Peggy Thompson (screenwriter)

{{short description|Canadian screenwriter, producer, playwright, and professor (born 1952)}}

{{Infobox writer

| embed =

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Peggy Thompson

| honorific_suffix =

| image =

| image_size =

| image_upright =

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| pseudonym =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1952}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| resting_place =

| occupation = Screenwriter and professor

| language =

| nationality =

| citizenship = Canadian

| education =

| alma_mater =

| period =

| genre =

| subject =

| movement =

| notable_works = {{plainlist|

}}

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| relatives =

| awards =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| years_active =

| module =

| website = {{URL|https://www.peggythompson.ca}}

| portaldisp =

}}

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

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."Jesus of Montreal in near sweep". Vancouver Sun, March 21, 1990. She won the award for Best Screenplay at the 14th Genie Awards in 1993 for The Lotus Eaters."Film about Glenn Gould wins four Genie Awards; Best director, picture honors for dramatic tale". Ottawa Citizen, December 13, 1993.

Thompson wrote the screenplay and co-produced the 2000 film, Better Than Chocolate."Romance given a gay twist". Vancouver Sun, August 27, 1999. 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.{{Cite journal|last=Tulchinsky|first=Karen X|date=2000|title=Making Chocolate|journal=Herizons|volume=13|issue=4|page=22}} 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.{{Cite journal|last=Tulchinsky|first=Karen X.|date=2000|title=Books into movies: Part 1|journal=Lambda Book Report|location=Washington|volume=8|issue=6|pages=9–11}}

Her other credits include the films Saint Monica"Ararat triumphs at Genies". Victoria Times-Colonist, February 14, 2003. and Bearded Ladies: The Photography of Rosamond Norbury,"About Face; Documentary follows Vancouver photographer Rosamond Norbury as she plays with the boundaries of gender identity". Vancouver Sun, August 13, 2015. the television series The Beachcombers,"Drama workshop helps develop creative skills". The Globe and Mail, June 6, 1985. Da Vinci's Inquest and Big Sound, and stage plays including Brides in Space"Feminist fantasy in space". Vancouver Sun, January 13, 1987. and The Last Will and Testament of Lolita."Lolita grows up to get last laughs". Toronto Star, May 29, 1987. 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."Peggy Thompson: Better than chocolate. Healthier, too". Vancouver Sun, March 4, 2000.

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."A behind-the-scenes force guiding books onto shelves". The Globe and Mail, July 31, 2009.