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When I read I Love You, Beth Cooper -- and wrote about the book here a few months ago -- I knew that the on-the-way film adaptation would be thorny. Now that I've seen the film, I can say that it is not merely thorny; it is a textbook case of an adaptation gone wrong. Working from his own mostly delightful novel, Simpsons vet Larry Doyle is like a novice driver who, in trying to avoid potholes, veers to hit every one. And, in what he should consider a betrayal of epic proportions, Doyle gets absolutely no help from anyone involved with the film -- not from the cast, not from the editor, and certainly not from director Chris Columbus, who is utterly helpless when his material is not inherently strong.

I hasten to add that I Love You, Beth Cooper is not that bad -- I think it's a bit better than our Peter Martin lets on, and certainly better than our Eric D. Snider insists. But the movie -- still about a geeky, virginal high school senior who confesses his love for the class hottie in his graduation speech -- is sappy, muddled, and just mystifyingly unfunny. Consider that the novel is hip, razor-sharp, and hilarious, and you start to get a sense of what a rare specimen this adaptation is. So what happened?

Quick: what actress said she would only go naked for an Oscar-caliber role? If you answered Hayden Panettiere, you'd be right. (Of course, if you answered Megan Fox or a few dozen other actresses, you'd also be right.) Two years ago, the budding Heroes starlet claimed: "I'd never go nude or shave my head – unless it's for an Oscar!" Either things have changed, or I Love You, Beth Cooper is a sleeper contender for an Academy Award. Chris Columbus' film, based on the book by Larry Doyle, opens on Friday. Panettiere stars in the titular role as a freshly-graduated high school student who decides to show a nerdy valedictorian (Paul Rust) the night of his life. And her breasts.

Panettiere confidently drops her towel in front of Rust in the locker room scene. "It didn't bother me much," she told People. "I don't think it takes much thought, and I don't think it takes much preparation as an actor," she explained to Parade. "I didn't find it very hard being naked. It's like I drop my towel and that's it." How naked was she? "I was really naked," she elaborated to E! Online. "I had these little sticky petals on my boobs, but that was about it."

Sounds like a hot, naked scene -- except the movie is rated PG-13 ("for crude and sexual content, language, some teen drinking and drug references, and brief violence") and you may be able to see more of the 19-year-old Panettierre's body in a bikini (the trailer hints that her exposed flesh is limited to her bare back, above the waist). Kudos to Panettiere for getting as much publicity as possible for her movie while keeping her private parts private -- for now.

Universal has been busy readying remakes of many of their classic horror icons -- The Mummy kicked it off to a slow start ten years ago (gee, it's due for another remake!), The Wolfman hits theaters this fall, and allegedly The Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and The Invisible Man will follow. But they're not just planning on remaking their stable, but option a few younger and fresher versions of their icons too.

According to Variety, the studio has optioned Larry Doyle's upcoming novel Go Mutants! It's a teen comedy / adventure story set in a world where all those classic 1950s alien invasion movies actually happened. A few decades later, the offspring of those invasions have assimilated among the rest of the population, and are happily attending high school.

It's too early to tell if it'll be another Monster Squad, as the book doesn't hit store shelves until next summer, but Doyle promises you'll see cameos from Gort and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. One of those is not like the other, so all bets are off as to who else you might see, but I'd put money on the Mole Man and the Metaluna Mutant. Perhaps he'll reach beyond the creature feature cast, and throw in the Invisible Man -- you can't tell me that sly creep didn't use his gift to father a few brats and avoid the child support.

Cinematical has just received these exclusive images from a new version of the book I Love You, Beth Cooper that author Larry Doyle (The Simpsons) is putting out (in connection with the upcoming film) that contains a whole bunch more of the hilarious art featured in the first one. If you haven't yet read I Love You, Beth Cooper then I strongly suggest picking up a copy because it's easily one of the funniest books I've read in the past couple of years (but I'm also a sucker for those teen angst tales; The Catcher in the Rye is, like, my favorite book of all time).

