New
York
(ANI):
Geoffrey
Fletcher,
the
screenwriter
of
“Precious:
Based
on
the
Novel
Push
by
Sapphire",
has
become
the
first
African
American
screenwriter
to
take
home
an
Academy
Award.
Fletcher,
39,
an
adjunct
professor
of
film
at
Columbia
University
and
NYU,
surprised
some
by
beating
favourite
Jason
Reitman,
writer/director
of
“Up
in
the
Air".
“I
don"t
know
what
to
say," the
New
York
Daily
News
quoted
Fletcher
as
saying
during
his
acceptance
speech.
This
was
the
Connecticut-born
writer"s
first
produced
screenplay,
for
which
he
was
also
awarded
an
Independent
Spirit
Award.