Speed-the-Plow (2 page)

F
OX
: Okay. Now. “Now, you could,” he goes, “you could have your ‘way’ with me, all of you . . .”

G
OULD
: Uh huh, what? ten or twenty guys . . .

F
OX
: “. . . and you could
do
that. But I'd have to, you see? Here's the
thing
of it. Unless you
killed
me, I would . . .”

G
OULD
: Uh huh . . .

F
OX
: “. . . have to come back and
retaliate,
sometime, somehow, because . . .”

G
OULD
: . . . okay . . .

F
OX
: “I couldn't..

G
OULD
: . . . uh huh . . .

F
OX
: “. . .
live
with that.”

G
OULD
: . . . The degradation . . .

F
OX
: “So whyn't you skip all the
middle
shit, kill me right now.”

G
OULD
: . . . he throws it in their face.

F
OX
: You got it.

G
OULD
: . . . uh huh . . .

F
OX
: “Or.” (
Pause.
) Or . . .

G
OULD
: . . . yes . . .

F
OX
: “If you could use a
friend
, why not allow me this? To
be
your friend . . .”

G
OULD
: He teams up with the guys . . .

F
OX
: “To
side
with you . . .”

G
OULD
: Yes.

F
OX
: “and together. . .”

G
OULD
: . . . and . . .

F
OX
: . . . they become friends, they teach him the . . .

G
OULD
: . . . he learns the Prison Ways . . .

F
OX
: They blah blah,
so
on . . .

G
OULD
: Uh huh . . .

F
OX
:
Now.
Eh? Now. With his, his knowledge of
computers,
so on, with his
money
. . .

G
OULD
: . . . yeah . . .

F
OX
: His Links to the Outside . . .

G
OULD
: A girl. . .?

F
OX
: Ah. Now that's the
great
part, I'm telling you, when I saw this script. . .

G
OULD
: . . . I don't know how it got past us . . .

F
OX
: When they get out of
prison
, the Head Convict's Sister. . .

G
OULD
: . . . a buddy film, a prison film, Douggie Brown, blah, blah, some girl. . .

F
OX
: Action, a social. . .

G
OULD
: Action, blood, a social theme . . .

F
OX
(
simultaneously
with
"theme"
): That's what I'm
saying
, an offbeat. . .

G
OULD
: Good. Good. Good. Alright. Now: Now: when we go in . . .

F
OX
: That's what I'm saying. Bob.

G
OULD
: Don't even say it.

F
OX
: Bob:

G
OULD
: I understand.

F
OX
: . . . I wanted to say . . .

G
OULD
: I know what you wanted to say, and you're right. I know what you're going to ask, and I'm going to see you get it. Absolutely right: You go on this package as the co-producer. (
Pause.
) The name above the title. This is your . . .

F
OX
: . . . thank you . . .

Gould:
Thank
me?

F
OX
: Thank you, Bob.

G
OULD
:
Hey
: You came in here.

F
OX
: . . . thank you . . .

G
OULD
: Hey, Charl, it's
right
. . .

F
OX
: No, but the thing is that you
thought
of it. You thought of me. You thought to
say
it.

G
OULD
: I should be thanking you and I
do
thank you.

F
OX
: Thank you, Bob.

G
OULD
: This is your thing and you should get a bump.

F
OX
: Thank you.

G
OULD
: Because.
Charlie
: Don't thank me. You start me off here with a bang. I know that you could have Gone Across the Street. . .

F
OX
: I wouldn't have done that.

G
OULD
: But you could.

F
OX
: I wouldn't. . .

G
OULD
: But you
could.
And that's the point, Charl. That you absolutely
could.
And it was “loyalty” kept you with us . . .

F
OX
: Hey, hey it's only common sense.

G
OULD
: You stuck with the Home Store.

F
OX
: Hey you've been good for me, to put it bluntly all the years . . .

G
OULD
: . . . you stuck with the Old Firm, Charl, you stuck with your friends.

F
OX
: It's where I work, Bob, it's what I
do,
and my relationship with you . . . we were all happy for you, Bob, you got bumped up, and I feel that I'm lucky . . .

G
OULD
:
I'm
the lucky one, Charl. . .

F
OX
: Hey, Bullshit, to have somebody I could
come
to . . .

G
OULD (
simultaneously with “come"
): Because you
could
have gone Across the Street. Who would have blamed you?

F
OX
: Yeah, but I wouldn't of done it.

G
OULD
: Who would of blamed you, Charl? You get a Free Option on a Douggie Brown film, guys would walk in here, hold a guy up . . .

F
OX
: I work here, Bob. And my loyalty has always been to you. (
Pause.
)

G
OULD
: Well, I'm one lucky son of a bitch . . .

F
OX
: That you are.

G
OULD
: And what I do is “owe you.”

F
OX
: No, no, Bob.
Bullshit
. . . The times you've . . .

G
OULD
: I'm just doing my job.

F
OX
: No, I know, I know . . . and I know at times, that it was
difficult
for you . . .

G
OULD
: No.

F
OX
: I, and I hesitate to
ask
it, to ask for the credit. . .

G
OULD
: . . . Don't
have
to ask it.

