Petition asks Bill Goldberg to read prison screenplay

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

Bill Goldberg – Talent Agents
– Actor, Producer – The Longest Yard (2005), Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), American Satan (2017), Santa’s Slay (2005) – – LINK Entertainment, Erik Kritzer

Dumbass, Route 65 Nashville, Holly, Jingles and Clyde 3D

Bill Goldberg & Adam Sandler’s film company targeted by Texas petition

Will Hollywood just rollover and let prisoner’s suffer?

EXCLUSIVE

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 Bill Goldberg at last week.

In the open letter to Bill Goldberg, 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 Bill Goldberg 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, Bill Goldberg, has not responded to the petition. Nor has responded with a comment.

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.

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.”

Bill Goldberg 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.

Bill Goldberg is a Actor, Producer known for The Longest Yard (2005), Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), American Satan (2017), Santa’s Slay (2005) and is represented by .

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Needless to say, the writer needs to maintain the genre in Act II. Shifting from a horror in Act I to a comedy in Act II will only result in a pass. This might seem obvious, but I’d estimate 3 out of every 10 scripts I read have this problem. Or worse, the writer doesn’t truly understand how to write for the genre and it becomes painfully obvious during the 60 pages that make up Act II. Learning and knowing the rules of the genres is vital to the writer’s story and even to a screenwriting career! Really study genres. Know that horrors end where the threat remains, RomComs require a big kiss scene and action/adventures require a chase scene, etc. Stick to one genre. Multiple genre stories aren’t being sold as specs right now and the films getting made as multiple genres are being written by established A-list writers, not you!

GENRE

Suspense can be created by conflict, but there are other ways. The easiest way is to withhold information. I don’t know why writers feel compelled to answer every question a character asks another character. Leave it wide open. End a scene as soon as the question is asked and come back to it or answer it later – this technique is done in soap operas and they’ve been around for 30 years because they hold the audience in suspense as they wait for the question to be answered. There’s no rule when you have to end a scene…..show a bomb ticking, then go to something else. Leaving us hanging in suspense! Every scene should have suspense and don’t make the mistake of believing suspense is only for specific genres like thriller or horror. EVERY scene has suspense or it doesn’t work. And stop listening to gurus who tell the scene must have a beginning, middle and an end. Since when? Get in late – Get out early! Nothing’s more exciting than entering a room in the middle of a heated argument. Someone throws a plate and before it makes contact another scene starts!

SCENE SUSPENSE

So Garrett’s PLAN and the CENTRAL ACTION of the story is to use the witch and her specialized knowledge of magical practices to investigate the murder on his own, all the while knowing that she is using him for her own purposes and may well be involved in the killing.

For example, in my thriller Book of Shadows, here’s the Act One set up: the protagonist, homicide detective Adam Garrett, is called on to investigate the murder of a college girl, which looks like a Satanic killing. Garrett and his partner make a quick arrest of a classmate of the girl’s, a troubled goth musician. But Garrett is not convinced of the boy’s guilt, and when a practicing witch from nearby Salem insists the boy is innocent and there have been other murders, Garrett is compelled to investigate further.

· What and who is standing in his or her way?

And for extra credit: