[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Idea of You.]

The Big Picture

Director Michael Showalter enjoys romantic films and wanted to make ‘The Idea of You’ for a romantic comedy-loving audience.
Changes from the book focused on Solène and Hayes’s relationship rather than mother-daughter dynamics.
Chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in audition scenes sold Showalter on the pairing.

From director/co-writer Michael Showalter and based on the book by Robinne Lee, the romantic drama The Idea of You follows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom, divorced for several years and running an art gallery that showcases local artists. But then, an unexpected trip to the Coachella Music Festival with her teenage daughter and her friends puts her in the path of 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), lead singer of the hugely popular boy band August Moon. As what starts off as a flirty chance encounter evolves into something much deeper, Solène must decide if following her heart is enough to overcome their differences in lifestyle and age.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Showalter talked about why he wanted to make The Idea of You, his love of romantic movies, what he loves about working with actors, changes made from the book, where he drew inspiration from when it came to the boy band, the moment he was sold on the pairing of Hathaway and Galitzine, whether the more intimate moments were fully scripted, staging Coachella, his favorite moment between his two leads, and how much the ending of the movie evolved and changed.

The Idea of You (2024) Solène, a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.Release Date May 2, 2024 Cast Anne Hathaway Nicholas Galitzine , Ella Rubin , Annie Mumolo , Reid Scott , Perry Mattfeld , Jordan Aaron Hall , Mathilda Gianopoulos Runtime 115 Minutes Main Genre Drama

‘The Idea of You’s Director Is a Fan of Romantic Movies and Is Always Looking For An Interesting New Take
Image via MGM Studios

Collider: How did you end up getting involved with this? Had you been looking to do a film in this genre?

MICHAEL SHOWALTER: I love romantic comedy. I love romantic movies. Quite a few of my films have been in this genre. The Big Sick is a love story. My movie Hello, My Name Is Doris is a love story. Spoiler Alert is a love story. The Lovebirds is a love story. It’s a genre that I love and I’m always looking for interesting ways to do a movie like this. And when I heard the plot of The Idea of You, I have to say, I felt immediately like, “Wow, this is a movie that I would love to see.” And then, knowing that Anne Hathaway was attached was, for me, really exciting because she’s someone that I’ve really wanted to work with.

How did you come to write this with Jennifer Westfeldt? What made her the perfect partner to write the script with?

SHOWALTER: Jennifer has written and directed some incredible movies, and I’m such a huge fan of hers. This whole team, to me, was just an irresistible group of people to collaborate and make a film with. We’re both actors and filmmakers. We’re both like writer-director multi-hyphenate types. She’s done some incredible work in this genre, and I’m a very big admirer of hers.

Related ‘The Idea of You’ Cast and Character Guide: Who Stars in the Much Anticipated Rom-Com? Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway leads the rom-com’s stellar ensemble.

How would you say your background as an actor most impacts the writer and director that you are? Has it shaped the way that you communicate and collaborate with actors on set?

SHOWALTER: Probably. I can’t say for sure. I certainly know what it’s like to be an actor, to be on camera, to go through hair and makeup, the discipline that it takes to do multiple takes and to give a good performance, and some of what it takes to find a character. That probably helps me communicate with actors. But I also am a huge fan of good acting, and I love talking to actors about their process and their craft. I understand what it takes to be a good actor without necessarily being one myself. I don’t take actors for granted. I don’t think of them as just chess pieces to be moved around. There is no movie without the actor, there is no story without the actor, so I believe that you have a script and then you bring an actor to play that part, they then tell you who that character is. Once there’s someone playing that part, they’re gonna tell you who they are because they now are that person. I like that. I like the symbiosis that occurs when the actor becomes that character.

‘The Idea of You’ Director Michael Showalter Wanted To Keep the Story Focused on the Solène and Hayes Relationship

What was important to keep the same as the book and what did you feel had to change from the book?

SHOWALTER: We wanted to focus the story more on the relationship between Hayes and Solèneand the double standard that exists around the age difference rather than to necessarily explore some of the issues around the mother, the daughter, and the betrayal of trust between them. That is something that gets more deeply explored to great effect in the book. I just think for the movie that I wanted to make, it’s perhaps tonally is slightly different from the book, which is quite racy and quite wonderful in that way. I wanted to maybe temper some of that to reach an audience that’s a romantic comedy-loving audience. And then, we wanted Solène to be someone who was more relatable perhaps. In the book, the Solène character is wonderful, but a little bit aspirational and not someone you necessarily would know. Whereas the Solène in our movie is someone that you could relate to a little bit more. She’s a “normal” person.

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There’s been a lot of talk that this book was at least partially inspired by Harry Styles. Did you draw inspiration from him, at all, in writing this? Did you look at a number of boy band stars? Did you try not to include any direct inspiration? Were you just listening to a lot of boy band music while you were writing this?

