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!”

Demi Lovato to Release New Album “Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over” in April

Demi Lovato is starting over musically…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress has announced plans to release a new album Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over, which will come out on April 2.

It’s a “deeply personal album,” according to Lovato’s reps, and is executive produced by Lovato and her manager, Scooter Braun.

Lovato’s latest album will be supported by a four-part documentary series, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, which will stream on YouTube from Tuesday, March 23, and wrapping Tuesday, April 6.

The album and the series are interconnected. Both will explore Lovato’s near fatal overdose in 2018, and her journey back.

Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over will feature the song “Anyone,” which Lovato performed at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

The album is the follow up to Tell Me You Love Me from 2017, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

News of Lovato’s forthcoming seventh album comes soon after she came out, telling Glamour,: “When I started getting older, I started realizing how queer I really am.”

In a clip from the upcoming online series, Lovato admits she’s lucky to be alive. “I’ve had a lot of lives — like my cat, you know? I’m on my ninth life,” she says. “I’m ready to get back to doing what I love, which is making music.”

Pre-order Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over here.

Rosie Casals & Women’s Tennis’ Original 9 to be Subject of Docu-Series About Their Fight for Equality

Rosie Casals’ fight for equal pay (and more) is getting told…

Tennis legend Billie Jean King will narrate a docu-series, featuring her then doubles partner, the 72-year-old Salvadoran American former tennis player, and the other members of the Original 9, that’ll tell the stories of pay inequities, motherhood, LGBTQ+ rights, and intersectionality and diversity in women’s sports.

Billie Jean King & Rosie Casals

Glamour and Condé Nast Entertainment, along with King and Little Monster Films, are producing the series to show the trailblazers who tried to bridge the appalling disparity of pay and standing that female athletes past and present have endured.

The jumping off point was a Glamour cover that focused on how a fed-up King and a group of top female tennis players called the Original 9 tried to bridge the pay gap between the scraps they were getting, and the big paydays limited to their male counterparts.

Rosie Casals

The 27-year old King was the top player in her sport where the entire women’s prize pool was $5,000. King led a group that included Casals, Nancy Richey, Julie Heldman, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Judy Tegart Dalton, Kerry Melville Reid, Peaches Bartkowicz and Kristy Pigeon. They announced their own tour—it became the forerunner of the Women’s Tennis Association– and found enough sponsors and financial support to launch a 23-match tour with an unprecedented $100,000 in prize money.

The series will focus on that and other struggles that led to course corrections, and areas that need to improve. Anyone who watched the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team win the World Cup again in 2019 likely knows of their struggle to be paid comparable to their male counterparts.

The multi-part series will be produced by Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.

“We’ve made progress in pay equality in and out of sports, but there’s still so much more to do for future generations,” said King. “People have to invest in women—and I don’t mean just women investing in women, I mean everyone. I’m excited to partner with Glamour to bring these vital issues to a wider audience.”

Glamour editor Samantha Barry said that after the magazine exhibited “long history of championing our female sporting heroes and demanding their equal remuneration, we are committing to our first ever long-form docu-series chronicling this historic fight. These are sportswomen, but they are also all women—and this incredible piece of storytelling has the power to reshape all our futures.”

“Jimmy and I have a long history of telling athletes’ stories, digging in to both their sport and a larger narrative of ambition, motivation, and risk,” says Little Monster Films’ Chai Vasarhelyi. “We are passionate about spotlighting new and unheard voices among women athletes, and this series with Glamour and the legendary Billie Jean will capture those character-driven stories. On the court, we’re seeing more and more teams standing united in their activism. Now is the time for this project, as the relationship between our sports and our wider political conversations is at an all-time high.”

 

 

Jillian Mercado to Guest Star on Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q”

Jillian Mercado is headed to the small screen…

The 32-year-old Dominican model will make her scripted television debut on the forthcoming The L Word: Generation Q, which is set to premiere December 8 at 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime.

Jillian Mercado

Mercado will play the character of Maribel Suarez, an immigration attorney and the little sister of Sophie (Rosanny Zayas). The two are very close, and Maribel is always there to give Sophie advice and support.

The L Word: Generation Q continues the stories of the critically acclaimed and groundbreaking series The L Wordwhich ran from 2004-2009. The new series has familiar faces and new ones as it follows the intermingled lives of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) and Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moennig), along with Dani Nùñez (Arienne Mandi), Micah Lee (Leo Sheng), Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Zayas) and Gigi (Sepideh Moafi) as they experience love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in L.A.

Jillian Mercado

This season’s guest stars include Brian MichaelStephanie AllyneOlivia ThirlbyFortune Feimster and Latarsha Rose

The series is executive produced by showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan with series creator Ilene ChaikenKristen CampoAllyce OzarskiSteph Green (pilot), and original series stars Beals, Moennig and Hailey.

Mercado is best known as a model with muscular dystrophy and has been praised for her representation of the differently-abled in fashion. She has appeared on E! News and has modeled in campaigns for OlayBumble 100Calvin Klein fragrances, NordstromTargetand Tommy Hilfiger.

