The Silence of the Lambs

Background:

“I don't think it's sacrilegious to remake any movie, including a good or even great movie. I think what's sacrilegious is to make a bad movie, whether it's a remake or an original. It's what I always tell my actor friends, anybody who's in this, this (business), you've gotta try to hold out and only do the scripts, do the material that offers you the opportunity to do your best work. Because if you do stuff that doesn't give you that opportunity? Your work's not gonna be good and you're gonna suffer in the long run from that. So I don't care if it's a remake, if it's a great script with parts in it that can attract fantastic actors, God, you know, to make the movie.” Jonathan Demme

An Academy Award winning American film director, writer and producer who has also toiled in music videos, documentaries and TV episodes, Jonathan Demme broke into feature film directing “Caged Heat” (1974), which he wrote for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Thanks to his fine direction in “Melvin and Howard” (1980), he was placed in the mainstream and netted a New York Film Critics Circle Award. But an unwilling experience in directing the Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russel vehicle “Swing Shift” (1984) caused him to leave for a time from major productions, during which time he made a name for himself in the concert film scene with such remarkable efforts as “Stop Making Sense” (1984) and “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987). He has since alternated making feature films with documentaries and concert performance movies. Once named one of Entertainment Weekly's “Greatest Directors of All Time,” Demme reached the peak of his fame in 1991 with “The Silence of the Lambs,” from which he won his Oscar and many other honors, including a Directors Guild of America Award, a Berlin International Film Festival Award, a Blue Ribbon Award and a National Board of Review Award. The hit movie also won other major categories in the prestigious ceremony, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress. He followed the success by directing Tom Hanks in the actor's Academy Award winning performance in 1993's “Philadelphia.” More recently, in 2007, Demme won three awards at the Venice Film Festival for his work in the documentary “Jimmy Carter, Man from Plains,” on which he served as director, producer and writer. Other directorial credits include “Married to the Mob” (1988), “Cousin Bobby” (1992), “The Agronomist” (2003, won a Gotham Award), “The Truth About Charlie” (2002) and “The Manchurian Candidate” (2004). Moviegoers should look forward for his upcoming work in the comedy feature “Dancing with Shiva” (2008).

As for his personal life, Demme has been married twice, first to director/producer Evelyn Purcell and then artist Joanne Howard. He and Howard have three children together.

Vet

Childhood and Family:

Robert Jonathan Demme, professionally known as Jonathan Demme, was born on February 22, 1944, in Baldwin, Long Island, New York. His father worked in public relations and his mother, Dorothy, was an actress who died of emphysema at age 81 in November 1995. He has two brothers, Peter and Rick Demme. At age 15, he and his family relocated to Miami where his father got a job at the Fountainbleau Hotel. An inspiring veterinarian, Demme worked at animal clinics as a teen and then attended the University of Florida in Gainesville where he studied chemistry. Incapable of learning college-level chemistry, he dropped his dream and eventually found film his salvation.

The accomplished filmmaker has been divorced twice. With ex-wife Joanne Howard, he has three children: two daughters, Ramona Castle Demme (born in 1987) and Josephine Demme, and a son, Brooklyn James Demme (born in 1989). His first wife was director/producer Evelyn Maude Purcell. Demme is the uncle of director Ted Demme, who died on January 13, 2002, due to an accidental cocaine evoked heart attack. His niece, Jennifer Demme, is a producer who once worked for MTV. Demme is also the cousin of minister/actor Robert Castle.

Melvin and Howard

Career:

A longtime movie follower, Jonathan Demme turned to film after dumping his original career goal of becoming a veterinarian. While still studying at the University of Florida, he applied for an open position as a film critic at the university's newspaper and got the position. After completing college, he wrote movie reviews for a small paper in Coral Gables until his father introduced him to flamboyant producer Joseph E. Levine. Impressed by Demme's writing on “Zulu” (1964), Levine recruited him to write press releases. Following a move to New York City and a brief stint in the U.S. Air Force, Demme worked as a publicist in Levine's organization. It was while in New York City that he met and befriended French director Francois Truffaut, who was then promoting 1968's “The Bride Wore Black.” Truffaut's influence on Demme can be found in the cunning humor and eccentric style of the aspiring director's early films.

Aside from his work as a publicist, Demme continued to write film and music reviews while in N.Y.C., but a relocation to London gave him the opportunity to acquire his first feature film credit. Demme was hired by producers Paul Maslansky and Irwin Allen as musical coordinator on the low-budget thriller “Eyewitness/Sudden Terror” (1970). It was while in London that he caught the eye of independent producer/director Roger Corman. Corman invited Demme to Los Angeles to write screenplays for the newly-formed New World Picture. Working with friend Joe Viola, Demme finished his first script that was eventually published in 1971 as “Angels Hard as They Come,” a biker flick in which Demme also served as producer, with Viola directing. He rejoined Viola for New World Pictures' next project, “The Hot Box” (1972), where in addition to co-scripting and producing, he also took the duty of second unit director. Two years later, in 1974, Demme made his feature directorial debut with “Caged Heat,” a steamy women-in-prison film. He directed two more movies for Corman, “Crazy Mama” (1975, for New World Pictures) and “Fighting Mad” (1976, for 20th Century-Fox), which starred Peter Fonda.

