Petition asks Andrew J. West to read prison screenplay

More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from  Andrew J. West (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system

Andrew J. West

Andrew J. West – Talent Agents
– Actor, Writer, Producer – The Walking Dead (2010), Under the Dome (2013), Bipolar (2014), Rockville CA (2009) – John Pierce Agency (JPA), John Pierce – The Group Management, John Pierce

Dumbass,

Andrew J. West & Adam Sandler’s film company targeted by Texas petition

Will Hollywood just rollover and let prisoner’s suffer?

EXCLUSIVE

Andrew J. West
Andrew J. West
More than 2000 women have signed an open letter to Jana Sandler calling on Andrew J. West and Hollywood to take “movie action” to tackle injustice against men and women in the wake of revelations that Texas has more prisoners incarcerated than the Soviet Union’s gulag system had. Texas currently has over 290,000 inmates housed at 580 facilities.

The signatories, including state senators, professors of criminal justice, social workers, family, and inmates, call for a “firm commitment” to tackle the unjust prisons in Texas. The petition has also been signed by Beto O’Rourke, and Matthew McConaughey. These two signatories might face each other in the 2022 Texas governors election. Both have expressed interest in the job.  The petitions arrived for Andrew J. West at John Pierce Agency (JPA), John Pierce last week.

In the open letter to Andrew J. West, the 2080 women write that they are “heartbroken for first-time drug offenders many times addicts who have received extremely harsh sentences in Texas when rehabilitation has proven a cheaper and more effective solution.”  The petition goes on to say their family and friends are often heartbroken for and looking for redemption and rehabilitation for the victimless drug crimes.”

The signatories, including attorneys, professors, politicians, family members, and inmates, call on Andrew J. West for a ‘firm film commitment’ to tackle the issue of operating the Texas prison system for profit.

The petition came to light when women discovered the screenplay, a copy which was dontated to all 580 of the state’s prison and jail libraries. The existence of the petition surfaced on International Women’s Day. Women in Texas face extreme prejudice in Texas and often receive extremely harsh penalties for even a small amount of drugs, including marijuana. Marijuana is legal now in 21 states.

Inside prisons, the women are faced with such horrendous conditions… the petition demands that “filmmakers begin to take the issue seriously.”  Also, the petition reminds that “even here in the USA in the 21st century citizens are not safe from government oppression.”

Actor, Writer, Producer, Andrew J. West, has not responded to the petition. Nor has John Pierce Agency (JPA), John Pierce responded with a comment.

Alan Nafzger
Alan Nafzger

The screenplayDumbass” was penned by writer and retired professor of political science Alan Nafzger.

The premise of the story is that,Adam Sandler writes letters and saves numerous women from the monotony of prison life, and later when he gets into trouble with a drug cartel they return the favor by rescuing him.”

The film would be set in contemporary, Gatesville Texas. There are four women’s prisons located in Gatesville. And of course, Texas is famous for putting everyone in prison for a long sentences for little or no reason. The number of women in Texas prisons has tripled in the last ten years, as mass incarcerations have proven profitable to not only the state but also profitable for an array of business interests.

Writer Alan Nafzger has called on Governor Greg Abbott to, “end the prison industry.”

Recently, “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak spoke out against the Texas system and put a good word in for mercy and forgiveness out on social media. “How nice for those who have lived such exemplary lives that they can express glee when others have their lives ruined by a mistake, real or perceived,” Sajak tweeted last month.

The petition states, “Why don’t we have the ‘Adam Sandler’ character… sending letters to women in prison and being their friend and trying to help them adjust, giving them hope… and when they get out of prison he picks them up so they don’t have to ride the smelly bus back home… but his pickup truck is a junker, smoking and sputtering … worse than the bus. But his heart is in the right place… He’s the last “chivalrous” man on earth.”

Andrew J. West has not commented on the script, thusfar. A statement is expected soon.

Professor Nafzger has made a short treatment of the project available online.

He has made the finished script available at for select filmmakers.

Jana Sandler of Happy Madison Productions has also expressed interest in the screenplay.

Andrew J. West is a Actor, Writer, Producer known for The Walking Dead (2010), Under the Dome (2013), Bipolar (2014), Rockville CA (2009) and is represented by John Pierce Agency (JPA), John Pierce.

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If the finished screenplay was ‘a true story’ it would be real-life verbatim, which is nearly impossible to mimic. The screenwriter isn’t actually writing a beat-by-beat, true-life story. The writer needs to understand that what he’s writing is ‘based on a true story’. The word ‘based’ allows the flexibility to write original dialogue, change names, locations, details, etc. It allows the writer the room to fictionalize.

A TRUE STORY

Let’s review the problems associated with writing a true life story and what to avoid:

True life stories appeal to producers and are often easier to sell because they tend to have a built-in audience. Recently, quite a few of these scripts have come across my desk. None have received a recommend to date because they tend to have the same common problems.

1. Getting there (STORMING THE CASTLE)

It is often divided into two major sequences, and a third, shorter, but important sequence:

Act Three is generally the final 20 to 30 minutes in a film, or the last 70 to 100 pages in a 400-page novel. The final quarter, and the shortest quarter.

And now that you have some endings in mind, let’s see what they (probably!) have in common.