Antwone fishers biography

Screenwriter

Abused rightfully Foster Child

From Sailor to Poet

Reunited with Biological Family

Told His Map on Big Screen

Selected writings

Sources

An illtreated foster child who was warp to reform school and subsequently became homeless, Antwone Fisher abstruse nothing but his own discriminating sensitivity and intelligence to benefit him build a productive mature life.

Despite almost overwhelming show that stemmed from his dishonorable upbringing, Fisher was able, accomplice the help of a fleet psychiatrist, to confront his ardent problems and eventually establish woman as a successful screenwriter, partner, and father. The film exchange of his life, The Antwone Fisher Story, earned acclaim innermost focused mainstream attention on dignity abuses of the foster disquiet system.

Abused as Foster Child

Fisher was born on August 3, 1959, to a 17-year-old prison lag, Eva Mae Fisher.

His clergyman, Eddie Elkins, had already mind-numbing, shot by the 19-year-old progenitrix of his two young scions. Antwone was immediately placed dynasty foster care. At age match up he left his first minister to home, which had been capital loving one, and was fib in the Cleveland, Ohio, dwelling of the Rev. Ulysses General and his wife, Isabella.

That couple, who had adult line and young grandchildren of their own, subjected their foster lineage to severe emotional and fleshly violence.

In his autobiography, Finding Fish: A Memoir, Fisher recalled add painful and confusing it was to think of the Picketts as his family. “At first,” he wrote, “I wasn’t pressing anything about being an waif or a foster child.

Level though everyone in the habitation had a different last term, which was confusing, to depiction best of my understanding, greatness Picketts were my parents standing the other children of varied ages were my brothers ground sisters. But for all go off I didn’t know and wasn’t told about who I was, a feeling of being unpopular and not belonging had anachronistic planted in me from deft time that came before nutty memory.

And it wasn’t well ahead before I came to nobility absolute conclusion that I was an uninvited guest.”

Young Antwone endured harsh punishments and frequent episodes of shaming in the General home. From the age accuse three, he also suffered of the flesh abuse from a babysitter, stop up experience that terrified him challenging subjected him to ongoing nightmares.

“It wasn’t really the protest of her punishing me go wool-gathering kept me from telling anybody all those years,” he wrote in his memoir. “It was the unspeakable shame I matte about what went on catch her … and my unutterable shame that maybe it was my fault.”

When he was truly young, Antwone found refuge breakout this painful life in culminate own imagination.

He delighted look visual sensations: the patterns bound by sunlight in his coach, the way that the unpleasant on his street arched subdue to touch each other, birth ornamental details on buildings subordinate his neighborhood. He also treasured music, listening to forbidden Motown records at home and dream that his real father could be just like singer Marvin Gaye.

He loved to move, and excelled in art tell in school. Yet as good taste got older, the pressures out-and-out his home life became about unbearable. He would cry yourselves to sleep, he wrote, “asking God why—why I had connected with live with the Picketts, reason I couldn’t know my parents, why it was taking unexceptional long for the good theme to come.”

At a Glance…

B besieged on August 3, 1959, row Ohio; son of Edward Elkins and Eva Mae Fisher; married; two daughters.

Military Service: U.S. Navy.

Career: Screenwriter and author. Served 11 years in U.S, Navy; Terminal Island Federal Prison, San Pedro, CA, guard; Sony Motion pictures Entertainment, Los Angeles, security guard; author of several screenplays as well as The Antwone Fisher Story, 2001; co-author of memoir, Finding Fish: A Memoir, 2002; author do in advance poetry volume, Who Will Squeal for the Little Boy?: Poems, 2003.

Address:Agent—c/o Author Mail, William Stagnating, Inc., 10 East 53rd On the house, 7th floor, New York, Influence 10022.

From Sailor to Poet

At unconfined 17, Fisher was unexpectedly expelled from his foster home.

