Fact Check: Is The Idea of You Harry Styles fan fiction? Explained

The Idea of You was released on Prime Video on May 2, 2024. The romance movie stars Anne Hathaway, and is centered on Robinne Lee's 2017 novel of the same name. Hathaway plays Solène, a mother who takes her daughter to the Coachella Music Festival and falls head over heels for international sensation Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), leading to a love affair.

The movie has sparked debate among fans about the musician in the film having any resemblance to a renowned real-life singer, Harry Styles, and whether Is The Idea of You Harry Styles fan fiction. The straightforward answer is that Robinne Lee, the author has stated that the character of Hayes was somewhat based on Harry Styles, however, it is not a fan fiction.

In an interview with Vogue in 2020, Lee refuted the claims of Galitzine’s character being based directly on the youth sensation, saying—

“This was never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles.”

In the same interview, when asked if Harry Styles inspired the novel, Lee stated—

“Inspired is a strong word.”

She however admits to researching One Direction while writing the original novel The Idea of You, telling author and blogger Deborah Kalb in 2017—

“I was up late surfing music videos on YouTube and came across the face of a boy I’d never seen in a band I’d never paid attention to. … It was like…art. A thorough Googling session led me to discover that he often dated older women, and so the seed was planted.”

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How does The Idea of You extend beyond just Harry Styles?

It is not uncommon for stories to borrow or be inspired by actual events, such as in the case of the character of Hayes from the movie.

As mentioned earlier, Robinne Lee emphasized that Styles didn't have a major impact on the real plot, stating that he was just one example of the most successful boy band group. In an interview with Today, she stated—

"I think it's clickbait ... Everyone just goes straight to Harry Styles. I feel like that’s the person that’s going to get you the most clicks, Is there some Harry in there? Yes. But there’s like 23 other people in there. The Prince Harry references don’t get picked up on, and I mentioned him in the book (The Idea of You) directly."

Talking about how the idea of this book came, Robinne Lee said in the interview with Deborah Kalb—

"I joked with him (her husband) that I’d found the perfect guy and I was leaving him and our two kids, 'Oh, and by the way, he’s half my age.' My husband laughed, and then a moment later said, 'You know, that would make a great book.'"

During a conversation with Buzzfeed, Nicholas Galitzine, who plays Hayes in Prime Video's The Idea of You, stated that he and the writers of the movie attempted to develop someone who seemed similar to Harry, especially when it comes to the knowledge that he is a younger guy dating older women, alluding to Styles' previous affairs.

Is The Idea of You Harry Styles fan fiction? (Image via Prime Video)

However, he remarked that the idea did not develop into mimicry since the actor needed to create a unique and distinctive individual rather than an unoriginal replica of another human being. In an interview with People, he reinforced that opinion when discussing the similarities between Harry and Hayes. He said—

"I like to distance myself from that comparison because I think Hayes is his own character and has his own struggles and wants and tastes, even in who he is as a musician."

He added—

"We took tons of different references, I think the boy band as a whole was an amalgam of a lot of different artists and groups. I'd love people to come to watch the movie with an open mind and embrace Hayes and August Moon, and maybe become fans of August Moon individually as well. I mean, there's some really, really catchy songs in the movie."

Raymond Cham Jr., who portrays Oliver in The Idea of You, claims that One Direction is incredibly popular, and they're portraying a highly successful boy band in Primve Videos adaptation, so there will undoubtedly be similarities. However, the actor also informed Today that they feel they did strive and achieve in producing something unique and rare.

Robinne Lee started writing her book back in 2014 and it was finally released in 2017. Aside from drawing reference from Harry Styles' lifestyle, the author's underlying motive for her story was never to produce fan fiction but instead focused on a more important and valuable issue that might affect society.

Robinne hoped that The Idea of You would surface the stereotypes that women reaching their forties continue to confront. The fundamental topic in both the book and the film is discovering yourself and your sexuality, which are sometimes overlooked when depicting mature women. The movie is now available on Prime Video.