In an exclusive interview with Filmfare, director Michael Showalter, best known for films like The Big Sick and They Came Together, opened up about the making of The Idea of You.
When you’re working on an adaptation, do you worry about how book fans will react?
Michael: Trying to be true to the book is always a part of the process. But also know that you’re going to be showing this story and these characters to a lot of new audience members who aren’t even familiar with the book. So, as we’re creating the movie, we’re trying to kind of walk that line between making sure that the fans of the book feel like we captured what was special about the book for them. But at the same time, maybe changing some things that hopefully will allow the movie to reach an even wider audience.
Since Harry Styles is the inspiration behind the source material of the film, did you consider casting him at any stage?
Michael: I think we knew we weren’t going in that direction. So no, we didn’t. We didn’t want this to be a movie about Harry Styles. Obviously, there’s a connection there. But we didn’t want this to be the Harry Styles story. Sort of like 8 Mile has Eminem playing himself. But this isn’t it. Hayes isn’t Harry Styles.
What was it like directing Anne Hathaway?
Michael: I’m such a huge fan of hers. I love working with her. She’s so talented. When she’s on camera, every take is perfect. She’s just such a star. So for me, it was incredible to work with her.
What were some of the suggestions Anne made for her character?
Michael: Anne had all kinds of input from her wardrobe to the art – everything in her art gallery. Everything you see of Anne’s character she had a say in it, including things that her character says or thinks. So working with Anne in that way was like 100 per cent collaboration between the two of us.
How did Anne and Nicholas go about creating that sweet chemistry we see in the film?
Michael: Well, we had a really intense audition process. We saw all kinds of young guys, great guys all over the world who auditioned for this role. We had whittled it down to about 10 that we liked the most. They all came to New York and we worked with Anne in person. Nick and Anne just had incredible chemistry right off the bat. They were playful with each other and it was romantic and funny. It was fun to watch them together and we just knew that he was the right guy.
What goes into creating the perfect meet-cute in a rom-com?
Michael: To me, the meet-cute is so important. It’s always an opportunity to do something that people will always remember. How two characters in a movie meet is pivotal. And I always think it’s fun if it can be funny in some way. And so we came up with this idea that she uses the bathroom in his trailer, not realising that it’s his trailer. It was really fun to shoot it. It was also incredible to see the movie with an audience and to hear them react when they figure out that that’s the misunderstanding that’s happening.
The Idea of You releases on May 2, 2024.
