Screenplay Reading

• 6:00pm Wednesday April 30th
  NYU Chair's Workshop
  Tisch School of the Arts
  721 Broadway room 1027
  New York NY 10003

• SYNOPSIS:
  A 2008 Sundance Lab finalist, UNICORNS portrays an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fantasy world when her first romantic relationship turns increasingly abusive. Executive produced by Allison Anders (Things Behind the Sun, Gas Food Lodging) and produced by Heather Rae (Frozen River, Ibid) UNICORNS is scheduled to go into production this summer. www.unicornsthemovie.com
  

• DIRECTOR BIO:
  Leah Meyerhoff is a Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winner and Student Academy Award finalist currently pursuing an MFA at NYU. Her short film TWITCH has screened in over 200 festivals, won a dozen international awards and was picked up for distribution by IFC and Skandinavia TV. Her music videos TEAM QUEEN and ETERNAL FLAME have screened in over 50 festivals and are airing on LOGO and MTV Europe. Leah has received press coverage from The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Film Threat and numerous other publications. She was also profiled in the docudrama series Film School which continues to air on IFC. Leah has been a featured panelist at film festivals across the country and recently served on the Slamdance narrative jury. She holds a BA in Art-Semiotics from Brown University. UNICORNS will be her first feature film.

• ACTOR BIOS:

  Sarah Steele starred as Adam Sandler's daughter in SPANGLISH, had a lead role in MAN (Sundance short 2008), and recently appeared in the off-broadway productions of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Speech and Debate.

  Josh Caras played the lead in BUGCRUSH (Winner Sundance short 2006), and has also appeared in GRACIE, THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT and DEFINITELY MAYBE.

  Natasha Lyonne played the lead in THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS and BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, and had supporting roles in AMERICAN PIE and PARTY MONSTER.

  Rufus Tureen recently appeared in TRUE ADOLESCENTS, directed by NYU alumni Craig Johnson.

  Lily Medville recently appeared in the music video Team Queen, directed by Leah Meyerhoff.

  Cody Lightning played the lead in FOUR SHEETS TO THE WIND and had supporting roles in SMOKE SIGNALS and BRICK.

  Jessica Ryan was recently seen in the music video Eternal Flame and is currently performing in Retrograde.

  Karl Jacob is best known for his lead role in Showtime's THE ROOST and his recent work in Young American Bodies.
  

  Elizabeth Dahmen recently played the lead in Ex-Antoine and Behind the Harmony and is currently starring in her own web show.

• PLOT SUMMARY:
  Davina is the type of girl who is more likely to get groped in a school hallway (and like it) than be asked to the prom. She collects dolls in glass jars, sorts her food by size and color, and holds her breath constantly. Her androgynous best friend Cassidy has a not-so-secret crush on her that leads to them being called "lezzers" at school. Davina lives in a small town with her emotionally unavailable father and his new girlfriend whom she despises. Needless to say, she is anxious to escape.
  On the morning of her 16th birthday, Davina meets an older punk kid named Sterling and thinks he will be her salvation. He sneaks her into a traveling circus, where the promised "Lost Mystery of Nature - The Noble Unicorn" turns out to be a deformed goat with a single horn. Her heart skips a beat and from that moment forward it belongs to him. He teaches her how to steal candy from a vending machine and do back flips on a trampoline. Together they embark upon a series of adventures: sneaking into the movies, making "crop angels" in an empty field, and roller skating with evangelical Christians. They paint each other's nails blood red and flap their arms like birds. Hand in hand, they traverse a landscape of unmitigated patriotism and broken dreams. They roll down the car windows and sing at the top of their lungs.
  However, the more time Davina spends with Sterling, the more isolated she becomes. Her family situation disintegrates, her grades slip, and she stops hanging out with Cassidy. Sterling becomes more controlling and their relationship takes a severe turn for the worse. The abuse culminates on the night of her father's wedding when they get into a nasty fight in front of everyone. Davina is left alone and in tears, tracing a bruise on her leg with a permanent marker into the shape of a unicorn.
  In a final attempt to regain her autonomy, Davina breaks up with Sterling. This pushes him over the edge and his obsession with her spirals out of control.

• Please email me if you would like to attend so I can add you to the guest list!

Retrospective

• The last film Heather produced, Frozen River, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2008 and Ibid was a recent selection at SXSW. We are thrilled to have her at the helm of Unicorns.

• The Unicorns screenplay is a finalist in the Gaffers Screenplay Competition.

• We are considering shooting in Boise Idaho and will begin location scouting next week.
  

• Judy Henderson (LIE, Before Sunrise, Twelve and Holding) recently came on board as Casting Director and we are organizing auditions in the upcoming months. More information is available here. If you are interested in auditioning, please have your agent get in touch with Judy directly or send a headshot/resume to casting@unicornsthemovie.com with your name and the role you are interested in written in the subject line.
  

Job Opportunities

• Production Designer
• Costume Designer
  
• Music Supervisor
• Web Designer
• Animation Director
• Illustrator
  
• Personal Assistant
• Production Interns
  

Twitch

• Now Film Festival
  May 10 2008
  Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences
  Linwood Dunn Theatre
  1313 N. Vine Street.
  Hollywood, CA
  *FINALIST - please vote here*
  

• Trigger Street Film Festival
  May 2008
  online

• Look and Roll Film Festival
  September 19-20 2008
  The Stadtkino Basel
  Olten, Switzerland

Eternal Flame

• Ladyfest London
  May 9-11 2008
  Islington Arts Factory
  Camden road
  London, United Kingdom

• NewFest
  June 5-15 2008
  New York, NY

Team Queen

Other Fun Stuff

• Twitch is a finalist in the Now Film Festival. Please take a moment and vote here. The winner gets an HVX video camera!

• Wonderfluff Sandwiches is being distributed on the Best of Breed DVD compilation. Check it out here.
  

• Twitch was a finalist in the Reel 13 shorts competition last month. Thanks to everyone who voted!
  

• I will be giving a lecture about the film festival circuit at Boise State on May 5th.
  

• And as always, to find out more about what I've been up to, check out my blog!