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, becoming the first African American to receive an Academy Award for writing.[1] In September 2010, Fletcher began shooting Violet & Daisy in New York City based on his original script as his directorial debut.[2] It was released in a limited theatrical run in June 2013.
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. In 2006, producer Lee Daniels viewed Magic Markers and asked Fletcher to adapt the book Push by Sapphire which became the film Precious.[4] Daniels, well known to be "passionately dedicated" to artists "serious about their craft,"[5] considered several writers before choosing Fletcher according to a Variety article that included Fletcher among the "Ten Screenwriters to Watch."[6] 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 and Fletcher announced that they would be collaborating on a film re-creation of the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion.[7] 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."[8][9]
