Robinne Lee
— actress best known for her roles in
Deliver Us From Eva,
Being Mary Jane
,
Hav Plenty
, and the
Fifty Shades
franchise —
wrote a book
a decade ago that’s now a
hit film on Prime Video
.
The Idea Of You
stars Anne Hathaway as Solène Marchand, a 40-year-old single mom who winds up in an
unexpected romance
with 24-year-old superstar singer Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). Since its release on May 2, Amazon MGM Studios revealed on Tuesday (May 14) that it has garnered nearly 50 million viewers, becoming Amazon MGM Studios’ No. 1
romantic-comedy
debut of all time (
stream it
here
).
“The extraordinary reception of
The Idea of You
has been thrilling — even leading up to the release, with its record-breaking trailer views to its chart-topping
soundtrack
,” said Julie Rapaport, Head of Film, Production and Development at Amazon MGM Studios, in a statement. “And now, audiences have truly fallen for this film, and we could not be prouder of our stars Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, the brilliant vision of Michael Showalter, and the rest of the enormously talented cast and filmmaking team who made this such a smashing success.”
After surging in popularity in recent years, the book ended up in the hands of
Gabrielle Union
. Lee and Union starred as sisters in
Deliver Us From Eva
and “rivals” in
Being Mary Jane
. Union served as the catalyst to get the book optioned and ultimately signed on as a co-producer once it was confirmed that
The Idea Of You
was going from book to script to screen.
For Lee, it was important to remind people that a Black woman was behind
The Idea Of You
. She explained to
Variety
, “I thought it was important that people knew that a Black woman wrote this book. Because if it inspires one other little girl out there with a journal and a pen to say, ‘I can do this. I can write a story that eventually becomes a movie with a big
Oscar-winning actor
,’ then I want to be the person for that kid.”
This sentiment came after Lee revealed to
Refinery29
that she made the characters white because she tried to sell a book prior to it with a Black protagonist and a white love interest that was rejected.
“I spent six years writing a book prior to writing this book. Right before
The Idea of You,
[I wrote a book] that I could not sell. It was a Black protagonist. There was a white love interest. And one of the responses I got from an editor at that time was, ‘Oh, well, no, we already have an
interracial relationship
that we’re putting out this year,’” she confessed
.
“When I thought about this book, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna sell this book. Nothing’s gonna keep me back.’ If I have to make two white characters, I’m going to make them two white characters, but I’m going to make them very personal and specific to me.”
Ahead of its debut, the trailer alone became the most-watched for any original streaming feature film, with more than 125 million views, Amazon MGM Studios reported. During its press run, the studio hosted 142 screenings dubbed an “international rom-com tour” at famous locations from other classic rom-coms, including the diner from
When Harry Met Sally
and the Empire State Building for
Sleepless in Seattle
.
Lee has
already teased
that she’s written another book, so we may have another masterpiece for our viewing pleasure coming soon.
The Idea Of You
is now streaming on Prime Video.
Watch it here
and
get the book here
.