SHOWALTER: Yes, of course. I drew inspiration from Harry Styles, and I drew inspiration from pop stars, in general, and the fascination that we, as a culture, have with our pop stars. Right now, we’re going through a period where that obsession is at an all-time peak, and I think it’s because we get to see their lives more than we ever have. With social media and things like Instagram and TikTok, all these giant pop stars have this direct link to their fan base. That didn’t exist when I was young. When I was in middle school, I loved Madonna, but it wasn’t like I could just go to her Instagram and watch her cooking eggs, or something like that. But now, you can go and watch your favorite pop star goofing around and being a normal person. That’s something that’s in the ether of this story because we have this very close relationship now. We have strong opinions about who our pop stars date and who they don’t date, and what they think and what they don’t think, and what they wear and what they don’t wear, and all this stuff. This movie exists within that context.

The Chemistry Between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine Was Obvious in His ‘The Idea of You’ Audition
Image via MGM Studios

One of the most challenging things about making a movie like this is the chemistry and the believability of it. What was the moment you realized that chemistry was absolutely on point? What sold you on Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine together and made them the perfect pairing?

SHOWALTER: There was a moment when Nick came in and did an audition with Anne that was a whole session. We spent a long afternoon together where we saw him singing, and we saw Anne and Nick improvising together and doing scenes together, and we saw their rapport that they had between each other. There was definitely a moment where Nick sang a song that he played on guitar, and to see the look on Anne’s face while he was singing the song to her, you knew that there was a spark there. And then, once we started shooting the movie, watching them kissing each other, it was like, “Wow, I like looking at these two people kissing each other.” That’s not always the case when you’re shooting scenes of actors kissing. It was like, “Wow, I’m not hiding from my monitor while these people are kissing.” That was also nice. The aesthetic of it was really there.

Related Why It’s Good ‘The Idea of You’ Changed the Book’s Ending This romantic adaptation knows the benefits of going off-book.

How thought out were some of the small romantic moments and gestures in this? Were those scenes fully thought out and discussed during the writing stage, or did you wait until you got on set and could work with the actors? There are some standout details when it comes to focusing on their hands intertwined before they kiss, or the moment when Solène grabs Hayes’ hand to cover her mouth. Were those moments that were scripted? Did that come out in playing the scenes and in conversations with Anne and Nick?

SHOWALTER: Those were scripted moments. We talked about that a lot, about what those scenes would be, what excited us, and what felt sexy and exhilarating and romantic. We talked about all that stuff. There’s always a certain amount of improvisation that happens on the day, but in both of those cases, at least, those were things that we knew we wanted to do. The whole thing, for me, was to make the audience feel like this is really happening and you really are watching this happen. The biggest pop star in the world and this woman who owns an art gallery, this is what it would be. This might actually be what would happen. It isn’t this glamorous Hollywood fantasy, even though it is in its own weird way. The scene where they first kiss is in her house. She made him sandwiches. It’s actually something very small. That was very much what we were trying to capture, the incremental way in which two people find each other.

How Did They Recreate the Coachella Musical Festival For ‘The Idea of You’?
Image via MGM Studios

To offset those small intimate moments, you also staged Coachella. How did you shoot Coachella and create an August Moon performance? What went into shooting that and how long did that take?

SHOWALTER: We built our own Coachella campus on a racetrack in Atlanta. We had a gigantic stage built for us with lights, lasers, jumbotrons, and a giant sound system. We had a good number of background there to give the feeling of a packed Coachella audience. We had a full band and the August Moon guys had been rehearsing those songs for weeks. By the time we actually were ready to shoot, it was like a real concert. We really just recreated a real concert experience. For those of us that were there the night we shot it, we were, ourselves, dancing and having a ball. It was very much an art meets life moment. And those songs are so fun. The songs are so catchy and infectious, and the guys had this amazing choreography that they did. They were so fun to watch and they’re all so talented. You really just let yourself believe that it was real.

Do you have a favorite moment between these two characters?

SHOWALTER: For me, my favorite moment is the scene in the hotel when they’re dancing to the Wang Chung song (“Everybody Have Fun Tonight”). I love that song, so that’s part of it, but I love seeing them so free and so at ease. It’s such a great moment because their guard is down, there’s no outside opinion, and they’re not afraid of what anyone thinks. Nobody’s looking at them. No one’s judging them. They’re not thinking about age or fame. They’re not thinking about anything other than just the enjoyment of each other.

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Was the ending that we see now always the ending? Did that change or evolve over time?

SHOWALTER: We had multiple different versions of the ending. We had many different iterations, but it was always some version of that. We always knew that the movie was gonna end the way it does, with the idea that is being given to the audience, as to how things end between them, but we had different ways of doing that. The one that we landed on was the one that ultimately made the most sense for us when we were shooting.

The Idea of You is available to stream on Prime Video. Check out the trailer:

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