“From Reddit to Red Carpet”: High School Teacher’s Viral Story Lands Sydney Sweeney & Eric Roth

Twisty Reddit thriller about identity fraud becomes a hot Hollywood property, with Warner Bros. winning the rights

A Massachusetts high school English teacher has gone from grading essays to making headlines in Hollywood. Joe Cote, who posted a gripping short story on Reddit four years ago, is now at the center of a major movie deal involving Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney and Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth.

The story, titled I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl So I Could Rob Her Family, quickly gained viral traction for its Gone Girl-esque twists. It follows a woman who shows up at a family’s doorstep pretending to be their daughter—missing for a decade—with plans to rob them. But what begins as a one-night con spirals into a high-stakes psychological thriller.

Now, Warner Bros. has scooped up the rights to the project in a competitive bidding war. Sweeney is set to star and produce through her banner Fifty-Fifty Films, with Roth (of Forrest Gump, Dune, Killers of the Flower Moon) writing the screenplay. No director is attached yet, but the development already has Hollywood buzzing.

“This is the kind of story that grabs you and doesn’t let go — it’s dark, emotional, and unpredictable,” said Sweeney, whose rising stardom helped catapult the project into motion. She brought Roth on board after signing on to produce, turning Cote’s viral tale into a studio priority.

Cote, who still teaches, landed representation after Underground Entertainment manager Aaron Folbe discovered the story online. Now, he’s executive producing the feature and has several other stories in development. He’s repped by Underground and Yorn Levine.

In addition to Sweeney, producers include Trevor Engelson and Aaron Folbe for Underground, Steven Schneider for Room 101, and Roy Lee and Mira Yoon for Vertigo. Roth is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen.

Sweeney, one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young stars, recently headlined the box office surprise Anyone But You and horror-thriller Immaculate. She’s also set to appear in Echo Valley alongside Julianne Moore and The Housemaid for Lionsgate later this year.