The film community is mourning the loss of Jonathan Demme. Over the last four decades, he turned in one of the most varied filmographies of any director in Hollywood, constantly reinventing himself behind each comedy, documentary, drama, and TV show. Demme never made the same movie twice, and cinema was all the better for it.
Read More: Jonathan Demme, Oscar-Winning Director of ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ Dies At 73
As tributes continue to come in from collaborators and fans, here’s IndieWire’s own appreciation of Demme and why we’ll remember him as one of the truly great filmmakers of our time.
Demme Defied Categorization
Jonathan Demme had such a remarkable range that he defied easy categorization. Even as he made beloved documentaries and Oscar-winning movies, I still get the sense that his career was underappreciated. Everyone knows “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Philadelphia,” and “Stop Making Sense,” but less...
Read More: Jonathan Demme, Oscar-Winning Director of ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ Dies At 73
As tributes continue to come in from collaborators and fans, here’s IndieWire’s own appreciation of Demme and why we’ll remember him as one of the truly great filmmakers of our time.
Demme Defied Categorization
Jonathan Demme had such a remarkable range that he defied easy categorization. Even as he made beloved documentaries and Oscar-winning movies, I still get the sense that his career was underappreciated. Everyone knows “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Philadelphia,” and “Stop Making Sense,” but less...
- 4/26/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Oscar-winning director behind Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia to premiere new film at the Rome Film Festival and host a masterclass.
The8th Rome Film Festival (Nov 8-17) will play host to the world premiere of Jonathan Demme’s Fear of Falling.
The film will feature in in the CinemaXXI section, dedicated to new trends in international cinema.
In an accompanying masterclass, Demme will talk about his relationship with cinema, commenting on the most significant film scenes in his career and answering questions from the audience.
Demme, who won the Best Director Oscar for Silence of the Lambs (1991), has also directed award-winning features including Philadelphia (1993) and Rachel Getting Married (2008) - the last time he made a fiction feature.
Fear of Falling is based on a theatre production that was an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s “Master Builder Solness” (“Bygmester Solness”) and follows a renowned architect increasingly caught up in his own fantasies.
Created for the...
The8th Rome Film Festival (Nov 8-17) will play host to the world premiere of Jonathan Demme’s Fear of Falling.
The film will feature in in the CinemaXXI section, dedicated to new trends in international cinema.
In an accompanying masterclass, Demme will talk about his relationship with cinema, commenting on the most significant film scenes in his career and answering questions from the audience.
Demme, who won the Best Director Oscar for Silence of the Lambs (1991), has also directed award-winning features including Philadelphia (1993) and Rachel Getting Married (2008) - the last time he made a fiction feature.
Fear of Falling is based on a theatre production that was an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s “Master Builder Solness” (“Bygmester Solness”) and follows a renowned architect increasingly caught up in his own fantasies.
Created for the...
- 9/10/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Update, 1:30 Pm: “Any concerns the Clinton team had are all gone. This puts the ‘P’ in puff piece,” a Republican National Committee rep said this afternoon, in response to our report about the announcement by CNN Films that it had hired senior director Courtney Sexton, who previously oversaw Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the bio-docu Jimmy Carter Man From Plains among many other projects. “What’s next: Michael Moore directing?” added Sean Spicer, the Rnc’s communications director, in an email to Politico about Deadline’s coverage of the hire. Previous: CNN Films, the division of CNN Worldwide responsible for commissioning the documentary about Hillary Clinton that’s got the Rnc’s knickers in a knot, today announced it is welcoming Courtney Sexton to its Los Angeles team as senior director. The Republican National Committee may latch on to this news — in much the same way it...
- 8/19/2013
- by LISA DE MORAES, TV Columnist
- Deadline TV
Jonathan Demme, director of such feature films as Rachel Getting Married and Philadelphia, and such documentaries as Jimmy Carter Man from Plains, will receive the top award at the 2013 Austin Film Festival this fall. Demme is being honored with the fest's "Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking" Award.
Demme won an Oscar for his direction of The Silence of the Lambs. Recently Demme has done directing work on TV shows such as HBO's Enlightened. His Fear of Falling, based on a screenplay by Wallace Shawn, is currently in post-production. The photo above is from SXSW 2009, when Demme brought the concert documentary Neil Young Trunk Show to Austin.
