‘The Idea of You’ Based on Story by Palisadian Author

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

“The Idea of You”—an Amazon MGM Studios film based on a book by an author with ties to Pacific Palisades—became available for viewing via streaming on Prime Video and in theaters on Thursday, May 2.

The movie is based on the eponymous novel penned by Robinne Lee, who was living in Marquez Knolls when it was published in June 2017.

“Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet,” read an IMDb synopsis. “When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark.”

Soon after they begin their romance, Hayes’ fame creates challenges for the relationship, with Solène discovering that “life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.”

The film—which was first announced in December 2018—is directed by Michael Showalter, who also wrote the screenplay alongside Jennifer Westfeldt. Lee, as well as her husband Eric Hayes, serve as producers, with Cathy Schulman, Gabrielle Union, Hathaway, Showalter and Jordana Mollick.

Lee—herself an actor (“Fifty Shades Darker,” “Hitch”)—told the Palisadian-Post in 2017 that the inspiration for the book came a few years prior, while her husband was away on business.

“I was up late, surfing music videos on YouTube when I came across the face of a boy I’d never seen in a band … and it was so aesthetically perfect, it took me by surprise,” Lee said at the time. “I spent a good hour or so Googling and trying to figure out who this kid was, and in doing so, I discovered that he often dated older women, and so the seed was planted.”

She said that when her husband returned a couple of days later, she joked that she found the perfect guy, and she was leaving him and their two kids, adding: “Oh, by the way, he’s half my age.”

She said her husband laughed, then a moment later said, “You know, that would make a great book.”

The film, which has a run time of one hour and 55 minutes, is rated R.