Dartmouth High Teacher’s Story Becoming Hollywood Movie with Sydney Sweeney

It was late 2020, in the heat of Covid, and Joe Cote was doing what a lot of people were doing—trying to fill his time with things he normally didn’t have time for. He decided to write a story.

Joe had written some stories before, but this one was different. Instead of hating on it, he was proud of it.

Cote was so proud, in fact, that he decided to put it out into the world by publishing it on Reddit. He was fully prepared for his story to be roasted by the unrelenting public, but that didn’t happen. Instead, he started receiving more and more positive feedback. He was stunned—and he couldn’t believe how good it felt.

LISTEN:  Joe Cote's MGM Show Interview

The biggest critiques were about the title of the story: "I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl So I Could Rob Her Family." Cote admits he intentionally titled it that way to get clicks.

It worked.

It worked so well that a Hollywood producer saw it and reached out to him. Cote reacted the way almost anybody would—with skepticism and suspicion of a scam. He ignored the producer at first but eventually agreed to get on the phone.

Good thing he did, because since that day, his life has changed.

Star Power

In addition to teaching English at Dartmouth High School, Cote has been named the executive producer of the film adaptation of his story. Sydney Sweeney is set to both produce and star in the film.

Screenwriter Eric Roth has also signed onto the project. You may be familiar with some of Roth’s previous work, including Forrest Gump, Gone Girl, and A Star Is Born.

What’s the Basic Plot of Cote’s Movie?

Cote explained, “So basically, this drifter woman—we’ll call her Sydney—sees a photo of a girl who’s been missing for a long time, and the girl looks a lot like her. She looks her up and sees that the family has money. She thinks about how she could pretend to be that girl. She goes back to the family’s house with the intent to rob them, and it goes super swell.”

"What is going on in your twisted brain with that plot?" I asked Cote. "How did you come up with that?"

"I’ve always been fascinated by missing person stories," he said. "So I think I just wanted to tell one of my own."

Cote's Future in Teaching

Cote has been teaching at Dartmouth High School since the beginning of the school year.

"So does this effectively end your career as a teacher?" I asked.

"Are you asking me right now if I’m quitting?" Cote responded. "Seven months in?"

Cote isn’t ready to say it out loud, but if this movie takes off the way it appears it will, it might be a while before he sees the inside of a classroom again.

Unless, of course, one of his characters needs to shoot a scene in one.