Aff also announced its "Outstanding Television Writer" for 2013: Vince Gilligan, acclaimed for his creation of and work on the AMC series Breaking Bad. Gilligan also served as executive producer for The X-Files, and wrote screenplays for Hancock and the Texas-shot movie Home Fries. (Does...
Demme won an Oscar for his direction of The Silence of the Lambs. Recently Demme has done directing work on TV shows such as HBO's Enlightened. His Fear of Falling, based on a screenplay by Wallace Shawn, is currently in post-production. The photo above is from SXSW 2009, when Demme brought the concert documentary Neil Young Trunk Show to Austin.
Aff also announced its "Outstanding Television Writer" for 2013: Vince Gilligan, acclaimed for his creation of and work on the AMC series Breaking Bad. Gilligan also served as executive producer for The X-Files, and wrote screenplays for Hancock and the Texas-shot movie Home Fries. (Does...
- 4/25/2013
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
While it might appear that director Jonathan Demme has retreated from the mainstream in recent years, directing a string of documentaries including “Jimmy Carter Man From Plains” and a trio of Neil Young concert films, the director says he’s just been following the projects he finds himself drawn to. “It all depends on what I’m enthusiastic about at the moment, what presents itself,” Demme told The Playlist in an exclusive interview this week. “I love doing fiction. I love doing performance films and I love doing documentaries that don’t have music. I love to shoot and I love to shoot things I’m enthusiastic about.”
And lately, Demme has been enthusiastic about Neil Young. Their latest collaboration is entitled “Neil Young Journeys,” in which Demme tags along on a road trip with Young in his 1956 Crown Victoria en route to a performance at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall.
And lately, Demme has been enthusiastic about Neil Young. Their latest collaboration is entitled “Neil Young Journeys,” in which Demme tags along on a road trip with Young in his 1956 Crown Victoria en route to a performance at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall.
- 6/20/2012
- by Jeff Otto
- The Playlist
Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to Jonathan Demme’s documentary Neil Young Journeys. According to a rep from Spc, “With their latest collaboration, Neil Young and Jonathan Demme are a match made in movie heaven.” For Journeys, Demme followed Young as he traveled from his Ontario hometown to Toronto for the final two nights of his solo world tour. Produced by Demme and Elliot Rabinowitz, Journeys premiered at last month’s Toronto International Film festival, and Spc will distribute it around the world, excluding Latin America. This is Demme and Young’s third performance-based collaboration after Neil Young: Heart of Gold...
- 10/11/2011
- by Lanford Beard
- EW - Inside Movies
New York (October 11, 2011) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired the Worldwide Rights, excluding Latin America, to Jonathan Demme’s film, Neil Young Journeys from Shakey Pictures and Clinica Estetico. Demme and Elliot Rabinowitz produced the film, with Declan Quinn (Rachel Getting Married, Neil Young Trunk Show, Jimmy Carter Man From Plains) who served as director of photography. Neil Young Journeys had its World Premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival to a tremendous audience and great critical acclaim. Neil Young Journeys marks the third film between Demme and Sony Pictures Classics. Previous films include Jimmy Carter Man From Plains and Rachel Getting Married. This past May, Neil Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario to downtown Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall, where he played the last two nights of his solo world tour. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme was on hand to capture the journey and both shows,...
- 10/11/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired the worldwide rights, excluding Latin America, to Jonathan Demme's film, Neil Young Journeys from Shakey Pictures and Clinica Estetico. Demme and Elliot Rabinowitz produced the film, with Declan Quinn ( Rachel Getting Married , Neil Young Trunk Show , Jimmy Carter Man From Plains ) who served as director of photography. Neil Young Journeys had its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. Neil Young Journeys marks the third film between Demme and Sony Pictures Classics. Previous films include Jimmy Carter Man From Plains and Rachel Getting Married . This past May, Neil Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario to downtown Toronto's iconic Massey...
- 10/11/2011
- Comingsoon.net
AMC Network has announced AMC Digital Studios, a new online division to introduce web shows from new and developing filmmakers. It will begin with The Trivial Pursuits Of Arthur Banks, a series co-written and directed by Peter Glanz and starring Adam Goldberg with Jeffrey Tambor.
