–Hilary Duff & Matt Dallas have signed on to star in ABC Family’s original movie, “The Business of Falling in Love.” They are joined by Michael McMillan (“True Blood,” “What I Like About You) and Chris Carmack (“Drop Dead Diva,” “The OC”). The two-hour original movie will begin principal photography this month in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is set to premiere on ABC Family in spring 2010.
The movie is based on the book Diary of a Working Girl by Daniella Brodsky. Hilary stars as Lane Daniels, a bright effervescent fashion journalist whose career and love life come together in a smashing way when she pitches the article “Switching Careers to Find Love” to Cosmopolitan magazine – her favorite magazine and ultimate career aspiration. Lane can’t believe her luck when the editor goes for it in a big way, handing her the professional opportunity of a life time – a potential cover story!
In order to pull the undercover story off, Lane must first land a corporate job. From there, her mandate is simple – find lots of eligible guys in suits in the office and date as many as possible! Following her interview with a job placement agency, she meets her new boss, Tom (Michael McMillian), at the offices of Thompson/Fullworth. Lane quickly learns that going to work doesn’t just mean wearing a nice suit and going to lunch. Luckily Tom takes her under his wing and teaches her the ropes. As she navigates her way through Thomson/Fullworth, she also meets Seth (Matt Dallas), a hottie on whom Lane develops a crush after he comes to her rescue when the copy machine goes haywire. But her perfect plan goes awry when she meets Liam (Chris Carmack), a gorgeous music producer with a British accent who sweeps Lane off her feet. Her editor’s rules for the story are clear – Lane can only date the businessmen in her office – so Liam is strictly off limits! Lane is forced to choose between what she believes might be love and her Cosmo cover story – and the results are far from what she expected to find!
The movie is directed by Gil Junger (“10 Things I Hate About You,” “Greek”) and written by Michael Horowitz (“Burn Notice”). It will be executive-produced by Hillary Duff, Frank Von Zerneck (“Sorority Wars,” “Acceptance”), Robert Sertner (“Acceptance,” “Flirting with Forty”), Ira Pincus (“The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger,” “Living Out Loud”) and Jessica Horowitz (“Spectacular!,” “Your Place or Mine”).
