Academy Award winner Ernest Thompson donates to Wicwas Lake Grange

MEREDITH CENTER — The Academy Award-winning writer of “On Golden Pond,” Ernest Thompson, held a fundraiser at BarnZ’s Meredith Cinema in October and presented a check from his company Sunstreet Productions for $500 to the Wicwas Lake Grange #292, in Meredith Center, in December.

Thompson adapted his one-act play, “The Constituent,” into a short film he directed and starred in with Emmy winner Gordon Clapp in roles Burgess Meredith and Ned Beatty originally played on TV, and co-starring in the movie is another actor with Granite State roots, Lisa Bostnar.

In “The Constituent,” a grizzled New Hampshire woodsman (Thompson) writes hundreds of scathing letters to his senator (Clapp) in Washington, D.C. Then comes a knock on his door. The confrontation is stunning and stark. And hilarious.

The sold-out screening of “The Constituent” was made possible by Tim Barnes, who owns BarnZ’s. Barnes donated the space and, in addition to the Wicwas Lake Grange, a portion of proceeds benefited High Hopes Foundation of New Hampshire.

Filmed on a paper-thin budget on location in the Lakes Region, Thompson reached out to Jeanne Lowrey for permission to turn the exterior of the Wicwas Lake Grange into a post office.

“Jeanne has been a steadfast supporter, making my grass-roots approach to filmmaking possible on multiple projects,” Thompson said, noting that the Wicwas Lake Grange has the largest membership in the state. “I also owe a huge thanks to the Taggett family, who opened their doors and their hearts to this effort.”

Thompson has shot a number of low-budget films and music videos throughout the state, involving more than 800 people. Last year, he was inducted into the New Hampshire Literary Hall of Fame, and, with his writer wife Kerrin Thompson, he established Rescind Recidivism, a prison writing program giving inmates a chance to feel creative as well as human, capable and worthy.

For more information, visit ErnestThompson.us.