The series will debut Aug. 22 on amctv.com and on the free, ad-supported Hulu.com, AMC announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Here's the press release:
Beverly Hills, CA - July 29, 2011 – AMC announced today from the Television Critics Association Summer 2011 Press Tour that the network is launching AMC Digital Studios, an online destination to incubate and to develop web series from up-and-coming talent to be showcased at amctv.com. The division serves as both a laboratory to develop future content for AMC TV and also a destination to produce web series that have the same high-quality storytelling for which our television series have become known.
The series will debut Aug. 22 on amctv.com and on the free, ad-supported Hulu.com, AMC announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Here's the press release:
Beverly Hills, CA - July 29, 2011 – AMC announced today from the Television Critics Association Summer 2011 Press Tour that the network is launching AMC Digital Studios, an online destination to incubate and to develop web series from up-and-coming talent to be showcased at amctv.com. The division serves as both a laboratory to develop future content for AMC TV and also a destination to produce web series that have the same high-quality storytelling for which our television series have become known.
- 7/28/2011
- by We Love Soaps TV
- We Love Soaps
Venice -- Jonathan Demme's family drama "Rachel Getting Married" might not seem like it has political overtones, but Demme and screenwriter Jenny Lumet see some ties to the U.S. presidential election.
The film, which premiered on the Lido on Wednesday, centers on Kym (Anne Hathaway), who returns from drug rehab to her troubled family as it prepares for the interracial marriage between Kym's sister Rachel (Rosemary DeWitt) and Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe).
One European journalist asked Demme -- who was in Venice last year with the Jimmy Carter documentary "Man From Plains" -- in the film's press conference whether such a multicultural portrayal of the U.S. was accurate, and Demme drew a parallel to the candidacy of Barack Obama.
"This is the aspect of U.S. culture I love," Demme said, to a smattering of applause. "And it does exist: Look at the Democratic convention last week, when...
The film, which premiered on the Lido on Wednesday, centers on Kym (Anne Hathaway), who returns from drug rehab to her troubled family as it prepares for the interracial marriage between Kym's sister Rachel (Rosemary DeWitt) and Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe).
One European journalist asked Demme -- who was in Venice last year with the Jimmy Carter documentary "Man From Plains" -- in the film's press conference whether such a multicultural portrayal of the U.S. was accurate, and Demme drew a parallel to the candidacy of Barack Obama.
"This is the aspect of U.S. culture I love," Demme said, to a smattering of applause. "And it does exist: Look at the Democratic convention last week, when...
- 9/3/2008
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday unveiled the 15 films on its 2007 documentary feature Oscar shortlist.
Four ThinkFilm releases made the cut, a record for the company and one of the biggest lineups ever for any distributor. They are Tony Kaye's abortion epic Lake of Fire, Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's World War II expose Nanking, Alex Gibney's Iraq War study Taxi to the Dark Side and Sean Fine and Andrea Nix's look at a Ugandan musical competition War/Dance.
The biggest boxoffice hit among the bunch by far is Michael Moore's health-care expose Sicko, from the Weinstein Co., but other high-profile releases were left off the list. Jonathan Demme's Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains and Amir Bar-Lev's child prodigy study My Kid Could Paint That from Sony Pictures Classics were expected to make the cut but didn't. Other notable absentees were Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg's look at Darfur, The Devil Came on Horseback; Picturehouse's gamers study The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters; and ThinkFilm's space-themed In the Shadow of the Moon.
Aside from Taxi, other films covering the Iraq War that made the list included Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro's Body of War, Charles Ferguson's No End in Sight and Richard Robbins' Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.
Features about other wars made the cut, too, including Steven Okazaki's White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham's World War II art study The Rape of Europa.
Virtually all films on the list were topical, including Tricia Regan's look at special-needs children, Autism: The Musical...
Four ThinkFilm releases made the cut, a record for the company and one of the biggest lineups ever for any distributor. They are Tony Kaye's abortion epic Lake of Fire, Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's World War II expose Nanking, Alex Gibney's Iraq War study Taxi to the Dark Side and Sean Fine and Andrea Nix's look at a Ugandan musical competition War/Dance.
