filmmaker Jonathan Demme, RIP (read tributes from David Byrne, Robyn Hitchcock & more)
Jonathan Demme and self in New York in 1996. He loved people, he loved filming them; I am so sad to hear he's gone. RIP JD xx pic.twitter.com/wbgdNZfih7
— Robyn Hitchcock (@RobynHitchcock) April 26, 2017
It is very sad news to report that great filmmaker Jonathan Demme has died from complications of esophageal cancer. He was 73.
Like a lot of respected filmmakers, he got his start via Roger Corman where he made exploitation films Caged Heat, Crazy Mama, and Fighting Mad. He got noticed with his 1980 comedy Melvin & Howard, and then directed Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell in Swing Shift in 1984. It was that same year that he made Talking Heads‘ landmark concert film Stop Making Sense. Music became a strong thread in his work, which continued his independent streak even as his films became bigger and bigger for major studios.
The Feelies played a cover band in 1986’s great Something Wild; Chris Isaak and David Johansen had small but memorable roles in 1988’s Married to the Mob; and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe stared in in 2008’s Rachel Getting Married. The latter also featured a cameo from Robyn Hitchcock, who also appeared in Demme’s remakes of The Manchurian Candidate and The Truth About Charlie (based on 1963’s Charade), and Demme also directed the Robyn Hitchcock concert documentary Storefront Hitchock. And who else in 1991 would have prominently used an obscure song by Colin Newman from Wire in the hit, Oscar winning The Silence of the Lambs?
Demme also made Neil Young: Heart of Gold, and directed memorable music videos for New Order (“The Perfect Kiss”), The Feelies (“Away”), Bruce Springsteen (the title track from Demme’s Philadelphia) and more. He also directed Justin Timberlake’s 2016 concert documentary.
He also directed Spalding Grey’s Swimming to Cambodia, and a great episode of Columbo. It’s a huge loss to film and music. Rest in peace, Jonathan.
David Byrne posted a tribute to Demme on his website that recalls the making of Stop Making Sense. Read that, and watch some of Jonathan Demme’s more music-oriented work and read other tributes, below.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phvKAm_v5og&list=PLke4g-fS3LOaaUgmHkFiQ8K9Bww8dfKTf
My friend, the director Jonathan Demme, passed last night.
I met Jonathan in the ‘80s when Talking Heads were touring a show that he would eventually film and turn into Stop Making Sense. While touring, I thought the show had turned out well and might hold up as a movie, and a mutual friend introduced us. I loved his films Melvin and Howard and Citizens Band (AKA Handle With Care). From those movies alone, one could sense his love of ordinary people. That love surfaces and is manifest over and over throughout his career. Jonathan was also a huge music fan—that’s obvious in his films too—many of which are jam-packed with songs by the often obscure artists he loved. He’d find ways to slip a reggae artist’s song or a Haitian recording into a narrative film in ways that were often joyous and unexpected.
We very much saw eye to eye when we met and the late Gary Kurfirst, who managed Talking Heads, found us the money to shoot Stop Making Sense. We booked four nights at the Pantages Theatre in LA at the tail end of a tour for filming. Jonathan joined us on the road and became familiar with the band and the show. Jonathan was going through a bit of a nightmare during filming—a studio and a star wanted him to reshoot parts of a big budget film he’d just finished called Swingshift. He was dealing with that in the day and shooting our low budget movie at night. Guess which one will be remembered? That said, Swingshift was filled with empathy for the women workers in U.S. factories during WWII—it was character driven, as much of his other work is.
Stop Making Sense was character driven too. Jonathan’s skill was to see the show almost as a theatrical ensemble piece, in which the characters and their quirks would be introduced to the audience, and you’d get to know the band as people, each with their distinct personalities. They became your friends, in a sense. I was too focused on the music, the staging and the lighting to see how important his focus on character was—it made the movies something different and special. Jonathan was also incredibly generous during the editing and mixing. He and producer Gary Goetzman made us in the band feel included; they wanted to hear what we had to say. That inclusion was hugely inspirational for me. Though I had directed music videos before, this mentoring of Jonathan’s emboldened me to try making a feature film.
Jonathan helped me as I was developing True Stories, I wrote a song for his film Something Wild, a score for Married to the Mob and we made a test sequence for a never completed documentary featuring Robert Farris Thompson called Rule of the Cool. Jonathan went on to make a lot more features—some hugely successful, others not so much. He interspersed these with a number of documentaries and music films. The documentaries are pure labors of love. They tend to be celebrations of unsung heroes—an agronomist in Haiti, an activist (cousin) and pastor and an ordinary woman who does extraordinary things in New Orleans post-Katrina. The fiction films, the music films and the docs are all filled with so much passion and love. He often turned what would be a genre film into a very personal expression. His view of the world was open, warm, animated and energetic. He was directing T.V. episodes even this year, when he was in remission.
Jonathan, we’ll miss you.
David Byrne
Over here on E Street, we're deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Jonathan Demme.
— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) April 26, 2017
Always smiling, always involved with the world and always pushing you to go for your best. He'll be deeply missed.
– Bruce Springsteen
— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) April 26, 2017
We are heartbroken by the loss of Jonathan. He was a kind and generous man. Our condolences to his family. https://t.co/RT8cXc4uxZ
— The Feelies (@TheFeeliesNJ) April 26, 2017
I was friends with Jonathan Demme for over 40 years. His greatness as a filmmaker is only exceeded by his greatness as a human being.
— Roger Corman (@RogerCorman) April 26, 2017
I know now that this was also the last time I saw Jonathan Demme. Fitting that it was in an act of love and generosity. Such a kind man. https://t.co/qYUZqXz2NU
— Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) April 26, 2017
RIP Jonathan Demme – https://t.co/Xlkn5zIgUS
— Peter Hook (@peterhook) April 26, 2017
https://t.co/p56kT3l9hr
Bye Bye Jonathan Demme a great director and fabulous person.We never got to make The Love Vigilante movie 🎥 RIP— stephen morris (@stephenpdmorris) April 26, 2017
jonathan demme was a kind man and an inspired genius, so incredibly sad to hear of his passing.
— moby XⓋX (@thelittleidiot) April 26, 2017
RIP Jonathan Demme. Inspiring filmmaker, musical explorer, ornithologist (!), and truly wonderful and generous person.
— Jim Jarmusch (@JimJarmusch) April 26, 2017
Jonathan Demme was a gifted and versatile filmmaker. RIP.
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) April 26, 2017