Demme formed his production company, Clinica Estetico, with producersEdward Saxon andPeter Saraf in 1987.[16][17] They were based out of New York City for fifteen years.[18][19]
Further information on the 1981 film presentation:Made in Texas
At one time, Demme was signed on to direct, produce, and write an adaptation ofStephen King's sci-fi novel11/22/63, but later left the project due to disagreements with King on what should be included in the script.[28]
He returned to the concert documentary format withJustin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids (2016), which he described as a "performance film, but also a portrait of an artist at a certain moment in the arc of his career",[21] and his last project was a history of rock & roll for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame compiled from footage from Hall of Fame induction ceremonies set to debut in summer 2017.[21]
Demme directed music videos for artists such asSuburban Lawns,New Order,KRS-One's H.E.A.L. project andBruce Springsteen. He also produced a compilation ofHaitian music calledKonbit: Burning Rhythms of Haiti that was released in 1989. (Lou Reed selectedKonbit... as one of his 'picks of 1989').[29]
Throughout 1986–2004, Demme was known for his dramatic close-ups in films. This style of close-ups involves the character looking directly into the camera during crucial moments. According to Demme, this was done to put the viewer into the character's shoes. Beginning withRachel Getting Married (2008), Demme adopted a documentary style of filmmaking.[31][32]
Writer/directorPaul Thomas Anderson has paid homage to Demme in his films and has cited him as a major influence in his work. In an interview, Anderson jokingly stated that the three filmmakers who inspired him the most are "Jonathan Demme, Jonathan Demme and Jonathan Demme."[33][34] Other directors such asAlexander Payne andWes Anderson have been known to be inspired by his close-ups in their own work.[35][36]
Demme was married twice. His first marriage to Evelyn Purcell ended in divorce.[42] In 1987, he married artist Joanne Howard, with whom he had three children.[1] He was the uncle of film directorTed Demme, who died in 2002.[43] Demme's cousin was theRev. Robert Wilkinson Castle Jr., an Episcopal priest who appeared in some of Demme's films.
Demme was a member of the steering committee of the Friends of theApollo Theater, Oberlin, Ohio, along withDanny DeVito andRhea Perlman.[44] In 2013, he returned to Oberlin as part of an alumni reunion during the class of 2013 graduation ceremony and received the award for Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts.[45]
In 2009, Demme signed a petition in support of directorRoman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."[46][47]
Demme was an avid collector and devotee ofHaitian art, in particular ofHector Hyppolite - so much so that he called it "an addiction". In 2014, he held an auction in Philadelphia selling thousands from his collection, much of which was donated to a cultural center inPort-au-Prince.[48]
"I am heart-broken to lose a friend, a mentor, a guy so singular and dynamic you'd have to design a hurricane to contain him. Jonathan was as quirky as his comedies and as deep as his dramas. He was pure energy, the unstoppable cheerleader for anyone creative. Just as passionate about music as he was about art, he was and will always be a champion of the soul. JD, most beloved, something wild, brother of love, director of the lambs. Love that guy. Love him so much."
^Seitz, Matt Zoller (April 26, 2017)."A musical soul: Jonathan Demme, 1944-2017".RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC.Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. RetrievedFebruary 14, 2020.Demme's laid back brand of optimistic humanism wasn't always a great fit for Hollywood projects, though he applied his talents to them so conscientiously and inventively that he briefly became an A-list director anyhow.
^Gilbey, Ryan (April 26, 2017)."Jonathan Demme obituary".The Guardian.Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. RetrievedApril 26, 2017.
^abDeCurtis, Anthony (March 24, 1994)."TheRolling Stone Interview: Jonathan Demme onPhiladelphia, Tom Hanks, homophobia".Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. RetrievedApril 26, 2017.Philadelphia was fueled by three of the director's staunchest convictions: that helping out people who are having a hard time is less a duty than a pleasure; that bigotry is more the result of ignorance than evil; and that for all the country's political outrages, goodness is deep in the American grain.
^Sragow, Michael (1984),"Jonathan Demme on the Line",American Film, no. January/February, archived fromthe original on July 7, 2004, retrievedMarch 18, 2009,Although his best two movies to date,Citizens Band (AKAHandle With Care, 1977) andMelvin and Howard (1980), were hailed for bringing the heartiness and sensitivity of a homegrown Jean Renoir into latter-day American film comedy, they failed to score at the box office.
^Kaplan, James (March 27, 1988),"Jonathan Demme's Offbeat America",The New York Times, p. 6.48,archived from the original on November 10, 2012, retrievedMarch 18, 2009,Paramount figured it might just have a sleeper hit in the small movie, but it took a wait-and-see attitude, spending little on advertising and promotion, and hoping the movie would hook onto the C.B. craze and catch.
^Williams, Phillip (October 11, 2002),"The Truth About Jonathan Demme",MovieMaker, archived fromthe original on March 1, 2009, retrievedMarch 18, 2009,We had a great time doing it and we were invited to the New York Film Festival, despite the fact that the film tanked horrendously—and famously—at the box office.
^Burr, Ty (October 12, 2008),"He's back",The Boston Globe,archived from the original on April 25, 2009, retrievedMarch 19, 2009,Warm rather than cold, forgiving rather than damning,Rachel is a throwback to the fluky, generous vibe that sustained the director's films in the late 1970s and 1980s –Handle With Care (1977),Melvin and Howard (1980),Stop Making Sense (1984),Something Wild (1986) andMarried to the Mob (1988).
^Olsen, Mark (September 28, 2008),"Jonathan Demme'sRachel Getting Married",Los Angeles Times,archived from the original on January 2, 2009, retrievedMarch 19, 2009,WithRachel Getting Married, Demme, 64, has returned to the playful, deeply humanist storytelling of such early work as 1980'sMelvin and Howard and 1986'sSomething Wild, both of which are widely acknowledged as having influenced a younger generation of filmmakers.
^Schickel, Richard (October 2, 2008),"Rachel Getting Married, Demme Getting Messy",Time, archived fromthe original on October 4, 2008, retrievedMarch 19, 2009,Back in the '70s and '80s he was the best – or at any rate the most promising – young American director. ... Demme's new film,Rachel Getting Married, is arguably an attempt on the part of the director to wend his way back to his roots.
.JPG)
