Petition asks Justin Lin to read prison screenplay

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

Justin Lin – Talent Agents
– Producer, Director, Writer – Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Fast Five (2011) – Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Rowena Arguelles – Cinetic Media, John Sloss

Dumbass, Fast & Furious 10, Highlander, Untitled Jeremy Renner/Bourne Sequel

Justin Lin & 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 Justin Lin 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 Justin Lin at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Rowena Arguelles last week.

In the open letter to Justin Lin, 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 Justin Lin 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.”

Producer, Director, Writer, Justin Lin, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Rowena Arguelles 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.”

Justin Lin 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.

Justin Lin is a Producer, Director, Writer known for Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Fast Five (2011) and is represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Rowena Arguelles.

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#4 Stay away from ordinary ideas. I’m not a numbers person, but I’ll give it a shot.

What if the idea isn’t a big box office draw? Can it still get made? 99% of all screenwriters I work with see their material as making it to the big screen. Yet a majority of what I read is more suitable for the cable network, straight-to-video or as an independent film. There’s nothing wrong with these markets. The problem is the screenwriter’s ability to determine if their idea is strong enough for the box office. How do you know? Simple. If the idea ALONE will draw a large audience then it’s big screen. If not, look to other markets.

Yet I’m amazed how many don’t understand what this means. It means you can’t film hopes, dreams, fears, etc. UNLESS you externalize them. This means you find a way to show them visually. This sounds obvious, but time and again I read scripts where everything is done internally. If you want to write about hopes, dreams and fears from an internal perspective, write a novel.

#3 The idea can be filmed! We’ve all heard the phrase, “Film’s a visual medium.”

Another great benefit of making the master list is that it helps you “brand” yourself as an author. Agents, editors, publishing houses, publicists, sales reps, bookstores, reviewers, media interviewers, librarians, and most importantly, your readers — all of these people want to be able to categorize you and your books. You need to be able to tell all of these people exactly what it is you write, what it’s similar to, and why it’s also unique. That’s part of your job as a professional author.

If you take the time to study and analyze the books and films that have had the greatest impact on you, personally, or that are structurally similar to the story you’re writing, or both, that’s when you really start to master your craft. Making the lists and analyzing those stories will help you brainstorm your own unique versions of scenes and meta-structures that work in the stories on your master list; it will help you figure out how your particular story will work. And doing this analysis will embed story structure in your head so that constructing a story becomes a fun and natural process for you.

But what works for me structurally is not necessarily going to do it for you.

I’m primarily a thriller writer, and my personal favorite game is: “Is it supernatural or is it psychological?” I love to walk the line between the real and unreal, so I am constantly creating story situations in which there are multiple plausible explanations for the weird stuff that’s going on, including mental illness, drug-induced hallucinations, and outright fraud. That’s why my master list for any book or script I write will almost always include The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining, both classic books (and films) that walk the line between the supernatural and the psychological.