Petition asks Russell T. Davies to read prison screenplay

More than 2000 women sign petition demanding a firm commitment from  Russell T. Davies (film producer) to read screenplay addressing Texas judicial system

Russell T. Davies – Talent Agents
– Writer, Producer, Script and Continuity Department – Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood (2006), A Very English Scandal (2018), Children’s Ward (1989) – The Agency, Bethan Evans –

Dumbass, You & Me, Queer As Folk, Three Little Birds

Russell T. Davies & 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 Russell T. Davies 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 Russell T. Davies at The Agency, Bethan Evans last week.

In the open letter to Russell T. Davies, 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 Russell T. Davies 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.”

Writer, Producer, Script and Continuity Department, Russell T. Davies, has not responded to the petition. Nor has The Agency, Bethan Evans 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.”

Russell T. Davies 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.

Russell T. Davies is a Writer, Producer, Script and Continuity Department known for Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood (2006), A Very English Scandal (2018), Children’s Ward (1989) and is represented by The Agency, Bethan Evans.

——————- READ MORE ——————-

Wait a minute! In films like Shallow Hal the couple’s together almost the entire time! Are they? Hal’s really with the woman he ‘sees’, not the ‘real’ woman and when the secret’s revealed, it shatters the relationship! If you want the couple to be together during the story, create irony and a secret that can and will temporarily destroy the relationship.

This is probably the biggest mistake made when writing a RomCom! Do NOT get the couple together until the very end. If they do hook up mid-way through the story, destroy their bond and keep them apart until the end!

TOGETHER AT LAST

Notice how the ‘secret’ is related to love! Create a secret, reveal it at anytime during the story and have it threaten to keep the couple apart!

It’s a very common storytelling device that the hero/ine’s main ally is revealed to be an enemy, or the main enemy, and it also often happens that the hero/ine’s enemy is revealed to be more of a friend than we ever suspected.

– In The Fugitive Dr. Richard Kimble realizes that his friend and trusted colleague, Chuck, has set him up, and that leads to the final confrontation and fight/chase). The Fugitive has a satisfying structure because at the same time that Kimble is realizing the true nature of his real antagonist, the apparent antagonist, Marshal Gerard, who has been chasing Kimble for the entire film, also becomes convinced of Kimble’s true nature – that he’s innocent, so there’s in effect a double revelation. (Also, The Fugitive is a good film to watch for SETPIECES!)

This final revelation before the end game is often the knowledge of who the opponent really is.

The New Revelation almost always comes right after the All Is Lost scene, or even within it. The hero/ine figures out the missing piece of the puzzle, and like the phoenix rising from the ashes, s/he regroups and formulates one last desperate plan, and comes out of the long dark night even more determined to win. It’s a double punch of two key scenes, and that double punch is almost always the Act II Climax (page 90 of a script, page 300 or so of a novel).