Peggy Thompson (screenwriter)

Last updated
Peggy Thompson
Born1952 (age 71–72)
OccupationScreenwriter and professor
CitizenshipCanadian
Notable works
Website
www.peggythompson.ca

Peggy Thompson is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, playwright, and professor. She is known for her films The Lotus Eaters and Better Than Chocolate .

Contents

Career

Thompson's 1989 short film In Search of the Last Good Man won the Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990. [1] She won the award for Best Screenplay at the 14th Genie Awards in 1993 for The Lotus Eaters . [2]

Thompson wrote the screenplay and co-produced the 2000 film, Better Than Chocolate. [3] She began conceiving the film in 1993, shortly after finishing The Lotus Eaters, while on a retreat with Better Than Chocolate's other producer, Sharon McGowan.The two dared each other to create a lesbian coming out comedy. [4] Thompson was committed to not having Better Than Chocolate be in "the tradition of the celluloid closet" and thus gave the lesbian characters in the film a happy ending. [5]

Her other credits include the films Saint Monica [6] and Bearded Ladies: The Photography of Rosamond Norbury, [7] the television series The Beachcombers , [8] Da Vinci's Inquest and Big Sound , and stage plays including Brides in Space [9] and The Last Will and Testament of Lolita. [10] She was also coauthor, with Saeko Usukawa, of two coffee table books on film history, Hard Boiled: Great Lines from Film Noir and Tall in the Saddle: Great Lines from Classic Westerns. [11]

Thompson is currently an associate professor of screenwriting at the University of British Columbia.

Personal life

Saeko Usukawa, an art book writer and editor with Douglas & McIntyre, was Thompson's partner from 1978 until her death in 2009. [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "Jesus of Montreal in near sweep". Vancouver Sun , March 21, 1990.
  2. ↑ "Film about Glenn Gould wins four Genie Awards; Best director, picture honors for dramatic tale". Ottawa Citizen , December 13, 1993.
  3. ↑ "Romance given a gay twist". Vancouver Sun , August 27, 1999.
  4. ↑ Tulchinsky, Karen X (2000). "Making Chocolate". Herizons. 13 (4): 22 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Tulchinsky, Karen X. (2000). "Books into movies: Part 1". Lambda Book Report. 8 (6). Washington: 9–11 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ "Ararat triumphs at Genies". Victoria Times-Colonist , February 14, 2003.
  7. ↑ "About Face; Documentary follows Vancouver photographer Rosamond Norbury as she plays with the boundaries of gender identity". Vancouver Sun , August 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Drama workshop helps develop creative skills". The Globe and Mail , June 6, 1985.
  9. ↑ "Feminist fantasy in space". Vancouver Sun , January 13, 1987.
  10. ↑ "Lolita grows up to get last laughs". Toronto Star , May 29, 1987.
  11. ↑ "Peggy Thompson: Better than chocolate. Healthier, too". Vancouver Sun , March 4, 2000.
  12. ↑ "A behind-the-scenes force guiding books onto shelves". The Globe and Mail , July 31, 2009.


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