“When The Cast Came Together, It Was Like, Game Over” — The Idea of You Cast On Prime Video’s Latest Rom-Com

As anticipation builds for The Idea of You, releasing on Prime Video Friday 2 May, FILMHOUNDS were invited to join the virtual global press conference with the film's cast and crew. During the conference, the stars discussed building good chemistry, what drew them to the script, and more, while the creative team spoke on changes made from the book, and the appeal of a project like this. 

In a conversation moderated by Janelle Riley, Actor/Producer Anne Hathaway, Cast members Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin and Reid Scott, Director/Co-Writer Michael Showalter, and Producer Cathy Schulman gathered together to talk about their experience making the film. 

It was revealed that Anne Hathaway was the first choice to play Solène, with Cathy Schulman saying, “I had Anne in mind from the very beginning of the development process… She said yes and it was just a dream come true that that actually happened, and we just felt that we wanted to take the character you know from the book, and continue to personalise her in a way that felt like she could be any one of us, and I believed that Annie would be able to bring that aspect to Solène's character and she really did.” 

From her perspective, Anne Hathaway described her observations on receiving roles like these: “I didn't notice that it was happening, but I had received a lot of romantic scripts in my twenties. Then, in my thirties, I was so focused on my family life and motherhood and kind of trying to find whatever my path was going to be – so I didn't notice that I hadn't been sent a romantic script in a really long time. And so when this found its way to me, a part of me did ask the question, but where have these stories gone? Why do they stop? And then those questions, I saw all of the path to the answers to them in this script and in this story.”

Riley reiterated how perfect Hathaway was for the role, commenting on how fresh and new it felt, and noting how many reviewers had referred to the actress as “luminous.”

Producer Schulman also revealed that changing the age of the daughter was one key change they wanted to make in this adaptation. This was partly to give Solene a character she could talk to, and partly to expand on the film's aim to show a multifaceted view of what it means to be a woman – “it was really important that we could look at what it was like to be going from one phase of mothering and a first marriage, into the possibilities of more happiness, while also bringing a young person into her womanhood.”

A key aspect that makes the film work is the chemistry between its characters, and this was a hot topic during the press conference. When Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine were asked how they built their characters' connection whilst avoiding stereotypes, it was clear that this chemistry between them was an authentic one. Hathaway noted, “We both are very playful people. And so once we figured that out, everything else has just been establishing a friendship really, so it kind of has worked the way friendships work, in that it doesn't feel like work at all… I felt really, really cared for and supported on this movie: I just knew that whatever I was doing, he was there with me step for step and it was a really beautiful, very vulnerable experience, but we always kept it light with each other. We were allowed to make mistakes with each other. Nothing had to be perfect. It wasn't tense in that way.” 

Galitzine expanded on this, adding, “Obviously so much onus gets placed on the chemistry because it's, I think, very palpable in the movie, but it's not so much something that you feel like you're consciously working or building to create. It's just like a human connectivity and I think it flows. It's just… water.”

Ella Rubin and Reid Scott were also questioned on how they built their on-screen relationships, and both gave considerable praise to Hathaway's care in establishing these. Rubin said of her on-screen mother, “when you meet Annie, she's not just like such an interesting person, which she is, but she's also interested… I think she's just such an inquisitive person in the most warm way possible and so by just being around her, a bond just naturally forms with someone that's so willing to hear you and try and see you.” 

Scott, who plays Solene's ex-husband Daniel, commented in a similar vein, “Annie and I had these wonderful conversations late at night on the phone in between shooting, sort of giving our characters some backstory and just getting to know one another and it really helped and it leant to this wonderful, warm, playful, creative environment.”

On her relationships with her on-screen family, Hathaway contributed by saying,”. It's like chemistry, love, history: it's like all of these big things that, audiences are really smart, they know when there's air being let out of it. They know when it won't hold water. To be a part of this cast where everybody really meant it and was just doing such incredible work… I'm still kind of stunned.”

All stars were also quick to give credit to the culture built by director Michael Showalter. Scott said, “Michael was just fantastic at sort of fostering an environment of exploration and play that we could find this shared history,” while Hathaway said, “Michael Showalter, who does not like to admit the legend that he is, there's a reason why he keeps making brilliant film after brilliant film after brilliant film – it's because he's just incredible. And then when the cast came together, it was like, game over.” She later added, specifically on the topic of chemistry, “whatever we had that was just kind of a raw spark, it was shaped by Michael and by the entire production team — I think sometimes actors get a lot of attention, but this is very much, I mean as everybody knows, this is a team medium.”

One thing that was clear from every member of the cast and crew present, was how much it meant to them to be part of this film, and how much fun was had in the process. There was a lightness in the air, and a warmth with which each spoke of their own experiences. Galtizine summed it up best: “I was just filled with a sense of excitement coming into work every single day and that's not always the case.” 

The Idea of You is available to stream on Prime Video worldwide from 2 May.