BCDF Pictures Acquires Film Rights to Elena Armas’ Bestseller “The Spanish Love Deception”

Elena Armas’ popular novel will be getting the Hollywood treatment…

BCDF Pictures has acquired film rights to the Spanish author’s 2022 New York Times bestseller The Spanish Love Deception, with Peter Hutchings set to adapt the novel for the big screen.

Elena Armas

The romantic comedy from Simon & Schuster is the first installment in a series of the same name.

It tells the story of Catalina Martín, who desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding in Spain. Especially since she lied and told her large, raucous family that she has a new American boyfriend. Now everyone expects her to bring him, including the ex who drove Catalina to leave Spain in the first place. Enter Aaron Blackford – her tall, handsome, insufferably condescending colleague – who surprisingly offers to step in.

The Spanish Love Deception, Elena ArmasThe Spanish Love Deception has been published in more than 25 languages. The book won the Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Novel of the Year, and has become a phenomenon on TikTok, boasting a hashtag with over 100M views.

It has also been named a “Must-Read” by Cosmopolitan, Publisher’s Weekly, Bustle, Elle, Paste, Glamour, Business Insider, Buzzfeed and USA Today.

Its sequel, The American Roommate Experiment, will follow in September.

Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady will produce the Spanish Love Deception film for BCDF Pictures.

“I am thrilled to have BCDF Pictures working on the adaptation of THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION and I have no doubt they will do an amazing job bringing Aaron and Catalina to life,” said Armas. “Believe me when I say that I am obsessed with the script and Peter Hutchings’s vision of these characters and Spanish setting I keep so close to my heart. THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION readers are not ready for the Martín family!”

Gina Torres to Star in “The Hating Game”

Gina Torresis joining the Game

The 50-year-old Cuban American actress and Suitsstar will star opposite Lucy Hale and Robbie Amell in the rom-com The Hating Game, which is set to start shooting in New York in August.

Gina Torres

Peter Hutchingswill direct Christina Mengert’s adaptation of the best-selling novel by Sally Thorne.

The film tells the story of kind-hearted Lucy Hutton (Hale) and her cold-efficient nemesis Joshua Templeton (Amell). Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against Josh, a rivalry that is impossibly complicated by her growing attraction to him. 

Torres will star as a co-CEO of two recently merged publishing houses where Lucy and Josh work.

Torres currently stars in and co-executive produces USA Network’s Pearson, the Torres-pitched spinoff of the network’s hit series Suits.

Justice to Star in the Female-Centric Comedy “The Outskirts”

Victoria Justice is headed to the outskirts 

The 21-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer, who will topline MTV’s new drama Eye Candy, will star in the female-centric comedy The Outskirts alongside Eden Sher.

Victoria Justice

Directed by Peter Hutchings for BCDF Pictures, the film tells the story of two best friends who, having suffered years of torment under the thumb of their high school’s alpha female, decide to unite their school’s other outcasts to start a social revolution.

The screenplay was written by Dominique Ferrari and Suzanne Wrubel and appeared on last year’s Black List.

In addition to Justice and Sher, the film’s cast also includes Ashley Rickards, Peyton List, Avan Jogia, Claudia Lee, Katie Chang and William Peltz.

Shooting will begin this summer in New York.