Petition asks Kelly Rutherford to read prison screenplay
More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from Kelly Rutherford (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system
Kelly Rutherford – Talent Agents
– Actress, Soundtrack, Producer – The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993), Melrose Place (1992), E-Ring (2005), Threat Matrix (2003) – Innovative Artists, Abby Bluestone –
Kelly Rutherford & 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 Kelly Rutherford 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 Kelly Rutherford at Innovative Artists, Abby Bluestone last week.
In the open letter to Kelly Rutherford, 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 Kelly Rutherford 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, Soundtrack, Producer, Kelly Rutherford, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Innovative Artists, Abby Bluestone 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.”
Kelly Rutherford 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.
Kelly Rutherford is a Actress, Soundtrack, Producer known for The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993), Melrose Place (1992), E-Ring (2005), Threat Matrix (2003) and is represented by Innovative Artists, Abby Bluestone.
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I’m here to help you avoid this problem. It’s simple. If you’ve written a comedy, then the logline should make us laugh. If it’s a horror, the logline should make us cringe. If it’s a drama, it should create introspection. Get the picture?
Think about it. Do you have a friend who doesn’t like horrors or RomComs? Sure you do. Audiences tend to lean toward a favorite genre. Producers know this. It means genre is their #1 selling tool. If a logline doesn’t reveal the genre, why would they waste their time reading the script? By the way, most producers will assume if the logline doesn’t reveal the genre that it’s likely the entire script has genre issues.
I’ve read some fantastic scripts only to read the logline and it sucks! The reason is the writer failed to deliver the genre in the logline. The writer seemed too busy with plot and character; both of which are important, but if the genre isn’t clear it’s unlikely a producer will ask for the read. Why? Because producers sell material to an audience based on genre.
Logline Should Suit the Genre
Then I do layer after layer after layer — different drafts for suspense, for character, sensory drafts, emotional drafts – each concentrating on a different aspect that I want to hone in the story — until the clock runs out and I have to turn the whole thing in.
Everything after that initial draft is frosting. It’s seven million times easier to rewrite than to get something onto a blank page.
At some point, (and a deadline has a lot to do with exactly when this point comes!) I feel I know the shape of the story well enough to start that first draft. Because I come from theater, I think of my first draft as a blocking draft. When you direct a play, the first rehearsals are for blocking — which means simply getting the actors up on their feet and moving them through the play on the stage so everyone can see and feel and understand the whole shape of it. That’s what a first draft is to me, and when I start to write a first draft I just bash through it from beginning to end. It’s the most grueling part of writing, and it takes the longest, but writing the whole thing out, even in the most sketchy way, from start to finish, is the best way I know to actually guarantee that you will finish a book or a script.
In the beginning of a project, you will probably be going back and forth between all of those tracks as you build your story. This is my favorite part of the writing process — building the world — which is probably part of why I stay so long on it myself. But by the time I start my first draft, I have so much of the story already that it’s not anywhere near the intimidating experience it would be if I hadn’t done all that prep work.