On the editorial side, she was featured on the cover of Teen Vogue‘s first digital cover and was in September issues of GlamourCosmopolitanJejune and many others. 

She’s also an active disabilities advocate who has spoken at various summits.

Christy Turlington to Be Honored at Harper’s Bazaar Icons Party

Christy Turlington has reached Iconstatus…

The 50-year-old half-Salvadoran American former model will be honored at this year’s Harper’s Bazaar Icons Party, set to kick off New York Fashion Weekon September 6 for a sixth consecutive year at the Plaza Hotel.

Christy Turlington

In addition to Turlington, the magazine will fete more notable names featured in Harper’s Bazaar global fashion director Carine Roitfeld‘s 2019 “Icons” portfolio, including Alicia KeysCeline DionAwkwafinaRegina KingShailene WoodleyLakeith StanfieldKate Moss,Alek Wekand Devon Aoki.

“I am excited to once again bring Harper’s Bazaar editors from around the world together to kick off New York Fashion Week and celebrate the 10 cultural forces that make up this year’s Icons portfolio,” said Roitfeld in a statement. “I am especially honored that the truly iconic Alicia Keys will be delivering this year’s special performance, which promises to be as inspirational and show-stopping as the artist herself.”

Added Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Marie Claire senior vp and publishing director Carol Smith: “Bazaar is delighted to return to the Plaza to celebrate our sixth annual Icons portfolio by Carine Roitfeld. From Alicia Keys to Christy Turlington and Awkwafina to Lakeith Stanfield, the iconic men and women featured in this year’s portfolio embody the essence of being an independent — they’ve challenged the norm, defied expectations, broken boundaries and rewritten the rules — personally, professionally, politically, creatively, in life and around the world.”

At last year’s Icons party, pop diva Christina Aguilera took a break from her North American Liberation Tourto perform for a star-studded crowd. 

More past Icons performers include The WeekndKaty Perry and Kanye West, among others.

She represented Calvin Klein’s Eternity campaign in 1989 and again in 2014,and also representsMaybelline. Turlington was named one of GlamourWomen of the Yearin 2013,and, in 2014, was named included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.Turlington initially attracted fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a supermodel.

First Look: Lopez’s Latest Gucci-fied Fiat Commercial

When Jennifer Lopez isn’t “On the Floor,” she’s apparently behind the wheel…

Fiat has just released the latest commercial for the all-new 2012 Fiat 500 by Gucci, featuring la Lopez. Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini customized the new limited edition Gucci 500 in partnership with Centro Stile Fiat.

Jennifer Lopez Fiat 500 by Gucci Commercial

Proving why she’s one of Glamour’s Women of the Year, Lopez looks fierce and fabulous cruising through the streets of Manhattan in the luxurious new spot before stepping out of the car in sheer style in a slit-to-there green Gucci gown.

“Elegance is hard work,” professes Lopez in the new spot. “It’s taking style, performance and originality and making them look easy.”

This is Fiat’s third commercial featuring the 42-year-old Puerto Rican-American superstar. The first was considered a “teaser” for J.Lo’s “Papi” music video, while the second commercial—the first official spot—showed a casually dressed Lopez driving through her “world,” the streets of New York City. Like the brand new spot, the “My World” commercial is set to Lopez’s latest single “Until It Beats No More.”

J.Lo Graces the Cover of Glamour’s “WOTY” Issue…

She’s been “On the Floor” most of this year… And, now Jennifer Lopez is on the cover of Glamour’s Women of the Year issue.

jennifer-lopez-glamour-cover

It’s the exclamation point to banner year for the 42-year-old international superstar where la Lopez was basically everywhere.

She started off the year filling one of the vacant judges’ seats on “American Idol.” Months later she released the hit single “On the Floor,” which reached the top five in most countries around the world, including reaching number one in 18 countries. She followed up the single’s success by releasing her seventh studio album, “Love?”

But the love for all things J.Lo didn’t stop there… This year, Lopez was named the most beautiful person in People magazine’s annual issue. She launched a successful clothing line at Kohl’s and served as a spokesperson for Gucci, L’Oreal, Venus and Fiat.

Despite her seven-year marriage to Marc Anthony coming to an end this summer, Lopez seems to remain in great spirits, especially now that’s she’s being honored as an “All-Star Woman” for her numerous achievements.

For her Glamour cover story, Lopez was interviewed by her “Monster-in-Law” co-star Jane Fonda, who asked her what she’d learned about love and relationships over the past year.

” I’ve finally learned the biggest lesson of all: You’ve got to love yourself first,” responded Lopez. “You’ve got to be okay on your own before you can be okay with someone else. You’ve got to value yourself and know that you’re worth everything. And until you value yourself enough and love yourself enough to know that, you can’t really have a healthy relationship.”

Glamour‘s Women of the Year issue, which celebrates Lopez and 10 other all-star ladies, hits newsstands November 1.

Images courtesy of Glamour magazine.