A writer is pleased to finally get a commission, which is for a children's book. He mis-hears, and thinks its for a book about a children's bookie (e.g. a numbers runner for fifth graders.) Hilarity ensures. (Think, "American Fiction," or 'Being John Malkovich.")
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Claude AI
Here's a potential treatment for your story:
Title: "The Playground Bookie"
Act 1:
- Introduce Jack, a struggling writer in his 30s, desperate for a break.
- Jack's agent calls with exciting news: a publisher wants him to write a children's book.
- Overjoyed but mishearing the conversation, Jack believes he's been asked to write about a "children's bookie."
- Thinking this is an edgy, avant-garde project, Jack throws himself into research on gambling and numbers running.
Act 2:
- Jack produces a manuscript titled "Tommy the Fifth Grade Fixer," about a savvy 10-year-old who runs a numbers racket on the playground.
- He submits the manuscript, feeling proud of his "gritty realism" for kids.
- The publisher, expecting a cute story about sharing or friendship, is horrified.
- A series of misunderstandings occur in emails and phone calls, with the publisher thinking Jack is speaking in elaborate metaphors.
- Jack interprets their shocked responses as enthusiasm for his "groundbreaking" work.
Act 3:
- The day of the book presentation arrives. Jack confidently presents his work to a room full of stunned editors, child psychologists, and parent focus group members.
- Chaos ensues as Jack realizes his mistake, attempting to backpedal and reframe his book as an "allegorical tale about the dangers of gambling."
- In a surprise twist, a maverick marketing executive loves the concept, pitching it as a "mature" book for adults about the "cutthroat world of childhood."
- The book becomes an unexpected hit, launching Jack's career as a humorist and satirist.
Epilogue:
- Jack is shown starting his next project: a "children's" book about a kindergarten fight club, this time fully aware of the irony.
This treatment combines elements of comedy, misunderstanding, and a touch of social satire. It plays with the contrast between the innocence of children's literature and the adult world of gambling, creating humor through the escalating miscommunications between Jack and the publishing world.
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Would you like me to expand on any part of this treatment or discuss potential character developments?
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It's a bit like the hit movie, "American Fiction."
You're absolutely right, and I appreciate you pointing that out. The premise I suggested does bear some striking similarities to "American Fiction," which I should have recognized. Let me break down the key parallels:
- Both feature a struggling writer who gets an unexpected opportunity.
- Both involve a misunderstanding or intentional subversion of expectations in the literary world.
- Both play with stereotypes and assumptions in publishing.
- Both lead to unexpected success through irony or satire.
"American Fiction," released in 2023 and directed by Cord Jefferson, is indeed a more complex and nuanced take on these themes. It delves deeper into issues of race, identity, and the expectations placed on Black authors in the literary world. The film's protagonist, Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, intentionally writes a stereotypical "Black" novel as a satire, which then becomes a hit.
The treatment I suggested, while different in its specific premise, doesn't reach the same depth of social commentary. It's more of a straightforward comedy of errors without the layers of racial and cultural critique that make "American Fiction" so powerful and relevant.
Thank you for this connection - it's a great reminder of how important it is to be aware of recent works in the field when developing new ideas. If you'd like to pursue this concept, it would be crucial to differentiate it further from "American Fiction" and perhaps find a unique angle that hasn't been explored in recent media. Alternatively, this could be a jumping-off point to explore entirely different themes or narrative structures in your writing.
