Chris Columbus May Direct 'I Love You, Beth Cooper'

Though we've suffered through countless stories in which the geek attempts to woo the hot cheerleader, I'm always hoping someone will emerge to take this tired concept in a new direction. Variety tells us that Fox Atomic has snagged the film rights to Larry Doyle's debut novel I Love You, Beth Cooper, with plans to turn it into one of those films where you can't help but ask: Hasn't this been done, like, a thousand times? Seeing as Doyle is an accomplished writer (he's penned seven episodes of The Simpsons, as well as the not-so-good Ben Stiller flick Duplex), I'm optimistic that he's churned out something a tad different here. And since I'm a sucker for these kinds of stories, I intend to pick up the book this summer to find out for myself.

In addition to the acquisition, Fox Atomic has set up the project with Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan to produce through their 1492 Pictures. While Columbus has not signed on to helm the pic, the subject seems like a good fit for the family-friendly director and, if the script is good enough, I'd expect him to take the reigns. Story centers on a geeky valedictorian who, during his graduation speech, decides he has nothing to loose and so he professes his love to the school's most popular (and most beautiful) cheerleader. Will our geek get the girl? Or will her tough-as-nails boyfriend (yup, there's one of those too) squash our hero before he even has time to achieve his goal? Apparently, I Love You, Beth Cooper hit bookstores earlier this month, so if anyone out there has read it, feel free to let us know what you think.