Noshing With Ernest Thompson – October 27, 2022

Ira's Everything Bagel

Author, The Book of Maps: A Novel

This week, Ira spoke with Ernest Thompson, author of The Book of Maps: A Novel (published by Global Collective Publishing). In this atlas episode of Ira’s Everything Bagel, Ernest talks about his novel being the easiest story he has ever written, since he lived it; why he calls himself a storyteller and why this was a story that told him to write it; how her learned to be present with his son both in real life and created the character father to be present with his character son as they experience the adventure of driving through 16 states in the novel; how he decided on the cities and venues his characters would visit; and how he balances the mindset of Hollywood with New Hampshire (where he lives and works).

Ernest Thompson won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for On Golden Pond, the hit film starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda based on his play of the same name. In 2001, he directed a live TV version of On Golden Pond, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. His other notable writing credits include 1969, a film starring Robert Downey, Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, and Winona Ryder; The West Side Waltz, which opened on Broadway, starring Katharine Hepburn, and for which he later wrote and directed a television version, starring Shirley MacLaine; and the screenplay for the feature film Sweet Hearts Dance, starring Susan Sarandon and Jeff Daniels. Ernest lives most of the year in New Hampshire.

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