F
OX
: ‘Cause I know, anybody was to
come
in here,
exploit
you . . . this thing . . .

G
OULD
: . . . Forget. . .

F
OX
: . . . your new “position,” all, I even hesitate . . .

G
OULD
: Don't hesitate about a goddamn thing,
forget
it, Charl:
You Brought Me Gold.
You're gonna be co-producer. What the fuck are you
talkin‘
about . . .?

F
OX
: I just, I wanted to say . . .

G
OULD (
simultaneously with “say"
): I'm grateful to
you,
pal. For
this
n'for all that you've been, over the years. . .

F
OX
: Now . ..
you
know . . .

G
OULD
: Hey, hey, hey (
GOULD
checks his watch.
) Let's go make some money. (
He rises.
)

F
OX
: I, I need a cuppa coffee . ..

G
OULD
: You get it in Ross's office. Here's how we play it: we get
in
. . .

F
OX
: . . . yes . . .

G
OULD
: We get in, get out and we give it to him
in one sentence.
Let
me
talk, no disrespect. . .

F
OX
: No.

G
OULD
: But it's courtesy . . .

F
OX
: I understand.

G
OULD
: One sentence. “Doug Brown, Buddy Film.” (
Phone rings. Into phone
:) Whoever it is, we'll be with Mr. Rrr . . . (
Pause.
) Yes? Put him on . . . Hello:
Richard.
. . . Yes . . .? Yes, well, how long will you bbb . . . (
Pause.
) I see . . . Absolutely. (
Pause.
) No problem whatsoever . . . you'll be
back
by then . . .? (
Pause.
) Absolutely so. Thank you. (
He hangs up. Pause. To F
OX
: ) Ross just got called to New York. He's going on the Gulfstream, turn around and come right back. So we got pushed to tomorrow morning, ten o'clock.

F
OX
(
pause
):
Aha
. (
Pause
.)

G
OULD
: No help for it.

F
OX
: I've got, Douggie only gave me until. . .

G
OULD
: . . . I'm sorry . . .

F
OX
: Doug Brown only gave me until ten tomorrow morn . . .

G
OULD
: No, I know, we've only got ‘til ten to tie . . .

F
OX
: We got to come up with a Pay or Play to
tie
him to this thing by ten o'clock to . . .

G
OULD
: No problem. Ross'll be back for tomorrow morning, if he
doesn't
. . .

F
OX
: . . . if he doesn't. . .

G
OULD
: . . . yes . . .

F
OX
: . . . then . . .

G
OULD
: . . . Then we'll raise him on the
phone
. . .

F
OX
: . . . I'm saying . . .

G
OULD
: Wherever he is, we'll pull him
out
of
it
. . .

F
OX
: Wherever he is.

G
OULD
: Yup.

F
OX
: Because I only got the option until ten o'clock tomorrow. Doug Brown told me . . .

G
OULD
: Yeah. I'm
saying.
Ten o'clock tomorrow. Ross: he'll be here, one chance in a
quillion
he isn't, then we go Condition Red, we get him on the . . .

F
OX
: . . . because . . .

G
OULD
: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm
with
you.

F
OX
: Be . . .

G
OULD
: . . . You understand . . . I wanted to do . . .

F
OX
: . . . I understand . . .

G
OULD
: I wanted to do it in
person
. . .

F
OX
: Yes.

G
OULD
: . . . ‘Cause you're gonna be the Bringer of Good
News
. . .

F
OX
: No, no, you're absolutely right.

G
OULD
: Do it in
person
. . .

F
OX
: . . . yes . . .

G
OULD
: And forge that bond.

F
OX
: It's just. . .

G
OULD
: Don't worry.

F
OX
: Not me. It's just, you move up to
the big league
. . . (
Pause.
)

G
OULD
: Charlie. Your ship has come in . . .

F
OX
(
Pause
): . . . all I'm saying . . .
Ross
. . .

G
OULD
: What's Ross going to say . . . “No"? It's
done.

F
OX
: Lord, I believe, aid thou my unbelief. . . the sucker walked in, said “I love the script.”

G
OULD
: Oh yes, Charlie, for we're now the
Fair-
haired boys.

F
OX
: I couldn't believe it, you talk, talk about, talk, what is the . . . “watersheds.”

G
OULD
: That's right.

F
OX
: And, that is one of them.

G
OULD
: And why
shouldn't
it be—you understand . . .?

F
OX
:
I
don't know.

G
OULD
: ‘Cause you . . .

F
OX
: . . . I, I don't know . . .

G
OULD
: . . . You
worked
for it. . . you know, you know . . .

F
OX
: “I'm going to be rich and I can't believe it.”

G
OULD
: Rich, are you kidding me? We're going to have to hire someone just to figure out the
things
we want to buy . . .

F
OX
: I mean, I mean, you think about a concept, all your life . . .

G
OULD
: . . . I'm with you . . .

F
OX
: “Wealth.”

G
OULD
: Yes. Wealth.

F
OX
: Then it comes
down
to you . . .

G
OULD
: Uh huh . . .

F
OX
: All you can think of. . . “
This
is what that means . . .”

G
OULD
: And that
is
what it means. (
Pause.
)