Petition asks Chuku Modu to read prison screenplay
More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from Chuku Modu (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system
Chuku Modu – Talent Agents
– Actor, Writer, Producer – Captain Marvel (2019), Me Before You (2016), Game of Thrones (2011), The Good Doctor (2017) – Conway van Gelder Grant, Greg Herst – Management 360, Genevieve Penn
Chuku Modu & 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 Chuku Modu 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 Chuku Modu at Conway van Gelder Grant, Greg Herst last week.
In the open letter to Chuku Modu, 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 Chuku Modu 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, Chuku Modu, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Conway van Gelder Grant, Greg Herst 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.”
Chuku Modu 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.
Chuku Modu is a Actor, Writer, Producer known for Captain Marvel (2019), Me Before You (2016), Game of Thrones (2011), The Good Doctor (2017) and is represented by Conway van Gelder Grant, Greg Herst.
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2) Add more character-stuff and create a better balance between plot/character and greatly enhance the potential for a sale.
1) Keep it! After you make a first sale it could suddenly draw attention and get made.
What if you’ve already written a “popcorn movie?” Here are the choices:
A script can still be plot-driven, but it must rise above the “popcorn movie” level before it’ll get serious consideration for a first sale.
A hero/ine also has special skills that make them unique as a character, whether it’s being a good detective or a great teacher, talking to snakes, shooting a crossbow, or being kind to strangers. A reader or audience loves to see these skills being revealed, and it’s a great way to build empathy for and identification with your character.
HERO/INE’S SPECIAL SKILLS
A classic pattern of drama is that the hero/ine has a wound from the past — a traumatic event, a lost love, the death of a friend, alcoholism or another addiction, the loss of faith — that continues to haunt her or him in the present, and which s/he will be forced to confront in living color in the course of the story, generally in the climax of the story. We may see this haunting event as a prologue to the story, or we may only sense that there is something haunting them, which will not be fully revealed until deep in the story.
HERO/INE’S GHOST OR WOUND