Seyfried and McG Join ‘The Girl Who Conned The Ivy League’

Not that we’re complaining, but when did the Hollywood gods decree that Amanda Seyfried should star in every project ever? As if the blue-eyed starlet didn’t have enough on her ridiculously over-stuffed plate—she’s in four movies in the next few months, plus she’s headlining Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood adaptation.

Now comes word that the Mean Girls alumna is attached to The Girl Who Conned the Ivy League (we love when titles cut right to the chase!) along with director McG.

The reliably great Production Weekly Twitter feed tells us that Ivy League is actually just a pitch right now from screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) that she based on the Rolling Stone article of the same name. Seyfried would star as Esther Reed, the titular girl, who pulled some James Ford-like long cons on Harvard and Columbia so that she could matriculate inside their walls. Naturally, Esther’s scams did not sit well with law enforcement officials; as it turns out, stealing identities is not allowed. Who knew?!

Anyway! If this all sounds a little Catch Me If You Can-ish, you’re not alone. As /Film points out, there is even a detective role in the story that seems tailor-made for Matt Damon. Since he’s like the male version of Seyfried (or is she the female Damon?) though—and, not to mention, one of the five biggest stars in the world—we don’t know if he’ll take time out of his schedule to co-star in something directed by the guy who did Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle.

And therein lies the rub: despite a knockout premise (Catch Me If You Can + GoodFellas / 21 x Veronica Mars), the director is still McG. Putting aside the fact that we’ve liked some of his stuff (the original Charlie’s Angels, the mawkish-but-still-good We Are Marshall), he doesn’t seem like the right fit for this type of character-driven chaser. While we have no doubt that his over-caffeinated style will be put to good use in keeping the pace of Ivy League in the red, we’re worried he’ll spend too much time on bells and whistles. Have you seen Terminator Salvataion? We rest our case.

If there is a saving grace, though, it’s that the script will no doubt be strong. Scafaria’s work on Nick and Norah was fabulous and despite her membership in “The Fempire” (Diablo Cody’s cabal of screenwriting lady friends), we think she’s ideal for this material.

You can read the full article about the real Esther Reed’s Ivy League scam over at Rolling Stone.

Expect The Girl Who Conned the Ivy League to start production sometime in 2011.

Sources: Rolling Stone & /Film

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