Anna Kendrick Plays Stifler In Gender-Twisting ‘American Pie’ Remake

Anna Kendrick has got the crass, frat-boy style of Steve Stifler down.

At a gender-switching script reading in Los Angeles, the actress re-created the iconic American Pie role to a T, joining fellow stars Olivia Wilde and Michael Sheen in reinventing the movie script. The 28-year-old actress assumed the Stifler role for Film Independent at LACMA’s Live Read of American Pie, which also drew stars including Topher Grace, Sharon Stone, Krysten Ritter, and Ari Graynor.

The event was the latest in the “Live Read” series, which were created by Jason Reitman as a way for scripts to gain a new life. The programs are kept secret even from LACMA employees until a few hours before the show, so no one knew that Anna Kendrick would be transforming into Steve Stifler.

“While making this movie, we did not think ‘This is going to get us to LACMA one day.’ But I did get to make this movie with my best friend, my brother,” said director Chris Weitz, who was at the event with his brother Paul.

While the event created some buzz on the internet, those who were not at the event will likely never see the twist Anna Kendrick put on Stifler’s character

“This is a cold reading. Many of these people just met. Some know each other. The rest hate each other,” Weitz said. “The performance cannot be recorded, photographed, or streamed. In fact, I don’t even think you should remember it.”

Those in attendance likely saw a racy performance. As the raunchiest character in an already risque movie, Steve Stifler has scenes in which he simulates sex with a lacrosse stick, watches his mother seduce his teenage friend, and drinks a beer with… well, questionable contents.

Anna Kendrick didn’t have much time to appreciate her performance. Shortly after the American Pie reading, she jetted off to Utah to attend the Sundance Film Festival, where she attended the Women at Sundance Brunch.