Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling 2021 debut, The Love Hypothesis, had humble beginnings, originating as a work of Star Wars fanfic imagining a romance between the characters Rey and Kylo Ren in a modern university setting. The resultant book blew up, catapulting Hazelwood to superstardom in romancelandia. Since then, Hazelwood has written 8 other novels; The Love Hypothesis is the first of them to get a film adaptation, now streaming on Amazon Prime. (The rights to Hazelwood’s Love, Theoretically were recently picked up by author Colleen Hoover’s production company.)

Directed by Claire Scanlon, the rom-com follows awkward PhD candidate Olive Smith (Lilli Reinhart) as she enters a fake relationship with notoriously prickly professor Adam Carlsen, aka Dr. Evil (Tom Bateman), to convince her best friend, Anh (Rachel Marsh), that she’s over their mutual crush on a classmate.

Scanlon and producer Elizabeth Cantillon talked with PW about translating the story’s humor, heart, and heat to the screen.

What drew you both to this project?

Elizabeth Cantillon: I was charmed by Ali's voice and by the setting, which I thought was so fresh because the characters are grown-ups, but they're in an academic setting. And the whole idea of women in STEM, I hadn't seen that either. So I developed the script from the material, and then we were lucky enough to get Claire.

Clare Scanlon: I had done romantic comedy before with Set It Up, and I really didn't want to get pigeonholed. But then I talked to Elizabeth, and I was like, "Gosh darn it, this script is undeniable." [Screenwriter] Sarah Rothschild did such a beautiful adaptation.

Given that you have done rom-coms before, what made this one stand out to you?

CS: It's smart. I love the female friendship between Anh and Olive. I love that their love for one another is what propels the story forward. And I especially love the scene where Anh says, "Fuck those guys—what does Olive Smith want to do?" That’s so important to put out into the world.

Let's talk about the fake dating trope. What’s the appeal?

EC: I think the motivation for the fake dating is what appeals to me. It isn't that she's fake dating a guy to make another guy jealous, which is the typical trope, right? We turn it on its head: she does it to create a lane for her friend to fall in love. It’s a hard trope to pull off, to create the environment where the fake dating feels plausible. And Claire did a great job with Lilli and Rachel creating the environment for their relationship to feel warm and credible enough that this would actually happen.

Because the book started as Star Wars fanfic, did the specters of Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley hang over casting or production at all?

EC: Ali was very descriptive of the characters, so even if it wasn't based on fan fiction, she described Dr. Carlson pretty much the way Tom Bateman looks. And Olive's pretty close to Lili. We really used the text as our guide.

CS: It was a weird coincidence that Tom happens to be married to Daisy Ridley. That wasn’t lost on us. I remember talking to him during the auditioning process and being like, ‘Fun fact, this is based on fiction and fan fiction.' Elizabeth had explained to me what fan fiction was, and then I found myself explaining it to Tom. He had no idea. And then he said that he mentioned it to Daisy, and she was like, "Oh, I think I heard something about that.”

How did you create the on-screen chemistry between the leads?

CS: Because the script was so strong, it was just making sure that we shot it in a beautiful way—Matthew Clark's an amazing cinematographer—and giving time and space to those awkward moments, those silences, and reactions to each other. And the cast were all really game to play. Some of the ensemble scenes are my favorites: I love watching people watch Olive and Adam interact, and that also enhances the tension.

Like the book, the movie has one very steamy sex scene. I’d love to hear how that came together (no pun intended).

CS: Initially it wasn't as long in the script, but Elizabeth and I were looking on TikTok, and everything was, “Chapter 16! Chapter 16!” It was very clear that there were some serious fan expectations for that scene. It was a weighty burden to try to imagine what people would want, and at a certain point, we just had to stop. Then it was really working with the actors, with the intimacy coordinator, and trying to put both myself and Elizabeth's point of view in there. Like, what would I want, you know? These are adults and they know what they like and they know what they want. And even though it's been a while for Olive, she's very clear about consent and very comfortable with Adam after all this time they spent together. Really trusting.

EX: Consent is a big part of it. It's a big part of Ali's ethos and it's an important piece of that chapter, which Claire really worked hard to hold on to.

Are there any adaptational changes you feel particularly proud of or excited for fans to see?

CS: I really like the female-forward ending, which is changed from the book, and I love that we have Ali's blessing on that. The movie starts with Olive and the movie ends with Olive. As important as everyone else is to help her get from the beginning to the end, it's still Olive that got herself there.