Petition asks Nate Torrence to read prison screenplay
More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from Nate Torrence (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system
Nate Torrence – Talent Agents
– Actor, Producer, Director – Zootopia (2016), She’s Out of My League (2010), Get Smart (2008), My Best Friend’s Girl (2008) – The Gersh Agency, Daisy Wu – Truhett Management, Melanie Truhett
Nate Torrence & 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 Nate Torrence 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 Nate Torrence at The Gersh Agency, Daisy Wu last week.
In the open letter to Nate Torrence, 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 Nate Torrence 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, Producer, Director, Nate Torrence, has not responded to the petition. Nor has The Gersh Agency, Daisy Wu 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.”
Nate Torrence 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.
Nate Torrence is a Actor, Producer, Director known for Zootopia (2016), She’s Out of My League (2010), Get Smart (2008), My Best Friend’s Girl (2008) and is represented by The Gersh Agency, Daisy Wu.
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I can hear novice writers screaming “This doesn’t work!” “I have to think of the story as a whole!” “What about setups in Act I that are paid off in Act II and Act III?” “What about the hero’s arc?”
2) Start thinking of each Act as its own story. Writers know that at the end of Act I and Act II there is a plot point that spins the story in a new direction. The ‘new direction’ is like the start of a new story. By thinking of each Act as its own story with its own beginning, middle and end, the writer can free his mind from the daunting task of 120-blank pages staring back at him. Instead, the writer has broken the story into manageable chunks.
1) Take a look at the logline. Does it deal solely with the setup or the entire story from start to finish? Many loglines only tell us the setup. This is a major red flag that indicates Act II and Act III don’t work because the writer doesn’t know the story beyond the setup. This assessment has never proven to be wrong. If your logline only deals with the setup, then STOP! Go back and outline past the setup and develop the entire story from start to finish or risk writing a solid Act I and a piece of crap Act II and Act III.
Screenplays from aspiring screenwriters often start off strong with a solid Act I, then the story falls apart. Screenwriters seem intimidated by the overwhelming length of Act II’s 60 pages. They don’t seem to understand its structure and how it relates to the hero’s arc. By the time the writer hits Act III, it’s obvious the story doesn’t work and the final resolution is a hodgepodge attempt at a fix. I believe there are two, easy ways to resolve this issue:
When in Jaws, Sheriff Brody is confronted with the problem of a great white shark eating people in his backyard (ocean), his initial PLAN is to close the beach to swimmers. He throws together some handmade “Beaches Closed” signs and sticks them in the sand. Problem solved, right?
Directed by Stephen Spielberg
Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottleib
Book by Peter Benchley