PREVIEW

**DIGITAL USE ONLY* The Notebook's Gena Rowlands battling Alzheimer’s. Director Nick Cassavetes has revealed that his actress mother has been battling Alzheimer's disease for the past five years. The 94-year-old film star played the older version of Rachel McAdams' character Allie in The Notebook, who was diagnosed with the progressive disease in the film. The 2004 film, which also starred Ryan Gosling and James Garner, was directed by Nick. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nick shared: ”I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer's and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she's had Alzheimer’s.” "She's in full dementia. And it's so crazy - we lived it, she acted it, and now it's on us.” In a 2004 interview with O, The Oprah Magazine, Gena opened up about playing Allie, explaining that her mother also suffered from Alzheimer’s. "The Notebook, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks - was particularly hard because I play a character who has Alzheimer’s.” "I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn't directed the film, I don't think I would have gone for it - it's just too hard. It was a tough but wonderful movie.” Gena's acting career spans nearly seven decades. She has starred in films such as 1974's A Woman Under the Influence and 1984's Love Streams. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT