Though it may seem as if Hollywood’s freshest talent is only interested in starring in adapted material if it’s sprung from books that use the words “twilight” or “hunger” or “dreamyvampthing” (maybe not that last one) in their titles, Amanda Seyfried is going a different route. The actress has been attached to the starring role in McG’s The Girl Who Conned the Ivy League since March, but it wasn’t until today that the director’s Wonderland Sound and Vision, who are producing the project, got around to hiring scribes to adapt the material.
Newcomers Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair will pen the script for the film, which is based on a “Rolling Stone” article of the same name written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely. The film focuses on the incredible real-life story of Esther Reed, a relative nobody from Montana who, by way of a staggering list of crimes, frauds, and out-and-0ut lies, managed to craft a fake identity that got her accepted to Columbia University. Far more than just a whip-smart scammer, Reed also used the identity of a missing girl to meet some of her goals (not cool) and was listed as one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives (kinda cool). Reed’s story is an interesting, maddening, and ultimately sad one that should make for some compelling cinema. You can read the full article from “Rolling Stone” HERE.
Shafer and Vicknair have yet to get a feature made, but they recently sold a television pilot for Girlfriend Season, and thier spec script A Many Splintered Thing was a Nicholl Fellowship finalist.
While the unproven talents of Shafer and Vicknair, combined with the more action-centric directorial sway of McG, don’t lend much hope to the film, they will at least be working with a solid leading lady and from a compelling story idea. [Deadline New Haven]