Geoffrey Shawn Fletcher (born October 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter and film director. Fletcher is best known for being the screenwriter of '' Precious'', for which he received the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...

, becoming the first African American to receive an Academy Award for writing. In September 2010, Fletcher began shooting '' Violet & Daisy'' in New York City based on his original script as his directorial debut. It was released in a limited theatrical run in June 2013.

Early life

Fletcher was born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

, one of three children of Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. and Bettye R. Fletcher.

Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. Alphonse "Buddy" Fletcher Jr. (born December 19, 1965) is an American former hedge fund manager and founder of the Fletcher Foundation. He began his career as a quantitative equity trader at Bear Stearns and later worked at Kidder, Peabody & C ...

and Todd Fletcher are his brothers. Fletcher attended Waterford High School in

Waterford, Connecticut Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The population was 19,571 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) and had a population of 3,07 ...

prior to completing his secondary education at

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private hig ...

. Fletcher graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

where he concentrated in psychology and from

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

's Tisch School where he earned a Master of Fine Arts. His student film ''Magic Markers'', which he wrote and directed, was shown at festivals and caught the attention of director

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

Career

Fletcher worked in a variety of temporary staff positions for years as he wrote and directed his own films. Eventually he was appointed an adjunct professor at Tisch and also at

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. In 2006, producer

Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was ''Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels ...

viewed ''Magic Markers'' and asked Fletcher to adapt the book ''

Push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

'' by

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

which became the film ''Precious.'' Daniels, well known to be "passionately dedicated" to artists "serious about their craft," considered several writers before choosing Fletcher according to a ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' article that included Fletcher among the "Ten Screenwriters to Watch." Fletcher is represented by his agents Bill Weinstein, Nicky Mohebbi, and Manal Hamad of Verve and by the law firm of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, and Brown. On February 16, 2010 director

Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), ''Jumper'' (2008), '' Ed ...

and Fletcher announced that they would be collaborating on a film re-creation of the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion. Fletcher said in a statement "Working with a remarkable director in Doug Liman whose family history binds him personally to this project, I hope to create opportunities for re-examination of this dramatic crossroad in our nation's history while contributing to the current dialogue on the value of protecting everyone's rights."

Filmography

* '' Precious'' (2009) - writer * '' Violet & Daisy'' (2011) - director, writer * '' Trial by Fire'' (2018) - writer

Recognition

Screenwriting awards for ''Precious''

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p. ...

*Best First Screenplay at

25th Independent Spirit Awards The 25th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films of 2009, were presented on March 5, 2010. The nominations were announced on December 1, 2009. The ceremony was hosted by Eddie Izzard. Winners and nominees Films wit ...

*Winner Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture at

41st NAACP Image Awards The 41st NAACP Image Awards ceremony, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), honored the best in film, television, music of 2009 and took place on February 26, 2010 at the Shrine Auditorium. The show ...

*Best Screenplay – Adapted Geoffrey Fletcher at

14th Satellite Awards The 14th Satellite Awards is an award ceremony honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, home videos and interactive media, presented by the International Press Academy at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. Th ...

*Best Screenplay Geoffrey Fletcher at 7th AAFCA Awards *Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted Geoffrey Fletcher at 10th Black Reel Awards

Screenwriting nominations for ''Precious''

*Best Screenplay – Adapted at 8th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association *Best Screenplay, Adapted at 4th Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award *Best Screenplay at 3rd Houston Film Critics Society Awards *Best Adapted Screenplay at 14th Florida Film Critics Circle Awards *Scripter Award at Sapphire 23rd USC Scripter Awards *Adapted Screenplay at

62nd Writers Guild of America Awards The 62nd Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2009. Winners were announced on February 20, 2010. Nominees Names in bold denote the winners. Film Best Adapted Screenplay * ''Crazy Heart' ...

*Adapted Screenplay at

63rd British Academy Film Awards The 63rd ceremony of the British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, took place on 21 February 2010 and honoured the best films of 2009. Winners and nominees BAFTA Fellowship * Vanessa Redgra ...

Awards and Festivals for ''Magic Markers''

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film director, film and television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dire ...

Student Film Award, 1996. *Shown at

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...

October 18–22, 1995. *Shown at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

(Shorts Program) in Park City, Utah January 18–28, 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Geoffrey S. 1970 births Living people American male screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Choate Rosemary Hall alumni Harvard College alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Independent Spirit Award winners Writers from New London, Connecticut New York University staff Columbia University staff African-American screenwriters