red patch or nodule of extra blood vessels and is usually benign. During the surgery, however, she had a reaction to the anesthesia and, most likely, suffered a heart attack. The movie explains it as "complications during anesthesia", possibly due to an allergic reaction to the anesthetic or to a preexisting heart condition.

The wild ponies, or 'bankers' as described by Adrienne, refers to feral horses on the Outer Banks, descended from Spanish horses though to have been brought to the U.S. in the 16th century. There are no bankers on Hatteras Island, but their descendents may be found on the Shackleford Banks. The horses used in the movie were imported stand-ins.

Months pass after Adrienne and Paul leave Rodanthe. Adrienne remains in Rocky Mount, raising daughter Amanda (Mae Whitman) and son Danny (Charlie Tahan) while Paul remains in Ecuador, practicing medicine with his son Mark (James Franco). Adrienne and Paul write to each other regularly, expressing their love for each other and their desire to be together again. One day Paul writes that he's coming to see her. Adrienne waits and waits, but Paul does not show. There is a knock on the door. Adrienne opens it to find a young man holding a box. He introduces himself as Mark Flanner and tells her that Paul, his father, was killed in a mudslide while trying to save medical supplies during the rainy season. Adrienne is devastated. Mark thanks her for being the one to give him back his father. "You saved him," he says. "We saved each other," Adrienne replies. After Mark leaves, Adrienne opens the box and finds, among all her letters to him, the last letter Paul wrote to her but didn't have a chance to mail. She reads it and cries. She returns to Rodanthe, staying in the blue room and cherishing the memories she made there with Paul. One day, while walking on the beach, she is amazed to see a herd of bankers come galloping by. In the final scene, Adrienne, Amanda, Danny, and Jean walk out on the pier together.