Leone Film Group and Wattpad to develop Wattpad sensation The Bad Boy’s Girl as a feature film
Leone Film Group has also optioned the full series of novels in The Bad Boy’s Girl saga, setting up the next hit teen romance film franchise
At 220 million reads, The Bad Boy’s Girl is one of the most popular stories on Wattpad
TORONTO and ROME - April 27th, 2021 - Leone Film Group, a leading Italian independent production and distribution company, and Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories and leading social storytelling platform, will develop The Bad Boy’s Girl as a feature film. Leone Film Group has also optioned the full series of novels in The Bad Boy’s Girl saga.
Based on Blair Holden’s Wattpad sensation of the same name, The Bad Boy's Girl is one of the most popular stories on the platform, with more than 220 million reads.
About The Bad Boy’s Girl: Tessa O'Connell has only two goals for senior year: to keep her head down and to get over the heartbreak of seeing her longtime crush date her ex-best friend. But Tessa fears the worst when her childhood bully, Cole, returns to town from military school. To her surprise, Cole's not back to taunt her, in fact, he might just be the one good thing to come out of this year as an unlikely connection ignites with the potential to transform them both.
Leone Film Group’s Raffaella Leone, Andrea Leone, Carlo Salem and Federico Polimanti will executive produce, alongside Wattpad’s Aron Levitz, Eric Lehrman, and Lindsey Ramey. Blair Holden is represented by Alexander Slater and Erica Silverman at Trident Media Group and UTA.
Wattpad, Voltage Pictures, and Leone Film Group previously collaborated on the hit Wattpad-story-turned film franchise After, which Leone Film Group distributed in Italy. After and sequel After We Collided were indie box-office hits in Italy and around the world. After won the 2019 People’s Choice Award for Best Drama Movie and three Teen Choice Awards. The After franchise will now have six films in total, with the series’ third and forth films currently in post-production, and two additional films in development by Voltage Pictures.
Raffaella Leone, CEO of Leone Film Group, says: “We are really excited about this new partnership with Wattpad. Building on the success of the After movies, we have decided to devote part of our international production line up to projects envisioned and created with an audience of young adults in mind. After Time Is Up, starring Bella Thorne and Benjamin Mascolo, The Bad Boy’s Girl saga will be Leone Film Group’s next project aimed at such an audience, which we are certain will flock back to the big screen as soon as they can.“
“The Bad Boy’s Girl has captivated audiences around the world, making it one of the most popular and successful stories on Wattpad,” said Aron Levitz, Head of Wattpad Studios. “We’re thrilled to work with Leone Film Group to bring this hit franchise to screens and new fans everywhere.”
The Bad Boy’s Girl joins more than 90 film and TV projects in development from Wattpad all over the world.
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ABOUT LEONE FILM GROUP
Leone Film Group is an Italian independent leader production and distribution company, operating in film and audiovisual market. It was founded in 1989 by the internationally renowned film director Sergio Leone. Its shares are listed in the Milan Stock Exchange and its main shareholders and CEOs are Andrea and Raffaella Leone. Leone Film Group distributes international and national movie hits on the Italian market. Its main successes are Wonder, The Wolf of Wall Street, La La Land, The Hateful Eight, Rush, The BFG – Big Friendly Giant, The Post, Green Book, 1917 and, as regards production, Perfect Strangers, La Pazza Gioia, A Casa Tutti Bene, Gli anni più belli.
ABOUT WATTPAD
Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Wattpad’s flagship app is a leading social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 90 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology allows the company to discover stand-out stories among more than one billion uploads written on the platform. Wattpad Studios and Wattpad Books are transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films and TV shows. Wattpad Brand Partnerships help brands build deep engagement with Gen Z consumers. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at company.wattpad.com.