Speed-the-Plow

The original Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow starred Joe Mantegna, Ron Silver, and Madonna in this hilarious satire of Hollywood, a culture as corrupt as the society it claims to reflect. Charlie Fox has a terrific vehicle for a currently hot client. Bringing the script to his friend Bobby Gould, the newly appointed head of production at a major studio. Both see the work as their ticket to the big time. The star wants to do it; as they prepare their pitch to the studio boss, Bobby wagers Charlie that he can seduce the temp secretary, Karen. As a ruse, he gives her a novel by “some Eastern sissy” writer that needs a courtesy read before being dismissed out of hand. Karen slyly determines the novel, not the movie-star script, should be the company’s next film. She sleeps with Bobby, who is so smitten with Karen and her ideals that he pleads with Charlie to drop the star project and pitch the “Eastern sissy” writer’s book.