| Antwone Fisher | |
|---|---|
Fisher in May 2010 |
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| Born | August 3, 1959 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Director, Film producer and screenwriter |
| Spouse | LaNette Fisher |
Antwone Quenton Fisher (born August 3, 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American director, screenwriter, author and film producer. His 2001 autobiographical book Finding Fish is a New York Times Best Seller. The 2002 motion picture Antwone Fisher was written by Fisher and directed by Denzel Washington.
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Antwone Fisher was placed in a foster home weeks after he was born and through most of his childhood. After living with a foster mother for two years, Fisher was taken away from her. He was then placed into another foster home with a family named the Picketts. He spent 14 years of his childhood with the Picketts and was abused physically, verbally and sexually. He was then removed from the Pickett home after having a fight with his foster mother. Antwone was sent to a male institution called George Junior Republic School from which he graduated prior to joining the United States Navy.
Fisher joined the U.S. Navy to escape homelessness. Fisher spent 11 years in the Navy. Here, he met Commander Williams, a psychiatrist who helped him work through his emotional traumas. After the discharge from the Navy, Fisher joined the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a federal correctional officer.
After three years with the Bureau of Prisons, he began work as a security guard for Sony Pictures. It was there Fisher decided to find his true family members. He contacted Annette Elkins, who turned out to be his aunt. Within months of this contact, Fisher met all of his family, including his mother Eva Mae. He learned that she had given birth to four other children who were all taken away as wards of the state. Fisher said after their meeting: "In the place inside me where the hurt of abandonment had been, now only compassion lived."
Fisher soon penned his screenplay. Stories about Antwone Fisher's life soon began spreading around the Sony lot, and many people from Hollywood lined up to develop the project. He initially declined all offers and after writing over 40 drafts sold the rights to his story to 20th Century Fox. The film Antwone Fisher was directed by Denzel Washington, and starred Derek Luke in the title role. Antwone Fisher was credited in the movie as both writer and co-producer.
Fisher is still working as a director, author, poet, lecturer, college professor, movie producer and screenwriter. His latest book, A Boy Should Know How to Tie a Tie: And Other Lessons for Succeeding in Life, was published by Simon & Schuster in April 2010.
Fisher and his wife, LaNette Canister, married December 1, 1996. They have two children together, Indigo and Azure.