The Idea of You has had film fans buzzing ever since it was announced that Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galtzine had signed on to star in the controversial project, based on a bestselling book.
The book is said to be loosely inspired by Harry Styles fanfiction, and follows a 40-year-old single mom, Solene, who meets a young pop star at Coachella and falls for him. Here is all we know about The Idea of You, which will premiere at South By South West on Saturday March 16…
Spoilers for the book version ahead.
What is The Idea of You about?
Solene Marchand, 40, is forced to take her 16-year-old daughter to Coachella when her ex-husband bails on the trip at the last minute. There, Solene meets Hayes Campbell, 24, who fronts the boy band August Moon and sparks fly.
However, Solene soon learns she has to navigate the tricky reality of falling in love with a man much younger, while facing the societal pressures and opinions that come with it.
"I wanted to write a novel that challenged certain myths: that female sexuality ceases to exist after we hit middle-age; that having kids makes us no longer sexually attractive or viable; that women at a certain point in their lives – the point where they should be at their strongest and most prolific – become invisible," author Robinne said in 2017.
Is The Idea of You based on Harry Styles?
The book The Idea of You was written by Robinne Lee and was released in 2017. During an interview with fellow author Deborah Kalb, Robinne shared that she fell down a YouTube rabbit hole after seeing "the face of a boy I’d never seen in a band I’d never paid attention to, and it was so aesthetically perfect it took me by surprise".
Although she never named Harry, she went on to share that she spent the evening googling him and discovered he often dated older women; One Direction star Harry was known to date older women. Robinne then created Hayes Campbell, a musician who fronted the boyband August Moon, and told Vogue in 2020 that her leading man was "Prince Harry, meets Harry [Styles]" with a dash of Eddie Redmayne.
Where is The Idea of You streaming?
The Idea of You will drop on Amazon Prime globally on May 2, 2024.
Who is playing Solene in The Idea of You?
Oscar winner Anne Hathaway will star as Solene in The Idea of You. Nicholas Galitzine, of Red, White and Royal Blue, and Mary & George fame, will play Hayes Campbell.
Is The Idea of You Rated R?
Yes, The Idea of You has been given an R rating in America, which means no-one under the age of 17 can be admitted unless accompanied by an adult.
What records did The Idea of You break?
The first trailer for The Idea of You clocked 125 million global views across all social media platforms, breaking the record for the most watched trailer for any original streaming movie.
The Idea of You trailer:
Is August Moon a real band?
No the band is fake, made up of actors and dancers - Nicholas Galitzine, Jaiden Anthony, Raymond Cham Jr, Viktor White and Dakota Adan. Nicholas does sing the vocals for the band though, and is credited on nine songs on the soundtrack.
What book is The Idea of You based on?
Robinne Lee wrote The Idea of You in 2016 and it was released in 2017. Although it has been suggested it was based on Harry Styles fanfiction, Robinne has never confirmed the speculation and insisted she was only loosely inspired by Harry Styles.
How did The Idea of You end?
The Idea of You book ends with Solene ending her relationship with Hayes due to their age gap and her responsibilities as a mother, even though he quits August Moon to be with her. nspite