Demme next cast actor Paul Le Mat in “Citizens Band/Handle with Care” (1978). The pleasing, low-key comedy received positive reviews but failed to meet success at the box office. The same year, he also made his TV directorial debut with “Murder under Glass,” an NBC TV-film episode of the Peter Falk “Columbo” series, and appeared in front of the camera as an actor in the film “The Incredible Melting Man.” Thanks to the attention collected through “Handle With Care,” Demme was hired to helm the suspense thriller “Last Embrace” (1979), starring Roy Scheider, but it was his exploration on the American condition on “Melvin and Howard” (1980) that won the director his first genuine attention. Despite its modest success at box office, the comedy/drama gained a wealth of critical acclaim.

Demme next directed the made-for-TV film “Who Am I This Time?” (1982) for PBS, which was adapted from a short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and starred Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken, and also helped write the script for “Ladies and Gentleman . . . The Fabulous Stains” (1982), directed by Lou Adler, before returning to the director's chair for the 1984 “Swing Shift,” where he also credited Rob Morton for his writing contribution. Due to creative differences with star-executive producer Goldie Hawn, Demme and his editor Craig McKay left the project before the film's final cut was completed. “Swing Shift” was a commercial and critical bomb although Demme's edit was praised by critics as a masterpiece. Still in 1984, Demme proved himself outstanding with his work in “Stop Making Sense,” a concert film documenting the prominent multi-media stage show of the rock band Talking Heads. Named Best Documentary by the National Society of Film Critics, the movie was a huge critical success and a surprise commercial hit and won Demme a Grand Prix at the Flanders International Film Festival. He later also directed rock videos for artists like UB40, New Order, Fine Young Cannibals, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.

After making a cameo appearance in John Landis' “Into the Night” (1985), Demme resurfaced as the director of such films as the comedy thriller “Something Wild” (1986, starred Melanie Griffith), the documentary “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987) and “Married to the Mob” (1988), which featured an Oscar-nominated performance by supporting actor Dean Stockwell. He also co-produced, co-wrote and co-directed a documentary for Great Britain's Channel 4 called “Haiti Dreams of Democracy” (1988). Demme's big breakthrough arrived in 1991 with “The Silence of the Lambs,” which brought the director critical and commercial victory. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris, the crime/thriller nabbed five Oscars in the categories of Best Film, Best Director (Demme), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally). Demme also won numerous other awards for his work in the film, including a Directors Guild of America, a Berlin International Film Festival, a Blue Ribbon, a National Board of Review, a Kansas City Film Critics Circle and a Boston Society of Film Critics.

1992 saw Demme direct and appear in Clinica Estetico's debut, “Cousin Bobby,” a documentary film about the life and work of his real-life cousin, Episcopal clergyman and political activist Robert Castle, and then in 1993, he helmed Tom Hanks in his Oscar-winning role in the blockbuster AIDS drama “Philadelphia.” In 1997, he directed and served as executive producer for “Subway Car From Hell,” a segment of HBO's anthology movie “Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground,” before making a concert film called “Storefront Hitchcock” (1998), about the legendary rocker Robyn Hitchcock. Also in 1998, he directed Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and Thandie Newton in the adaptation of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved.”

Following a four-year absence, Demme returned to the director's chair in 2002 for the mystery/thriller “The Truth About Charlie,” a remake of 1963's “Charade.” Unfortunately, the movie was a disappointment with both critics and audiences alike. Undaunted, he next adapted the 1962 conspiracy thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” into a film of the same name in 2004 that featured top performers from Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber and Kimberly Elise. Also in 2004, he won a Gotham for Best Documentary for his work in 2003's “The Agronomist,” about Jean Dominique, a Haitian radio journalist and human rights activist. His more recent work includes the concert film “Neil Young: Heart of Gold” (2006), the TV miniseries “Right to Return: New Home Movies from the Lower 9th Ward” (2007) and the documentary “Jimmy Carter Man from Plains” (2007). The latter premiered at the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals. At Venice, he won a Biografilm Award, an EIUC Award and the FIPRESCI Prize Horizons and International Critics' Week.

Currently, Demme is filming the comedy film “Dancing with Shiva,” which is slated for a 2008 release. About a former model who has been in and out of rehabilitation for the past 10 years, the film stars Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt and Dorian Missick.

Awards:

• National Board of Review: Billy Wilder Award, 2006

• Gotham: Best Documentary, “The Agronomist,” 2004

• International Documentary Association: Pare Lorentz Award, “Mandela,” 1997

• Academy Award: Best Director, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1992

• Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1992

• Kansas City Film Critics Circle: Best Director, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1992

• Blue Ribbon: Best Foreign Language Film, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1992

• National Board of Review: Best Director, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991

• New York Film Critics Circle: Best Director, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991

• Hochi Film: Best Foreign Language Film, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991

• Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Director, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991

• Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival: Silver Scream, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991

• Berlin International Film Festival: Silver Berlin Bear, Best Director, “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991

• Gotham: Filmmaker, 1991

• Flanders International Film Festival: Grand Prix, “Stop Making Sense,” 1985

• New York Film Critics Circle: Best Director, “Melvin and Howard,” 1980