What was the name of the short story that this movie was based on? I remember reading it but I'm pretty sure that the story's title was not "Drop Dead Fred".
As I recall, one difference from the movie is the character in the short story started making handmade jewelry. There didn't appear to be any logical explanation for that particular talent. I believe the short story first appeared in OMNI magazine.
"Mediocre Marx Brothers is better than no Marx Brothers!"
This probably isn't much help to you, but this interview...
http://fleapitsandpicturepalaces.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/ate-de-jong-in terview-by-paul-worts.html
...quotes the director as saying this about the origins of the story:
Was it based on a novel or an actual story by Elizabeth Livingston?
It was an article, and I’m not sure if it was the New York Times or The New Yorker. The writers certainly took a lot of freedom in adapting it and then when I came onboard I also took a lot of freedom; together with the writers. The whole foray into the past was actually non-existent in the original script – not the script that we filmed - but the script I first got, and I felt that the thing in the past was so essential in understanding her [Elizabeth - Phoebe Cates]. Actually, this next bit might ruin your liking of the film...
ELPHABA: Eleka Nahmen Nahmen Ah Tum Ah Tum Eleka Nahmen.share
Thanks for the information. I do remember reading a short story, with this exact same plot, and have assumed that it was the one that Elizabeth Livingston wrote. Now it's possible of course it was a different story, but the story line is so similar that it seems unlikely. The short story I read also had some more "adult" themes than than the movie did, but once again, those seemed superfluous. Maybe someone else will remember the story from OMNI.
"Mediocre Marx Brothers is better than no Marx Brothers!"