Petition asks Nicole da Silva to read prison screenplay
More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from Nicole da Silva (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system
Nicole da Silva – Talent Agents
– Actress, Producer – Doctor Doctor (2016) – Innovative Artists, Josiah Akinyele – Australian Artists Management, Lisa Lane
Nicole da Silva & 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 Nicole da Silva 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 Nicole da Silva at Innovative Artists, Josiah Akinyele last week.
In the open letter to Nicole da Silva, 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 Nicole da Silva 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, Producer, Nicole da Silva, has not responded to the petition. Nor has Innovative Artists, Josiah Akinyele 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.”
Nicole da Silva 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.
Nicole da Silva is a Actress, Producer known for Doctor Doctor (2016) and is represented by Innovative Artists, Josiah Akinyele.
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Then why do I keep seeing similar character-driven scripts on the spec market? Because screenwriters see these types of movies and think they can sell a similar character-driven script…
The lack of a visual, external conflict, “on the nose” dialogue, nothing external at stake, predictable scenes and plot devices are a few of the reasons a story like this, presented as a spec script from an aspiring screenwriter, would be a hard sale. Think of it from a Hollywood reader’s perspective. One of the primary things they’re looking for is a visual film – one that’s told via the externals, but an all character-driven story isn’t going to deliver = a pass.
It’s obvious this film got made because Jack Nicholson became interested in the project. It was an interesting character study with some entertaining moments, like when Warren falls asleep atop his motor home or when Kathy Bates’ character does the nude scene in the hot tub. It’s a “character study.”
#NAME?
STATEMENT OF THEME
Some stories have what Alfred Hitchcock called a MacGuffin: an object that everyone wants and is racing and fighting to get. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark is the MacGuffin. In Romancing the Stone, it’s the treasure map and the emerald the map leads to. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, it’s the Sorcerer’s Stone. In The Maltese Falcon, it’s the Maltese Falcon. In The Treasure of the Sierra Madre… well, I think you get it. And yeah, you can often tell a story is going to be a MacGuffin story because it’s right there in the title.
MACGUFFIN
Building a countdown to a big event into the story creates an overall sense of urgency. We’ll talk more about this technique in subsequent chapters, but for example: In The Silence of the Lambs, we learn (very early) that the killer holds his victims for three days before he kills them. So when the next victim is kidnapped, we know our heroine, Clarice, only has three days to save her. In The Hangover, we know that the groomsmen have to find the lost groom before the wedding on Sunday. A clock can start any time in the story, and there may be more than one. And a clock is very specific: it is an exact time frame that is stated aloud: three days to save the victim, four days to break up the ex’s wedding, one month to train for a big sports event.