Jonathan Demme

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Jonathan Demme (born February 22, 1944, in Baldwin, New York) is an Academy Award winning American film director, producer and writer.

Demme broke into feature film directing working for Roger Corman. His first mainstream feature Melvin and Howard caught the eye of Hollywood and he was signed to direct the Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell vehicle Swing Shift. The compromised production saw Demme withdraw from feature films making a notable series of 'concert films' with Stop Making Sense and Swimming to Cambodia.

Demme won the Academy Award for The Silence of the Lambs in 1991. One of the few films to win all the major categories (best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor, and best actress) Demme directed an Oscar winning turn from Tom Hanks in his next feature Philadelphia.

One of his common directoral motifs is to allow characters to look directly into the camera.

Jonathan formed his production company, Clinica Estetico, with producers Edward Saxon and Peter Saraf. They were based out of New York for fifteen years.

Jonathan Demme was the uncle of the director Ted Demme, who died in 2002.

Jonathan Demme has three children, and is a graduate of the University of Florida.

It has been reported that he is currently working on a documentary featuring Jimmy Carter as he promotes his book Palestine:Peace not Apartheid. [1]

[edit] Filmography

• Caged Heat (1974)
• Crazy Mama (1975)
• Fighting Mad (1976)
• Handle with Care (1977)
• Last Embrace (1979)
• Melvin and Howard (1980)
• Who Am I This Time? (1983)
• Swing Shift (1984)
• Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads concert film) (1984)
• Something Wild (1986)
• Swimming to Cambodia (1987)
• Haiti: Dreams of Democracy (1987)
• Married to the Mob (1988)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Cousin Bobby (1991)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Beloved (1998)
• Storefront Hitchcock (1998)
• The Truth About Charlie (2002)
• The Agronomist (2003)
• The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
• Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006)

Preceded by Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves

Academy Award for Best Director 1991 for The Silence of the Lambs

Succeeded by Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven

[edit] External links

• Storefront Demme
• Jonathan Demme at the Internet Movie Database
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database Profile by Keith Uhlich
• Slant Magazine Film Review of Neil Young: Heart of Gold by Keith Uhlich
• Start Making Sense (Interview with Jonathan Demme from LA Weekly) by Michael Dare

v • d • e The Hannibal Tetralogy By Thomas Harris

The Books Red Dragon • The Silence of the Lambs • Hannibal • Hannibal Rising The Films Manhunter • The Silence of the Lambs • Hannibal • Red Dragon • Hannibal Rising Main Characters Will Graham • Hannibal Lecter • Clarice Starling Secondary Characters Buffalo Bill • Frederick Chilton • Jack Crawford • Francis Dolarhyde • Paul Krendler • Mischa Lecter • Freddy Lounds • Ardelia Mapp • Reba McClane • Lady Murasaki • Margot Verger • Mason Verger