Songfacts®:

• In September 2020, actress and director Olivia Wilde cast Harry Styles in her psychological thriller movie Don't Worry Darling as Florence Pugh's husband. Once they began filming, it soon became apparent there was a chemistry between Styles and Wilde. The two started dating and made their romance public in early 2021. There are a few clues Harry Styles sings of Wilde in this spicy love jam.
  
  I just think you're cool
  I dig your cinema
  
  This is an obvious one, as the word "cinema" is synonymous with the film industry and Wilde is a movie star.
  
  Darling, is it cool
  If I'm stubborn when it comes to this?
  
  Is Harry's mention of the word "darling" a reference to his and Wilde's Don't Worry Darling film? Yes, of course "darling" is a common term of endearment. And Styles has used the word once before in a lyric ("You can't blame me, darling" in the Fine Line track "To Be So Lonely"). But we reckon the pop star knew what he was doing when he called his lover "darling" rather than "sweetheart," "honey" etc.
• Maybe a third clue is that John Mayer plays the distinct guitar solo on the track. Mayer admitted to having a celebrity crush on Olivia Wilde on his 2012 song "Something Like Olivia."
• When Howard Stern asked Styles if the sensual song is about Wilde, he replied cryptically. "I think it's important to write from what you're going through at the time and trying to turn life into what you make," Styles said. "I guess it's like, the most you can kind of capture a moment is kind of being true to that."
  
  The SiriusXM host pressed further, commenting on how Styles fell in love with his director on a film set. "I had a wonderful experience being directed by Olivia," the singer and actor responded. "I think there is something that obviously... acting is very uncomfortable at times. I think you have to trust a lot. Being able to trust your director is a gift. That was very helpful and it really meant for kind of a really nice experience working on that movie."
• Styles co-wrote "Cinema" with Sammy Witte. The engineer and producer previously contributed to two of Styles' Fine Line songs: "Cherry" and the title track.
• Witte co-produced "Cinema" with Styles' regular producers Thomas "Kid Harpoon" Hull and Tyler Johnson.
• Styles penned "Cinema" over a fairly long period. According to an interview with Apple Music, he started the song off in the studio, then had a break and wrote a bit more at home before leaving it. After returning to the studio, he put it all together with his producers.