SXSW 2024 to Close with Michael Showalter’s ‘The Idea of You,’ Starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine

Samantha Bergeson
·3 min read
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The romance adaptation “The Idea of You” will close out the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival.

Anne Hathaway returns to her rom-com roots with the film, directed by Michael Showalter. Hathaway stars as a 40-something single mother who gets another chance at love with a 24-year-old rock star (Nicholas Galitzine) while at Coachella. The film is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Robinne Lee.

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The 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival takes place March 8 through 16, with “The Idea of You” as the Closing Night selection. The festival opens with “Road House” (despite director Doug Liman not planning to attend) and Opening Night TV Premiere “3 Body Problem,” the epic Netflix series co-created by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo. The Centerpiece Screening is David Leitch’s “The Fall Guy” starring 2024 Oscar nominees Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. The world premiere of Pamela Adlon’s “Babes,” co-written by Ilana Glazer, is an additional Headliner screening.

The full lineup, including Headliners, Festival Favorites, and more, will be announced February 7.

The official synopsis for “The Idea of You” reads: “Solène (Hathaway) is a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. 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. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.”

Ella Rubin, Reid Scott, Annie Mumolo, Viktor White, Raymond Cham, Jaiden Anthony, and Dakota Adan co-star.

Showalter directed former SXSW premieres “Hello My Name is Doris,” which won the Audience Award in 2015, “The Big Sick,” winner of the Audience Award in 2017, critically acclaimed TV series “Search Party,” and prior to the pandemic was set to premiere “The Lovebirds.”

“The Idea of You” is produced by Oscar-winner Cathy Schulman, who returns to SXSW after premiering “Bernie” in 2012 at the festival. Additional producers include lead star Hathaway, director Showalter, Gabrielle Union, Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, and Jordana Mollick. The project is presented by Amazon MGM Studios.

The 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival marks the 31st annual event in Austin, Texas. The festival spans nine days and offers a diverse lineup of episodic selections, films, and VR experiences, as well as access to the SXSW Music and Comedy Festivals and SXSW Conference sessions with visionaries from all corners of the entertainment, media, and technology industries.

See the previously released lineup here.

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