Death of a Unicorn Director Alex Scharfman on Crafting a Timely Dark Comedy

A24 and filmmaker Alex Scharfman are ready to shine a new light on unicorn lore with the arthouse distributor’s latest genre release. In Death of a Unicorn, Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) and Paul Rudd (Avengers: Endgame) play a daughter and father who accidentally run over a baby unicorn on the way to an important meeting—one that could make or break their family’s dealings with the dad’s mega-rich employer. The bizarre sequence of events leads to a discovery that could change the world, if it actually gets out of the realm of a mansion in the secluded magical woods. io9 recently sat down with Scharfman to discuss the film’s genesis, the decision to cast Ortega alongside some of the funniest actors working today, and why satire in today’s world needs to be fantastical in order to be able to laugh at it. Sabina Graves, io9: So, I’m not usually a unicorn fan, but I think you finally made me a unicorn girly. So thank you for that. Alex Scharfman: That’s what Jenna said too. Jenna was not in ... Read full article.