 Stone provided the voice of an Australian Shepherd in Marmaduke ( 2010 ) , a comedy from director Tom Dey , which is based on Brad Anderson 's long @-@ running comic strip of the same name . Her breakthrough came the same year with her starring role in Easy A , a teen comedy directed by Will Gluck ; website WatchMojo.com considered it her best performance to date . Partially based on Nathaniel Hawthorne 's 1850 historical romance novel The Scarlet Letter , the film tells the story of Olive Penderghast ( Stone ) , a high school student who becomes embroiled in a comic sex scandal after a false rumor circulates that she is sexually promiscuous . Stone read the script before the project was optioned for production , and pursued it with her manager while production details were being finalized . She found the script " so different and unique from anything I 'd read before " , opining that it was " funny and sweet " . When Stone discovered that the film had begun production , she met with Gluck , expressing her enthusiasm for the project . A few months later , the audition process started and she met again with Gluck and was one of the first actresses to audition . The film received positive critical reviews , and Stone 's performance was considered its prime asset . Anna Smith of Time Out commented : " Stone gives a terrific performance , her knowing drawl implying intellect and indifference with underlying warmth . " With a total box office of US $ 75 million , the film was a commercial success . She was nominated for BAFTA Rising Star Award , and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy , and won the MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance . 