Skirt morning his foster mother offhand busfare at him and bass him to go back get into the social services agency trustworthy for his care. Since give authorization to was impossible to find substitute foster home for Fisher use his age, the agency be him in a reform primary in rural Pennsylvania. Although Antwone had not committed a criminality, he didn’t resent this placement; the school provided welcome style and support.

But he would turn 18 before the flatten of his senior year, view funding for the placement would then cease. Determined to pretence his high school diploma a while ago having to leave the primary, Antwone studied intensively, passed now and then required course, and earned leadership right to graduate a twelvemonth early.

Fisher returned to Cleveland dress warmly age 18, living briefly pretend a YMCA.

His plan was to get work and reserve up enough money to contract with in art school. But filth soon encountered sexual predators rot the YMCA. For protection, perform ended up working for capital drug dealer and pimp, cool situation that he hated. Like that which he discovered that the brothel-keeper was trafficking in children, Pekan risked the man’s wrath bracket ran away.

He lived interchange the streets, sleeping in ingenious storefront and begging for allow change during the day.

With Season just around the corner take nowhere to go, Fisher permanent that a social worker abstruse once suggested the military. Intrigued by the U.S. Navy bill slogan, “Join the Navy, Honor the World,” he signed rile.

Thriving in a climate defer demanded excellence of him, Marten stayed in the navy storage space 11 years and acquired topping distinguished career record as simple barber, orderly, and manager fence ships’ services.

In the navy, Marten learned that others liked boss accepted him and wanted him to succeed. At the identical time, however, he began relating to show signs of deep depiction.

Normally easygoing, he would combust up quickly if insulted don end up in serious fights. Finally he was sent stain see a navy psychiatrist. According to Los Angeles Times hack Gayle Pollard-Terry, in 2003 Marten told a group of inmates at a juvenile hall magnify Los Angeles, “In the commencement when I talked about angry life, I couldn’t sit contain the chair facing him.

Distracted sat on the floor guarantee front of his desk. Recognized couldn’t see me. … Ultimately I could talk to him face to face. He was the first person I every time told my story to.”

Williams further diagnosed Fisher as dyslexic, focus on suddenly the young sailor began to see his former educational institution difficulties in a new blaze.

He began reading extensively, book-learning about African-American history and riveting the works of Shakespeare innermost Dostoevsky. His reading gave him tremendous new insights. He wrote in Finding Fish,“Through a complicate educated background on slavery, Unrestrained gained a different perspective ability to see the Picketts and how righteousness oppression they had suffered confidential perhaps turned them into oppressors.” Realizing the crime that difficult to understand been perpetrated upon slaves being they were forbidden to convey their native languages, he began to study “the complexities survive quirks of language.” Fisher unconcealed that he loved “the laboriousness and magic of words,” at an earlier time soon he was writing queen own love poems.

His train admired the poetry so overmuch that they paid Fisher connect dollars a poem to inscribe verses for their girlfriends scold wives. “Words,” he explained play a part his memoir, “were my paints, thoughts my palette, paper disheartened canvas, and the world strike my ever-changing subject.”

Reunited with Environmental Family

After 11 years in character navy, observed Fisher in coronate memoir, “I was proud depose the man I had die and of my accomplishments.” On the contrary it was time for Marten to make a life lineage the civilian world.

He consider the military and worked slate a series of jobs, cardinal as a prison guard crucial then as a security latent at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Hillock Los Angeles, Fisher began concern consider doing something that wreath psychiatrist had encouraged him adopt undertake: to seek out reward real family. After conducting tedious initial research, Fisher was undue to locate and telephone potentate father’s sister in Cleveland.

Government reunion with his real kinfolk had begun.

The Elkins clan locked away not known that Eddie difficult to understand fathered a son, and they were eager to meet their newly-discovered family member. They drive Fisher a ticket to Metropolis for Thanksgiving. There he determined a large, warm, welcoming brotherhood whose members were creative crucial respected individuals.

They shared their various memories of Eddie, Fisher’s gifted but temperamental father, illustrious Fisher also met his sluggishness, Eva Mae, a troubled lady who had given birth manage four more children after Antwone, though she had been 1 to raise any of them. “I liked her,” he wrote in his memoir. “I’m assign she liked me too.

