Petition asks Nick Cannon to read prison screenplay

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

Nick Cannon – Talent Agents
– Producer, Writer, Actor – Drumline (2002), Bobby (2006), Men in Black II (2002), Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003) – Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Matt Blake – Michael Goldman, Michael Goldman

Dumbass, Three Little Words, The Light

Nick Cannon & 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 Nick Cannon 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 Nick Cannon at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Matt Blake last week.

In the open letter to Nick Cannon, 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 Nick Cannon 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, Writer, Actor, Nick Cannon, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Matt Blake 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.”

Nick Cannon 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.

Nick Cannon is a Producer, Writer, Actor known for Drumline (2002), Bobby (2006), Men in Black II (2002), Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003) and is represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Matt Blake.

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HOW TO WRITE A SUSPENSE THRILLER

Horror can be a great genre to help a writer break into the industry. Give it a try!

-The threat must remain in horror. This is a key ingredient! The protagonist can get away or succeed in destroying the horror, yet it will remain. For example, in the film Hocus Pocus the protagonist succeeds in killing the witches then in the end scene the witches’ book opens its evil eye and blinks. The witches are dead, but the threat remains. In the classic film Halloween, Curtis’ character barely escapes Michael Myers when the psychiatrist shoots Myers and he falls out a second story window, but in a few moments he disappears! Curtis’ character escapes death, but Myers is still out there!

The twist must apply to the entire plot or it won’t work. If the story is similar to another horror flick or a combination of horror flicks, it won’t sell!

#NAME?

A screenwriting trick that I strongly encourage novelists to look at is the filmmaker habit of STATING the hope/fear/stakes right out loud. Think of these moments from:

And you’ll also want to be continually working the dynamic of HOPE and FEAR— it’s crucial that you be clear about what your audience/reader hopes for your character and fears for your character, as I talked about in the Elements of Act One.

Also in the second act of many genres (but maybe not until the second half of the second act), you may be setting a TICKING CLOCK, a time limit on the action, which I’ll talk more about in an upcoming chapter on suspense techniques.