Ryan Gosling prepared for his role by living in Charleston, South Carolina before filming began. For two months, he rowed the Ashley River every morning and built furniture during the day.
According to Nick Cassavetes, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams did not get along at first and Gosling tried to have McAdams replaced.
To improve the relationship between the leads, director Nick Cassavetes staged an intervention by bringing them into a room where they could air all the grievances they had with each other and work something out. They soon patched up their differences, enough to become a real-life couple for some time.
Rachel McAdams spent time in Charleston before filming to familiarize herself with the surroundings. She also took ballet and etiquette classes and had a dialect coach to learn the southern accent.