As a Directioner , I ’ve got ta say , the direct comparisons are wiiiild .
Anne Hathawayand Nicholas Galitzine’s new filmThe Idea of Youdebuted at South by Southwest this past weekend, and both were present to talk about the movie, their experiences making it, and to answer fan questions…including whether or not the movie is actually aboutHarry Styles.
The Idea of Youfollows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mother who becomes romantically involved with Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), a massively famous 24-year-old British boy bander, after they meet at Coachella. The film revolves around their whirlwind romance as Solène tries to find a place for Hayes in her life and learns to handle her sudden fame.
Naturally, there’s been a lot of chatter online about this movie, and many fans have noticed the glaring similarities between Harry Styles’s 1D days and the fictitious “Hayes” in the movie’s promotional photos andtrailer. Plus, Savan Kotecha, who produced the movie’s original single “Dance Before We Walk,” even wrote One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” along with many more of their hits.
The direct comparisons are WILD.
As you can see, there are a lot of signs that point to how this story gives Harry Styles fanfic vibes (in a good way, obvi!). So, Anne and Nick finally took a moment to set the record straight. Is this movieactuallyabout Harry Styles?
“No! Everyone needs to chill,” said Anne atSXSW. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t be that reactive about it. I just think no.”
“It’s funny,” Nicholas added, “just because it’s become this thing in and of itself. We have tried to distance ourselves from that, and I think Hayes is such a wonderful character in and of himself. There were so many amazing references we used: BTS for a lot of the choreography, which was really great. There’s so many references out there.”
“The thing I kept focusing on is how lucky am I to have a character that can take this perspective,” Anne continued, “because she’s not lost. She’s not in a tailspin about, ‘Where’s my life going, and how am I going to figure this out?’ She’s nurtured a lot of things in her life. She’s raising a daughter. She’s built a business. She made a great real estate call in the early aughts, and it was a good one. She’s living in a really great neighborhood that she’s connected to and has community with.”
Okay, so, mystery solved! But between you and me, the Directioner in me really did love the Harry Styles theory.
The Idea of Youbegins streaming on Prime Video on May 2.
