“When I had a scene with Anne, I had to remind myself to act and not just watch”: Ella Rubin, Reid Scott and Cathy Schulman on The Idea of You

Cries for a resurgence of the rom-com genre have been heard and heeded to recently, with films like Anyone But You storming the box office in response. The latest modern edition is Michael Showalter’s The Idea Of You, starring the unbeatable, the inimitable, the iconic, Anne Hathaway. Based on Robinne Lee’s novel of the same name, The Idea Of You follows Solène (Hathaway) on a journey of discovery, indulgence and love after she meets mega popstar Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) while taking her 16-year-old daughter to a meet-and-greet with him at Coachella. Hayes is part of the One Direction-modelled August Moon, and their music (written by pop master Savan Kotecha) has reached over a million streams on Spotify. Hayes becomes instantly smitten with Solène, despite their 16-year age gap, and they must find a way to navigate their whirlwind of a relationship without letting the venom of the public’s claws in too deep.

Galitzine is sincere and plays Hayes with both maturity and vulnerability; he clearly has a vibrant career ahead of him. But it’s Hathaway’s movie, and her portrayal of Solène is raw and beautiful. Under Showalter’s keen eye, the movie is both sizzling hot and deeply moving.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking to Ella Rubin and Reid Scott, who round out this fantastic cast as Solène’s daughter and ex-husband. We discussed with Rubin about filming the Coachella scenes, as well as what it was like to have Hathaway as a mother on set, while Reid gave an insightful look into how to play a film’s antagonist. We also all agreed that there is definitely space for August Moon in the real world!

We also spoke with producer Cathy Schulman about how herself and Showalter were able to create such a realistic and immersive popstar world, what it was like to work with Kotecha and what drew her to Solène as a character.

Talitha Stowell

The Idea of You is released on Prime Video on 2^nd May 2024.

Watch the trailer for The Idea of You here: