Shoot the Scene

An on-set Hollywood romance marks a screenwriter for death

Casey Blake is the only modest man in Hollywood, which is lucky, because an ego is something screenwriters can’t afford. Blake makes his living churning out B movies for Joe Maddox, an actor turned producer who somehow got the strange idea that a well-written script is something worth paying for. Blake’s latest is Ill Wind , a taut thriller that could bring in an Oscar—if Maddox can keep his leading lady from burning down the set.

Madeleine D’Arcy has a bad habit of sleeping with her male costars. When she can’t bed them, she either throws a tantrum or turns her toxic affection toward a member of the crew. This time, her target is Blake, and she chases him with a deadly abandon that could put the film over budget—and land the screenwriter in the morgue.