Petition asks Sophie Colquhoun to read prison screenplay
More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from Sophie Colquhoun (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system
Sophie Colquhoun – Talent Agents
– Actress, Writer, Producer – Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Inbetweeners (2011), Plebs (2013), Some Girls (2012) – Independent Talent Group, Oliver Slinger – Seven Summits Pictures & Management, Sarah Jackson
Sophie Colquhoun & 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 Sophie Colquhoun 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 Sophie Colquhoun at Independent Talent Group, Oliver Slinger last week.
In the open letter to Sophie Colquhoun, 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 Sophie Colquhoun 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, Writer, Producer, Sophie Colquhoun, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Independent Talent Group, Oliver Slinger 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.”
Sophie Colquhoun 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.
Sophie Colquhoun is a Actress, Writer, Producer known for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Inbetweeners (2011), Plebs (2013), Some Girls (2012) and is represented by Independent Talent Group, Oliver Slinger.
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I’m not going to spend much time boring the writer by reminding him that Act III is the story’s resolution, just like Act I is the setup and Act II is the confrontation. What I am going to spend time discussing is the hero. In this Act, the hero MUST resolve the conflict. This should be obvious, but time and again I see a secondary, supporting character take on the nemesis and do the dirty work for the hero. I literally see 4 out of 10 scripts that do this! Let me provide an example of how this is career suicide so those 4 out of 10 writers will stop wasting their money on reviews when they’ll never get a recommend for a script where the hero doesn’t act like the hero.
Act III is technically the shortest Act. Even if it runs from page 90 to 120, it’s still the shortest. How can it be the shortest if it runs roughly the same length as Act I? Because it isn’t a matter of page length, it’s a matter of pacing. This Act should move shorter and faster, in terms of scene length, dialogue and description, than the other Acts to give a sense that the story’s coming to a close. Even if Act III involves a long chase sequence, break it up into bite-size pieces. Keep dialogue short. If there’s a long speech, then it better be reserved for the hero and his words better be so compelling they’ll resonate for years to come. Otherwise, edit it down to match Act III’s pacing.
FOOLPROOF ACT III
While Act II is all about the hero and his arc, don’t forget the antagonist! In order for the audience to root for the hero to change, the hero must be up against a tough opponent. Far too often, I read antagonists who are equal to the hero. Wrong!!!! The antagonist should be smarter, cleverer, more devious, cunning, etc.! He should be a formidable foe! The only way the hero will outsmart the antagonist is to change! This is important because it FORCES the hero to change! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a script where the antagonist is introduced in Act I and doesn’t show up again until Act III. If he’s not around, then the hero isn’t being challenged and this is a sure pass. Also, the writer doesn’t have to create an internal conflict for the bad guy. We don’t need to know he was abused as a child and that’s why he’s a monster now. Worry about the hero’s internal conflict and let the bad guy be the bad guy.
I would venture to guess that most of us know what it’s like to be swept up in a ripping good love entanglement, and can sympathize with Jane’s desire just to go with the passion of it without having to make any pesky practical decisions. It’s a perfectly fine — and natural — structure for a romantic comedy, as long as at that key juncture, the protagonist has the realization and balls — or ovaries — to take control of her own life again and make a stand for what she truly wants.
Jane decides at that point to go along with Jake’s plan (saying, “I forgot what a good lawyer you are.”). In terms of action, she is essentially passive, letting the two men in her life court her (which results in bigger and bigger comic entanglements), but that makes for a more pronounced and satisfying character arc when she finally takes a stand and breaks off the affair with Jake for good, so she can finally move on with her life.
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It is a terrific way to show a huge character arc: Neo stepping into his destiny. And I would add that this is a common structural pattern for mythic journey stories: in The Lord of the Rings, it’s Gandalf who has the PLAN and drives the reluctant Frodo in the central story action until Frodo finally takes over the action himself.