Jonathan
Demme, the Oscar-winning director of Philadelphia and The
Silence of the Lambs and the filmmaker who revolutionized concert movies
with his 1984 Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense, died Wednesday
morning from complications due to heart disease. He was 73.
Demme's
family confirmed the filmmaker's death to Indiewire.
"Sadly,
I can confirm that Jonathan passed away early this morning in his Manhattan
apartment, surrounded by his wife, Joanne Howard, and three children,"
Demme's rep said in a statement.
After
breaking into the industry as a writer and director for exploitation-movie king
Roger Corman in the early 1970s, Demme made a name for himself with the 1980
drama Melvin and Howard, which chronicled the story of gas-station
attendant Melvin Dummar's encounter with reclusive millionaire Howard Hughes
that left the Utah resident as the beneficiary of Hughes' fortune.
Though
he specialized in whimsical, humanistic comedy-dramas and live-performance
films like Stop Making Sense and his Spalding Gray monologue movie Swimming
to Cambodia (1987), it was his adaptation of Thomas Harris' serial-killer
novel The Silence of the Lambs in 1991 that won him a Best Director
Oscar, introduced the character of Hannibal Lecter into the popular
consciousness and established horror movies as the equivalent of prestige
films.
Though
Demme isn't credited for writing Lambs, he conceptualized some of the
film's signature moments. Screenwriter Ted Tally told Rolling Stone that villain
Buffalo Bill's creepy nude dance was even in the script. "I was as shocked
as everybody else when I saw him tucking his genitals between his legs and
posing," he said. "I thought, 'Oh, my God.' When Jodie [Foster] first
saw it, she said, 'This is really disturbing.' Which is the idea. Certainly the
nipple ring and things like that were not in the script."
Demme
became a household name in the Nineties following his work on Lambs –
still one of only three films to rack up Oscar wins for Best Director, Picture,
Actor, Actress and Screenplay. His next project, 1993's Philadelphia,
was equally ubiquitous and even more culturally significant: The film, starring
Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, raised awareness of gay rights and the AIDS
epidemic.
The
filmmaker told Rolling Stone he was inspired
to create a film about AIDS after his friend Juan Botas became sick with the
disease. "We looked for a story for a long time, and we decided it would
be pointless to make a film for people with AIDS," he said. "Or for
their loved ones. They don't need no movie about AIDS. They live the truth. We
wanted to reach people who don't know people with AIDS, who look down on people
with AIDS."
While
primarily known for features, Demme's legacy will be equally remembered for Stop
Making Sense, his groundbreaking 1984 documentary chronicling Talking
Heads.
Demme
never earned the same level of accolades, but he continued to work in a variety
of genres. His other notable films include 2004 thriller The Manchurian
Candidate (a remake of the 1962 title starring Frank Sinatra), Neil Young's
2006 concert doc Heart of Gold, 2008 romantic drama Rachel Getting
Married and his final narrative movie, the Meryl Streep-starring
musical-comedy Ricki and the Flash.
Fittingly,
Demme returned to the concert documentary format with his final project, last
year's Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids, which he crafted
as a "performance film but also a portrait of an artist at a certain
moment in the arc of his career."
Demme
is survived by his wife, Joanne Howard, and three children. According to
Demme's rep, a private family funeral will be held, with the family asking that
in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Americans For Immigrant Justice.
In an interview promoting Philadelphia, Demme recounted to Rolling Stone some
sage filmmaking advice he received from Roger Corman: "Jonathan, never
forget what the primary organ is for the moviegoer. It's the eye. You must keep
the eye interested." It's a lesson he never forgot.
SOURCE: www.rollingstone.com
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