‘The Idea of You’ With Anne Hathaway to Close SXSW Festival

Michael Showalter’s “The Idea of You” will close out this year’s South by Southwest Film & TV Festival. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine and centers on Solène, a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with the 24-year-old lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.

Showalter is a familiar face at the Austin-based SXSW, having debuted or screened numerous projects including “Hello My Name Is Doris,” which won the Audience Award in 2015, and “The Big Sick,” which won the Audience Award in 2017. He also presented episodes from his TV series “Search Party,” and had planned to debut his 2020 rom-com “The Lovebirds” at the festival, only to have those plans scuttled by the COVID pandemic.

In “The Idea of You,” Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute. That’s where she has a chance encounter with Hayes and finds herself drawn into a whirlwind romance. But their affair is upended by Hayes’ superstar status, forcing Solène to come to terms with life in the spotlight. The cast includes Ella Rubin, Reid Scott, Annie Mumolo, Viktor White, Raymond Cham, Jaiden Anthony and Dakota Adan. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee.  

“The Idea of You” is produced by Hathaway as well as Cathy Schulman, Gabrielle Union, Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, Michael Showalter…