Petition asks David Paymer to read prison screenplay

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

David Paymer – Talent Agents
– Actor, Director, Producer – State and Main (2000), Get Shorty (1995), The American President (1995), In Good Company (2004) – Agency for the Performing Arts (APA), Lee Dinstman – Stride Management, Matt Shelton

Dumbass, Same Guy, Different Face

David Paymer & 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 David Paymer 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 David Paymer at Agency for the Performing Arts (APA), Lee Dinstman last week.

In the open letter to David Paymer, 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 David Paymer 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, Director, Producer, David Paymer, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Agency for the Performing Arts (APA), Lee Dinstman 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.”

David Paymer 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.

David Paymer is a Actor, Director, Producer known for State and Main (2000), Get Shorty (1995), The American President (1995), In Good Company (2004) and is represented by Agency for the Performing Arts (APA), Lee Dinstman.

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THE ARC SCENE

I know, you’re getting tired of me hounding you about the arc. Too darn bad! I’m getting tired of reading stories with no arc because they suck! Few writers consider how the dialogue in Act II is contributing or failing to contribute to the hero’s arc. We all have relatives or even so-called friends who make snide remarks regarding something ‘bout us they don’t like. It’s done via subtext and it’s annoying as hell! My favorite is when the relative mentions how great you look by saying, “Did you lose weight, you look great?” Worse is when you answer, “No, I haven’t lost weight”. Subtext from relative: You were fat. Subtext from fatty: “Yep, I’m still fat”! If we get this type of underlying subtext in real life from people who’d change us if they could, why isn’t the hero getting it too? I’m not saying every piece of dialogue has to do this, but the overall dialogue should contribute to the arc.

ARC DIALOGUE

I keep harping on the arc in Act II because most writers totally ignore it, which in turn means their story has no theme. Theme and arc are interconnected. A hero who must find the courage to defeat an antagonist leads to a theme involving finding the courage to overcome the worst-case scenario. No arc = no theme. A producer won’t buy a story without a theme. If the writer can’t tell a producer what his story’s theme is, then the writer has failed to deliver a sellable screenplay!

But the movie is only half over. So of course, as very often happens at the midpoint, the plan fails. In a suspenseful and emotional wrenching MIDPOINT CLIMAX, Ness’s accountant teammate, whom we have come to love, escorts the bookkeeper into the courthouse elevator to take him up to the courtroom. As the doors close, we see the police guard is actually one of Capone’s men.

So as we approach the MIDPOINT, Ness’s team has the bookkeeper in custody, the trial is set, and Ness’s men are escorting the bookkeeper to court.

But of course, in a crime thriller, this has to be done with plenty of action sequences and shootouts, so Capone gets wind of the plan and moves the accountant to a secret location high in the mountains, so Ness and his team have to storm the hideout. Much gunfire and chases on horseback ensue (and some clever persuasion by Sean Connery to get the bookkeeper to testify).

So the PLAN and CENTRAL ACTION of the story becomes to locate one of Capone’s bookkeepers, take him into custody, and force him to testify against Capone about his tax evasion.