Petition asks Margaret Cho to read prison screenplay

More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from  Margaret Cho (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system

Margaret Cho – Talent Agents
– Actress, Producer, Writer – Margaret Cho: PsyCHO (2015) – William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment, Tim Curtis – Sarah J. Martin, Sarah J. Martin

Dumbass, Ron., Almost Asian

Margaret Cho & Adam Sandler’s film company targeted by Texas petition

Will Hollywood just rollover and let prisoner’s suffer?

EXCLUSIVE

More than 2000 women have signed an open letter to Adam Sandler calling on Margaret Cho 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 Margaret Cho at William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment, Tim Curtis last week.

In the open letter to Margaret Cho, 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 Margaret Cho 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.”

Actress, Producer, Writer, Margaret Cho, has not responded to the petition. Nor has William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment, Tim Curtis responded with a comment.

Alan Nafzger/caption]

The screenplay “Dumbass” 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.

During the winter’s deep freeze, the The Marshall Project, exposed the horrible prison conditions, “Inside Frigid Texas Prisons: Broken Toilets, Disgusting Food, Few Blankets.”

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.”

Margaret Cho has not commented on the script, thus far. 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.

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

Margaret Cho is a Actress, Producer, Writer known for Margaret Cho: PsyCHO (2015) and is represented by William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment, Tim Curtis.

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Commercial simply means presenting a concept that’ll draw a large audience. As an artist, don’t I want others to see my work up on the big screen? Of course I do and I’m betting you do too.

One day the Disney producer and I were discussing what it takes to make a first sale and what he said profoundly changed my view of what “commercial” means. Up until then commercial was a dirty word that meant compromising my art, selling out or conforming to a formula. This was a huge miscalculation.

The biggest mistake I’d made was assuming the contest placement put my script in the running for the big screen. What it did was the following: 1) helped me gain industry attention 2) gave my writing skills credibility. But both the producers were right; the script wasn’t commercial.

He read the script and passed. He said it was a good script and well written, but it failed as a commercial product and I should try an independent producer. After I got over the initial shock I realized this was the second time a Hollywood producer had told me my script wasn’t commercial.

A WORD ON PROCESS

When the work is play, you’ve got the best of all possible worlds.

Even beyond that, studying movies is fun, and fun is something writers just don’t let themselves have enough of. If you train yourself to watch for some of these structural elements, then every time you go to the movies or watch something on television, you’re actually honing your craft (even on a date or while spending quality time with your loved ones!), and after a while you won’t even notice you’re doing it.

So that means authors can give themselves an edge by stealing— I mean using — some of these film techniques to make their stories more immediately appealing and easily marketable — and by the way, to create better, more engaging books. I believe any novelist, from aspiring to multiply published; traditional, indie, or hybrid; and aspiring screenwriters as well, can benefit from these screenwriting tricks of the trade.