I Love You, Beth Cooper follows the story of a pimple-faced high school valedictorian named Denis Cooverman who professes his love for the school's hottest student (Beth Cooper) while doling out his speech to the entire class on graduation day. From that point on, it turns into one of those crazy all-nighter stories that we don't see enough of these days. (Remember License to Drive? This book reminded me of that film, only Beth Cooper definitely stays awake the entire time and there's a lot more action and pop culture references.)

The film, which was directed by Chris Columbus and stars Hayden Panettiere and Paul Rust in the lead roles, hits theaters on July 10. If it's half as good as the book, it will be so worth your dollar -- the perfect fun summer film. Check out the two pieces of art down below (mildly NSFW for language), and the latest version of the paperback (which includes 32 new pages of content and 16 new pages of art) hits shelves on June 9. Additionally, feel free to scope out the latest trailer for I Love You, Beth Cooper after the jump.

I'd like to think that our own Eric D. Snider knows what's funny, if only twice a day, so when he recommended Larry Doyle's "I Love You, Beth Cooper" last summer, I swiftly added it to my List of Stuff to Read Eventually and have succeeded in putting it off ever since. (I did, however, get around to "Apathy and Other Small Victories," and was consequently amused. Maybe I'm only off on these things by a year or so.)

Anyway, it's been long enough that we're getting a movie of the same name, and Fox has posted the first trailer on its official website -- scary timing, given Eugene's From Page to Screen column last week, on which Doyle himself wrote: "The first trailer should be popping up on the net any day now." (Oh. Guess I should've read that part first.)

Anyway, it does seem to be the PG-13 all-in-one-night humiliation fest that all previous descriptions had suggested. Paul Rust does look like the ideal dweeby valedictorian, and Hayden Panettiere does look like exactly the kind of girl one might throw it all out there for. (Did I say that out loud?)

Like it or not, I Love You, Beth Cooper opens July 10th, and should not be confused with this year's I Love You, Man or I Love You, Phillip Morris.

So there are these two high school dudes, right, and though they're seniors, they're so aggressively geeky and socially inept that losing their virginity doesn't even seem like a real-world prospect. But before they leave for college, they have the opportunity to have one last craaaaazy night of adventure that could well culminate in getting laid – in addition to drunk, beaten up, and/or arrested.

Wait: have you heard this one before? You could be forgiven for thinking – or at least hoping – that Superbad was the last word on this subject. But like it or not, here comes I Love You Beth Cooper, adapted by Simpsons vet Larry Doyle from his own novel and directed by that stalwart of the bland and inoffensive, Chris Columbus.

The book reads, indeed, like Superbad by a Simpsons writer: hyperactive, incessantly self-referential, with occasional bursts of sincerity in an attempt to give the proceedings some emotional heft. It's often very funny, though usually due to an oddball choice of words by Doyle rather than anything situational. ("This is... odd," he she-grunted.") Where Superbad balanced out the raunch with a disarming sweetness, Beth Cooper goes for a sort of detached, intellectual cool, obviously sympathizing with its besotted protagonist (Doyle claims that "Denis Cooverman" is inspired by his own high school experience) but also taking not-inconsiderable joy in pounding him into the dirt. Mileage may vary; I can see how this approach would seem insufferable to some.

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.

It's fairly easy to get psyched up about a project written by the dude who kicked off his career by penning episodes of Beavis and Butthead, Daria and The Simpsons. Larry Doyle's first feature attempt (Duplex), however, fell way short of the funny. Chalk up another spectacular starring role for Ben Stiller. After returning to the animated world with Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Doyle just recently sold his latest comedy, Me2, to Disney. Currently, the plot is being kept under wraps (although they did let slip something about time travel), and we're not sure whether it will be animated. However, Mark Waters (Mean Girls) has signed on to direct, so chances are this one will go the live action route.

And speaking of top secret plots, Universal snatched up Gerald Olsen's comedy pitch One Dave at a Time for Mary Parent and Scott Stuber (is it just me, or does it seem these two are in on literally every single deal?) to produce. Usually, when they don't feel like giving us a basic plot description, that means the idea is very high concept and, therefore, they're probably afraid of two or three similar projects suddenly popping up. Based on the title alone (and since I'm a pro at figuring out storylines with little to no information), I'm going to take a wild guess and say this one involves cloning, possibly along the lines of Multiplicity. But what do I know ... I just work here.