Geoffrey S. Fletcher: From action figures to the big screen
Photo Provided by Savannah Film Festival
Written by Andrew Larimer
Broughton Street’s Marshall House hosted Geoffrey S. Fletcher, the screenwriter of “Precious,” a film based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire. Fletcher won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay back in 2010 for “Precious” and is the first African American to win this award.
Fletcher sat with numerous SCAD students and spoke about how he got where he is today, beginning with his initial work using action figures to make films as a child.
“I used my older brother’s toys,” Fletcher said. “The toys from his era were great – from ninja turtles and G.I. Joe with their combat grip – I would endlessly make movies where toys would fight each other. It was a magical time.”
According to Fletcher, “there will be a sea of ‘no’s’ before a victorious ‘yes’ crashes against the shore… You have to understand that your time will come, but it takes a lot of unrewarding work and loads of rejection.”
With the support of his parents, Fletcher was confident his hard work would pay off.
“My mom told me I could do anything I set my mind too,” he said. “Anything at all.”
Despite his current success, Fletcher struggled reaching his big breakthrough. He received notable rewards and recognition while in film school, but things changed when he graduated. He experienced an 11 year-long hiatus of success and a constant echo of “no.”
During this time, he took mundane jobs outside the film industry, learning everything from landscaping to changing tires. Only through living a normal life, struggling with both his finances and his art, did he find his breakthrough story: “Precious.”
Following Fletcher’s stories of failures and successes, a Q&A for the students opened. One student asked how to get scripts and ideas in the right hands.
“You have to make your work as close to perfect as possible,” Fletcher said. “Sometimes when I think I’m done, I am actually three drafts away. You just have to put yourself through the wringer.”
He described how many times he thought “Precious” was complete, then they found typos and someone even requested that he incorporate additional profanity.
“You have to try every door, keep working on your craft and submit work everywhere to see if it will hold,” Fletcher said.
Another student asked how Fletcher’s time apprenticing under Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee affected his career.
“Well, those guys would be nothing without me. If I didn’t sort Spike Lee’s mail, he would be nowhere,” Fletcher said jokingly.
He continued to explain how they both share a deep passion for filmmaking, and that it inspired him. He accompanied Scorsese in his screening room and watched his films for hours.
“His obsession with it was remarkable, and he was such a gracious man with incomparable intellect,” Fletcher said.
Despite Scorsese’s on camera persona, according to Fletcher he “was such a down to earth guy.”
“To have that much success as he’s had and stay grounded as he was truly impacted me. He told me that you can never stop learning, and so I took that to heart and ran with it,” said Fletcher.
