Speed-the-Plow, nominated for a Tony during its stint on the stage, is now coming to the big screen. Portraying the utter ambition of Hollywood, David Mamet’s play features two movie execs as they try to put together the next big film while also trying to woo the new temp, who has motives of her own. The play premiered on Broadway in 1988 and was recently revived in London’s West End.
The play focuses on three main characters: Bobby Gould, a newly appointed studio chief trying to deliver the next big hit; his school friend Charlie Fox, who gives him a tip that sets the movie on its way; and Karen, the temporary secretary on whom they place a bet over who can get her into bed first, unaware that she also has major Hollywood ambitions and is playing off the two men to get her own way. Mamet’s play is a scathing satire on over-ambitiousness in Hollywood and its use for personal gain.
Many Hollywood stars have performed Speed-the-Plow onstage, starting with Joe Mantegna, Ron Silver, and Madonna in its Broadway premiere. They were followed by other stars including Kevin Spacey, Jeff Goldblum, Alfred Molina, Lindsay Lohan, Alicia Silverstone, Elisabeth Moss, Norbert Leo Butz, and William H. Macy. For the movie adaptation, Mamet is penning the screenplay.
The movie will be produced by Randall Emmett and George Furla (Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films), Irwin Winkler (Winkler Films), and Wayne Marc Godfrey (The Fyzz Facility). Most recently, Emmett, Furla, and Winkler also collaborated on the adaptation of the novel Silence, directed by Martin Scorsese and currently being filmed in Taiwan, starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, and Adam Driver.
There is no word yet on a possible release date for Speed-the-Plow.
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