Movies Matter
  • Blog
  • William Indick: Psychology for Screenwriters - 2nd Ed.
  • Streaming & In-Theater Reviews
  • Barry Eisler: Amok
  • Gael Chandler: Editing for Directors
  • Niceole Levy: The Writers' Room
  • Margaret Kerrison: Immersive Storytelling
  • Karla Fuller: Do The Right Thing
  • Review Archives
  • Victor Gischler: Conquistador
  • David Koepp: Aurora
  • George Pelecanos: Where He's At Now
  • Chris & Kathy Riley: The Defining Moment
  • Pete Chatmon: Transitions
  • Contact & join mailing list!
  • Dan Attias: Directing Great Televison
  • Jen Grisanti: The Wound That Drives Us
  • John Bucher: The Oscars
  • Scott Essman: The Total Filmmaker
  • Leonard Maltin: Star Struck
  • Christopher Riley: The Hollywood Standard
  • Books & Movies
  • Kelly Edwards: The Executive Chair
  • Diamond & Weissman: Family Man
  • Glenn Kenny: Made Men
  • Julie Salamon: The Devil's Candy Revisited
  • Judith Weston: The 25th Anniversary Edition
  • Carol Pearson: The Hero Within
  • Simon McCleave: The Snowdonia Killings
  • Glenn Frankel: Shooting Midnight Cowboy
  • Steve Kaplan: Comedy's Necessity
  • Claire Elizabeth Terry: Rocaberti Rockin'
  • Kathie Fong-Yoneda: Still rockin' with Rocaberti et al.
  • William Linn: Mythosophia
  • Chris Vogler: 25th Anniversary Edition
  • John Badham: On Directing, 2nd Edition
  • Ken Lee: Singin' with Musicals
  • Danette Wolpert: Illuminate
  • Elaine Shannon: Hunting LeRoux
  • Ben Fritz: The Big Picture
  • Ken Miyamoto: Writing the ScreenCraft
  • Charles Ardai: Are Snakes Necessary?
  • Barry Eisler: All The Devils
  • Dave Watson: Walkabout Undone
  • Seger & Rainey: Great Dialogue
  • Pilar Alessandra: The Coffee Break Screenwriter
  • Greg Loftin: Writing for the Cut
  • Debra Eckerling: Your Goal Guide
  • Marilyn Atlas: Dating Your Character
  • Heather Hale: Story$selling
  • Matthew Kalil: The Three Wells
  • Weiko Lin: Crazy Screenwriting Secrets
  • Jason Starr: Fugitive Red
  • Duane Swierczynski
  • Victor Gischler: No Good Deed
  • Diane Bell: Shoot From The Heart
  • Kathie Fong Yoneda: The Future of Story
  • Deborah Patz: Write! Shoot! Edit!
  • Edwards & Skerbelis: Film Festivals
  • Ken Lee, UFVA
  • Geoff Carter: The P.S. Wars
  • Michael Lucker: Action films
  • Dr. Linda Seger: Script to Screen
  • Diamond & Weissman: Bulletproof Scripts
  • Glenn Frankel: High Noon
  • R.R. Campbell: Imminent Dawn
  • Kristin Oakley: Carpe Diem
  • Rex Owens: Murphy's Troubles
  • Margaret Goss: The Uncommitted
  • John Bucher: The Oscars
  • Pamela Douglas: Writing TV Drama
  • Scott Von Doviak: Charlesgate Confidential
  • David Sonnenschein: Sound Design
  • Interview: Josh Friedman
  • Interview: Mike Olah
  • Interview: Stan Williams
  • Interview: Stephen Galloway
  • Interview: Maureen Ryan
  • Jon Fitzgerald: Filmmaking for Change
  • Interview: Ken Lee
  • The Oscars: Pamela Jaye Smith
  • Interview: Kim Adelman
  • Interview: Jeffrey Michael Bays
  • Pamela Jaye Smith: Romantic Movies
  • Interview: Jennifer Van Sijll
  • Interview: Adam Coplan
  • Interview: Shane Kuhn
  • Interview: Bucher and Casper
  • Interview: Troy Devolld
  • Interview: Simone Bartesaghi
  • Interview: The Shoot Like Series
  • Interview: Judith Weston
  • Interview: Pamela Douglas
  • Interview: Jennifer Dornbush
  • Interview: Peterson & Nicolosi
  • Interview: Sarah Beach
  • Interview: Jen Grisanti
  • Interview: Jacqueline Frost
  • Interview: Christopher Kenworthy
  • Interview: Joe Gilford
  • Interview: Richard Pepperman
  • Interview: Deborah Patz
  • Interview: Sam & Gifford Keen
  • Interview: Paul Chitlik
  • Interview: Christopher Vogler
  • Interview: Marx Pyle
  • Interview: Laurie Scheer
  • Interview: Todd Drezner
  • Interview: Tom Malloy
  • Interview: Brad Schreiber
  • Interview: Marilyn Atlas
  • Interview: Ken Miyamoto
  • Interview: Carole Kirschner
  • Interview: Lee Jessup
  • Interview: Jeffrey Michael Bays
  • Interview: Pamela Jaye Smith
  • Interview: John Schimmel
  • Interview: Christopher Riley
  • Interview: John Badham
  • Interview: Dr. Linda Seger
  • Interview: Pilar Alessandra
  • Interview: Steve Kaplan
  • Barry Eisler: the Killer Collective
  • Interview: Gil Bettman
  • Interview: Richard Dunn
  • Interview: Paul Dudbridge
  • New Page

Subscribe!

A passing, marks left

5/20/2017

0 Comments

 
When Jonathan Demme passed away at 73 on April 26th, he'd had quite a prolific career on and off the mainstream radar. I remember seeing him interviewed by MTV right after Stop Making Sense, accurately deemed the ultimate concert film, was released. The interviewer said Demme used to be a rock critic before becoming a filmmaker. Demme seemed down to earth, reasonable, in his head, processing how to best answer the questions posed to him. His breakout film was Melvin and Howard, released in late 1980 and garnering two Oscars. Four years later Stop Making Sense made its way across the country, and I remember well in April 1985, with eighth grade winding down, going to the Bijou and seeing it with a good friend. He and I didn't know the band Talking Heads too well, but boy what a way to bring a band and music to life. That movie presented a band and director in control of the material, without a false move, from start to finish. Not sure if I'd say it was revolutionary as much as it was evolutionary, keeping cameras trained on the stage and musicians. I believe many audience members forgot about the cameras because the editing was so seamless and in step with the music and what we were thinking while we watched.

Another friend soon thereafter hooked up his VCR to his TV. He taped the entire movie, and we played it long after it was out of theaters. Demme balanced light and dark forces with Something Wild, one of the first times Jeff Daniels was front-and-center with another budding star, Melanie Griffith, with a juicy supporting turn by Ray Liotta (His role came to mind when De Niro and Scorsese were banding about ideas for casting Goodfellas). The disappointing, flimsy Married to the Mob was a slight misstep though not a disaster in tone. Then came The Silence of the Lambs in the spring of 1991. That's endured ever since. It's been studied, doesn't grow old for many, and swept the Oscars, beating out Bugsy and JFK for Best Picture. Philadelphia was solid, and I recall the director sidestepping criticisms of how it portrayed the gay community, saying he wouldn't let that phase him.

He had an incomprehensible misstep with the remake of The Manchurian Candidate (2004), a watered-down version of the classic. Beloved (1998) was liked by critics and not many others. In the end, he had his aces and his misgivings, which is why many follow directors. They are human, and that's why their movies, and careers, matter.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.