The biggest boxoffice hit among the bunch by far is Michael Moore's health-care expose Sicko, from the Weinstein Co., but other high-profile releases were left off the list. Jonathan Demme's Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains and Amir Bar-Lev's child prodigy study My Kid Could Paint That from Sony Pictures Classics were expected to make the cut but didn't. Other notable absentees were Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg's look at Darfur, The Devil Came on Horseback; Picturehouse's gamers study The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters; and ThinkFilm's space-themed In the Shadow of the Moon.
Aside from Taxi, other films covering the Iraq War that made the list included Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro's Body of War, Charles Ferguson's No End in Sight and Richard Robbins' Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.
Features about other wars made the cut, too, including Steven Okazaki's White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham's World War II art study The Rape of Europa.
Virtually all films on the list were topical, including Tricia Regan's look at special-needs children, Autism: The Musical...
- 11/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- The 17th Gotham Awards nominations have been announced - and the emphasis goes to back to smaller-budget indie fair with Craig Zobel's Great World of Sound picking up a trio of noms (best director, breakthrough actor and best film) and going up against perhaps a larger scale film in Sean Penn's Into the Wild which picked up noms for feature and actor (Emile Hirsch). Margot at the Wedding have got two reasons for showing up next month and also picking up a pair of noms is a film that claimed international attention with a presence at last year's Cannes - Day Night Day Night received a best director and breakthrough acting. While winners will be announced on November 27th, the Gotham Awards have chosen to honor six industry folk -: actor Javier Bardem, critic Roger Ebert, production designer Mark Friedberg, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, director Mira Nair and Jonathan Sehring,
- 10/22/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Out of today’s list of 5 features screened, four of them will eventually be shown on screens having already secured domestic distribution, – the solo pic that won’t be seeing the screen was heavy on naked bodies and the such. Here’s some quick, brief comments on the 5. Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You're Dead uses flashback and fractured timelines to demonstrate how a botched robbery went astray. Some nice dramatic perfs from Hoffman and Hawke and for those who care, Marisa Tomei does not disappoint.Man From Plains is a documentary film shaped to some degree of Radiohead’s Meeting People is Easy – it details x-prez Jimmy Carter’s press and book tour. He is a modest man with a good head on his shoulders. The current president could learn a lot from this golden aged senior. It is not the narrative that is the strength of this particular film,
- 9/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, Italy -- Winning the Nobel Peace Prize does not automatically visit sainthood upon the recipient as Tom Lehrer observed while noting that satire died the day Henry Kissinger became laureate, but it looks pretty good on Jimmy Carter.
That's the problem, however, with Jonathan Demme's blandly interesting new documentary on the former president from Georgia titled Man From Plains.
The one-term White House occupant, former peanut farmer and nuclear physicist, sincere Christian, and full-time humanitarian is such a reasonable individual that the film has trouble drumming up controversy.
Screened in the Horizons sidebar at the Venice International Film Festival, theatrical boxoffice is unlikely to be sparkling but it could do well on television and provide a lasting portrait on DVD.
The film follows Carter on a promotional tour in support of his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which argues that Israel will not find peace until it withdraws from the occupied territories.
It's a point of view rejected by many supporters of Israel but such is Carter's standing as a result of the Camp David accord he negotiated between Egypt and Israel all those years ago that even his angriest opponents temper their response.
Demme goes on the road with the Carter team to places such as Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles and he's seen being questioned by an assortment of television presenters including Jay Leno, Charlie Rose and Larry King. There are encounters with sycophantic interviewers and challenging ones but it seldom gets heated.
He goes to picnics and book signings, attends meetings at the Carter Center, and preaches the gospel. He says he and wife Rosalynn read aloud from the Bible every night even when he's on the road by phone. The film has no narrator and there are no direct interviews. Carter is free to say what he wants and while he states there's no conflict in belief in Jesus Christ and being a scientist, he doesn't elaborate.
There are many small but interesting observational moments in the documentary and Demme covers the major issues of Carter's presidency, his current work as a world statesman, and his work building homes with Habitat in New Orleans and around the world.
Demme also reveals that whatever else he may be Carter is a consummate professional in dealing with people from all walks of life. He may not have been the most dynamic or effective president in recent history but in Demme's snapshot he certainly appears to be the most decent.
MAN FROM PLAINS
A Clinica Estetico Prod,
Credits:
Director: Jonathan Demme
Producers: Jonathan Demme, Neda Armian
Executive producers: Ron Bozman, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann
Director of photography: Declan Quinn
Music: Djamel Ben Yelles, Alejandro Escovedo, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Editor: Kate Amend
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA rating...