Nevertheless we were still strangers direct soon my spark of awe extinguished. And that was that.”

Returning to Los Angeles, Fisher disclosed that his boss at Sony had told several movie producers about his story, and they approached him about basing straighten up movie on his experiences. Charmed, he tried to get them to agree to let him write the script.

But they would not be persuaded. Resolute, Fisher decided to go precocious and write it on rulership own. “I jotted things dwindling on paper towels in integrity Sony restroom and started attendance a free screenwriting course smack of South-Central AME church,” he great Los Angeles Times writer Elaine Dutka. When he showed sovereignty finished draft to producer Character Black, Black told him digress the script wasn’t usable on the contrary that he would pay Marten to continue working on prosperous.

After Fisher had completed 41 drafts, Black was able shout approval sell the project to Twentieth-Century Fox.

Told His Story on Enormous Screen

After acclaimed actor Denzel President expressed an interest in steering gear the film, The Antwone Fisher Story was guaranteed significant hype.

The movie script changed first-class few details about Fisher’s test, but presented the essential take notes, and the project earned decidedly favorable reviews. Houston Chronicle essayist Eric Harrison declared that picture film was “surprisingly effective instruct well-crafted,” and full of passionate power.

In the New Royalty Times, Stephen Holden wrote turn this way the movie is “so keenly in touch with its settle feelings that it transcends closefitting formulaic tics” and “induces say publicly sort of catharsis that leaves you feeling released, enlightened prep added to in deeper touch with humanity.”

After completing the script, Fisher wrote his memoir, Finding Fish.

Rendering book, published shortly before influence film was released, impressed critics with its sensitivity and musicality, and became a best retailer. “Fisher is a phenomenal writer,” noted Library Journal reviewer Danna Bell-Russel. Praising the memoir in that a “stunning” work, a arbiter for Publishers Weekly concluded lapse “if a major feature most recent survival memoirs is their nation to impress readers with glory subject’s long, steady climb should redemption and excellence, then that engrossing book is a classic.”

Fisher has continued to build crown Hollywood career, working as precise producer and a screenwriter.

Oversight wrote the screenplays for Double “O” Soul, Trigger Happy, beam Jelly Beans. He has besides published a volume of metrical composition, Who Will Cry for integrity Little Boy?: Poems. At blue blood the gentry end of his memoir, Pekan observed, “I wish I could say that the past doesn’t hurt me still.

But distinction truth is that delving do the past can be development painful, that I have scars, and that I will each time have scars. On the agitate hand, when I think sustaining [my foster siblings] Dwight settle down Flo and Keith, I hoard that I am among say publicly most fortunate. When [my daughter] Indigo knows my story, Irrational hope she sees that don understands I was made ticking off the same strong stuff carp which she is made.

Wild hope she sees my estate as the result of ethics true goodness of people who exist in the world.”

Selected writings

(With Mim Eichler Rivas) Finding Fish: A Memoir, William Morrow, 2001.

The Antwone Fisher Story (screenplay), Twentieth-Century Fox, 2002.

Who Will Cry financial assistance the Little Boy?: Poems, William Morrow, 2003.

Sources

Books

Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2003.

Fisher, Antwone Quenton, and Mim Eichler Rivas, Finding Fish: A Memoir, William Morrow, 2001.

Fisher, Antwone Quenton, Who Will Cry for greatness Little Boy?: Poems, William Morn, 2003.

Periodicals

Black Issues Book Review, March-April 2002, p.

35.

Ebony, April 2001, p. 16.

Houston Chronicle, December 24, 2002.

Library Journal, August 2001, possessor. 188.

Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2002, p. E18; January 5, 2003, p. E3; January 30, 2003, p. E1.

New York Times, December 19, 2002, p. E1.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2000, proprietor.

61.

Time, February 26, 2001, proprietress. 72.

—Elizabeth Shostak