From page to screen: How can you watch ‘The Hating Game’ online?

The movie adaptation of The Hating Game is finally coming out. We’ve been waiting a long time for this, and can’t wait to see one of our favorite romance books on the big screen at last.

However, maybe you’re out of the loop here. What exactly is The Hating Game, and when is the film releasing? Most importantly, how can you watch The Hating Game online? Let’s go over the book’s history, see behind-the-scenes of the movie’s development, and talk about the upcoming film.

The author’s debut book

Sally Thorne, an Australian author who lives in Canberra, doesn’t have too much autobiographical information online. According to Hachette, we do know that before her first book she worked on “funding submissions and drafting contracts (yawn!) so it’s not surprising that after hours she climbs into colorful fictional worlds of her own creation.” Now, she writes from home, looking after her pug, quarter horse, and husband.

The Hating Game, Thorne’s debut novel, came out in 2016 and quickly became a smash hit. It was eventually translated into other languages and released around the globe. The Hating Game was said to have “reinvigorated the romantic comedy genre,” which is quite an honor. After The Hating Game, Thorne came out with 99 Percent Mine in 2019 and Second First Impressions in 2021. Her fourth book is coming out soon.

Of all her works, The Hating Game is by far the biggest. The story is about Lucy Hutton, a charming individual who works hard to be liked by her coworkers at Bexley & Gamin. The only one she can’t stand is her coworker Joshua Templeman; they both hate each other. That all changes when the two start fighting for a big promotion: Lucy starts getting feelings for him. How will their relationship change?

The movie adaptation’s development

The Hating Game, as a book, came out in late 2016. According to Sally Thorne’s website, the movie adaptation was optioned just one year later by BCDF Pictures. Christina Menghert, a screenwriter perhaps best known for the film Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (which BCDF Pictures helped produce), made the script, consulting Thorne throughout the process.

There is a two-year gap between the screenplay’s development and the film’s production, and what happened during that time is a bit of a mystery. What we do know is that, somewhere along the way, another production establishment came on board with BCDF Pictures: Mister Smith Entertainment, a British company that began financing films with The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones.

They aren’t the only ones on board. According to sources, five production companies are involved in the making of this movie, which is quite a lot for just one film. Aside from BCDF Pictures & Mister Smith Entertainment, there’s also Convergent Media, Big Indie Pictures, and Federal Films. Why are all of these companies taking part in making The Hating Game?

We can only speculate thanks to the limited amount of data. However, from what we know about all these companies, they’re all focused on socially relevant films, stories that explore ideas relevant to today’s audiences. Perhaps The Hating Game checked those boxes and piqued their interests? We can’t be sure.

That’s the pre-production history of the movie. What about the production phase, and where can you watch The Hating Game online? Here’s more information.

The upcoming film

The Hating Game’s feature film was officially announced in May of 2019: Lucy Hale & Robbie Amell were set to star as Lucy Hutton & Joshua Templeman respectively. Mister Smith Entertainment would help finance and sell the movie, and in many of the press releases & articles, their spokespersons take a central role.

Peter Hutchings was set to direct, making this his fourth movie to take on the leadership role. Coincidently, Christina Menghert had also co-written one of his movies in 2012, Rhymes with Banana.

There were a few snags in development. Robbie Amell had to step away from the movie because of film schedule conflicts. Austin Stowell was cast in his place. Despite the change, development continued onward for The Hating Game: it was shot from November to December of 2020 and is set to release soon.

Where can you watch The Hating Game online?

The Hating Game is coming out Friday, December 10th. Thanks to the climate brought to us by the pandemic, it’s not just coming to theatres. According to ET Online, the movie will be at your local cinema but will also be available via video-on-demand services on the same day. You can even preorder it on iTunes now to watch it when it releases.

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There you have it. The Hating Game’s movie version is coming out soon and will be up online for you to purchase & view. We can’t wait to see it and look forward to hearing you share your thoughts on it with us.