VENICE, Italy -- Winning the Nobel Peace Prize does not automatically visit sainthood upon the recipient as Tom Lehrer observed while noting that satire died the day Henry Kissinger became laureate, but it looks pretty good on Jimmy Carter.
That's the problem, however, with Jonathan Demme's blandly interesting new documentary on the former president from Georgia titled Man From Plains.
The one-term White House occupant, former peanut farmer and nuclear physicist, sincere Christian, and full-time humanitarian is such a reasonable individual that the film has trouble drumming up controversy.
Screened in the Horizons sidebar at the Venice International Film Festival, theatrical boxoffice is unlikely to be sparkling but it could do well on television and provide a lasting portrait on DVD.
The film follows Carter on a promotional tour in support of his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which argues that Israel will not find peace until it withdraws from the occupied territories.
It's a point of view rejected by many supporters of Israel but such is Carter's standing as a result of the Camp David accord he negotiated between Egypt and Israel all those years ago that even his angriest opponents temper their response.
Demme goes on the road with the Carter team to places such as Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles and he's seen being questioned by an assortment of television presenters including Jay Leno, Charlie Rose and Larry King. There are encounters with sycophantic interviewers and challenging ones but it seldom gets heated.
He goes to picnics and book signings, attends meetings at the Carter Center, and preaches the gospel. He says he and wife Rosalynn read aloud from the Bible every night even when he's on the road by phone. The film has no narrator and there are no direct interviews. Carter is free to say what he wants and while he states there's no conflict in belief in Jesus Christ and being a scientist, he doesn't elaborate.
There are many small but interesting observational moments in the documentary and Demme covers the major issues of Carter's presidency, his current work as a world statesman, and his work building homes with Habitat in New Orleans and around the world.
Demme also reveals that whatever else he may be Carter is a consummate professional in dealing with people from all walks of life. He may not have been the most dynamic or effective president in recent history but in Demme's snapshot he certainly appears to be the most decent.
MAN FROM PLAINS
A Clinica Estetico Prod,
Credits:
Director: Jonathan Demme
Producers: Jonathan Demme, Neda Armian
Executive producers: Ron Bozman, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann
Director of photography: Declan Quinn
Music: Djamel Ben Yelles, Alejandro Escovedo, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Editor: Kate Amend
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/10/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- What a non-difference a year makes. With much bafflement, Ang Lee has collected a second Golden Lion in a row - taking the top prize at the 64th Venice Film Festival. Here is the complete list of winners...Competition Golden Lion“Lust, Caution,” Ang Lee (Hong Kong-u.S.-China) Silver Lion“Redacted,” Brian De Palma (U.S.) Special Jury Prize (tie)“The Secret of the Grain,” Abdellatif Kechiche (France) “I’m Not There,” Todd Haynes (U.S.) ACTORBrad Pitt, “The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (U.S.) ACTRESSCate Blanchett, “I’m Not There” (U.S.) Marcello Mastroianni Prize For Young PERFORMERHafsia Herzi “The Secret of the Grain,” (France) SCREENPLAYPaul Laverty, “It’s a Free World” (U.K.-Italy-Germany-Spain) CINEMATOGRAPHYRodrigo Prieto “Lust, Caution” (Hong-Kong-u.S.-China) Special LIONNikita Mikhalkov Other Juries Luigi De Laurentiis Lion Of The Future “La Zona,” Rodrigo Pla (Spain/Mexico) Venice Horizons“Autumn Ball,
- 9/9/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- After announcing their commitment to his most recent project Dancing With Shiva, Sony Pictures Classic have picked up Jonathan Demme's most recent docu project which will preem at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. With the participation of Participant Productions, Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains saw Demme and his crew follow Carter across the U.S., through red states and blue, to bookstores and talk shows and Wal-Marts, as he undertakes a book tour for his new tome, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." At the same time, Carter, who has written more than 20 books, will speak about how to achieve peace in the Mideast and his lifelong philosophy of human compassion.We can expect a 2008 release for this doc.Demme (and Herzog also comes to mind) is the sort of director that dips into fiction and then goes back to documentary filmaking. Here are his last 4 features/docs.
- 8/21/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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