Early this week, my FYP seemed suddenly inundated with mentions of two hockey players who were getting pretty cozy despite being from rival teams, destined to hate each other yet seemingly on a romantic collision course. And viewers fell just as hard, just as fast, rocketing the two lead actors to instant stardom.The show is Heated Rivalry. You've also probably seen the memes. The fan edits. The thirst traps. It follows the years-long secret relationship between rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.HBO Max's new hit launched on Nov. 28 and immediately became a cultural phenomenon, with its stars tripling their Instagram followers within days of the premiere. It's based on the Rachel Reid novel of the same name, part of her Game Changers series. It had a built-in audience that was deeply protective of the source material. The show is now at 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's already one of the most popular shows on HBO Max. Not bad for a Canadian series that only secured its U.S. distribution deal a week before premiere.Book fans can be notoriously hard to please. Yet somehow, writer-director Jacob Tierney pulled it off in a way that should inspire anyone attempting to adapt pre-existing work. - YouTube www.youtube.com Respect Your Source MaterialTierney was clear about his approach from the start, saying he wasn't trying to change the books. I've already seen edits of show scenes cut to the audio book narration, and it's stunningly close. It keeps the core...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday