The Wonder Unicorn
Faced with headlines like this, the world is ready, I believe, for a story about a unicorn, and a little girl, and a hat, and a circus.
Dad is not the only storyteller in the Alcott family. This is by Kit (5). As difficult as it is for me to wrap my mind around the idea that my daughter, when, given the chance, thinks up stories about unicorns, little girls, and hats, and circuses, I cannot argue with the sweep and punch of the results.
Hollywood studio executives will no doubt note Kit’s grasp of the surprise twist ending. Not content with one, she here supplies us with two. Or three. Take that, M. Night Shyamalan!
UPDATE: Fox has just called regarding the rights to The Wonder Unicorn. They’re thinking of Queen Latifah as a streetwise, sassy unicorn and Evan Rachel Wood as the little girl.
I’d say go with it, but Fox has a history of canceling such genius shows after 3 episodes air. As this is a sure-fire multi-ethnic-broaching hit, it’s destined to receive such a fate.
Maybe throw in a cursing chef and a bunch of male unicorns in a contest to wed the Queen Latifah unicorn and you’ve got yourself a long-running series.
I’m wondering if the hat that blew by is a homage to Miller’s Crossing and the work of the Coen brothers. Tom Cruise worked with unicorns in Legend, you might be able to swing him in as a producer or something…
Kit enjoys the films of the Coen Bros, although she finds Miller’s Crossing glib and a little too on-the-nose. She prefers the more oblique Barton Fink.
Kudos on the after-credits Egg segment. Kit is one savvy young writer.
I recommend They Might Be Giants’ venue song The Egg for the closing credits of the movie version of this story.
No corners for you.
I think it’s pretty innovative her unicorn has a human head. Reminds me of such classics (influences, perhaps?) as “Where the Wild Things Are.”
The line “Then the circus came out” has a foreboding sense to it, being the last line before the story comes to an abrupt halt… afterward, all that remained was the lone EGG. She should write haikus.
The response conflating 20th Century Fox with its sister television network has me wondering if you’ve ever written for fictional television (as opposed to about television).
‘Round here, anything from Fox is called “Fox.”
I have occasionally written for television — many years ago I worked on John Leguizamo’s sketch-comedy show (on Fox) as well as a show at MTV hosted by Jon Stewart. I’ve worked on other shows as well that never made it to the air.
Was it “You Wrote it You Watch It”? Sometimes I think I’m the only person who remembers that show. I have vivid memories of Thomas Lennon reinacting someone’s dream of being followed around by the lead singer of the B-52’s.
Or, as I like to call the show, We Wrote It, They Didn’t Watch It.
As a (still)recovering cast member of YWIYWI, I must ask — did you put that writer up to mentioning that long-lost show? I took it off my resume years ago, but if it’s developing a cult, perhaps I should drop the hint every once in awhile that I was involved. Some great cast members like Toby Huss, Donald Faison and most of Reno 911, great writers like yourself, Dave Konig, Dave Attell… any chance of a reunion show? Jut kidding… LT. ANT from Bklyn
Nope, he didn’t put me up to it. But I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to anybody else who remembers it, so either I’m the only one or everybody else hides it as a secret shame.
Her handwriting is really, really neat. Neater than mine even, which gives you zero context. But still.
Well, to be honest, the story was dictated to her teacher, who wrote it down for her. Which means that it’s her teacher who misspelled “circus.”
Oh, that would explain the double twist ending’s different handwriting. THE EGG. Very Dada.
If Lilly is a Wonder Unicorn, is the little girl Donna Troy?