Jonathan Demme

Biography: Quirky, engaging filmmaker who looks at genre films from a skewed perspective. A former critic and publicist, he got his start, as did so many others, with prolific producer Roger Corman, writing and/or producing such epics as Angels Hard as They Come (1971) and Black Mama, White Mama (1972). He directed three films for Corman: Caged Heat (1974, which he also wrote), Crazy Mama (1975), and Fighting Mad (1976, which he also wrote), all sex-and-violence mellers, but leavened with an offbeat sense of humor. His first film on his own was Citizens' Band (1977), a piquant study of CB radio operators. Despite rave reviews, it did no business at all (one New York theater ran it for free and still nobody came), even after its title was changed to Handle With Care After a superb Hitchcock-style thriller, Last Embrace (1979), came Melvin and Howard (1980), a fantasia on the life of would-be Howard Hughes beneficiary Melvin Dummar. Despite more glowing notices and two Oscars, it too was aQuirky, engaging filmmaker who looks at genre films from a skewed perspective. A former critic and publicist, he got his start, as did so many others, with prolific producer Roger Corman, writing and/or producing such epics as Angels Hard as They Come (1971) and Black Mama, White Mama (1972). He directed three films for Corman: Caged Heat (1974, which he also wrote), Crazy Mama (1975), and Fighting Mad (1976, which he also wrote), all sex-and-violence mellers, but leavened with an offbeat sense of humor. His first film on his own was Citizens' Band (1977), a piquant study of CB radio operators. Despite rave reviews, it did no business at all (one New York theater ran it for free and still nobody came), even after its title was changed to Handle With Care After a superb Hitchcock-style thriller, Last Embrace (1979), came Melvin and Howard (1980), a fantasia on the life of would-be Howard Hughes beneficiary Melvin Dummar. Despite more glowing notices and two Oscars, it too was a complete bust.

Demme's first brush with Big Hollywood Stars, the Goldie Hawn vehicle Swing Shift (1984) was a career low point, but he bounced back with the extraordinary Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense (also 1984). His reputation (and the grosses) grew with the unhinged comedy-thrillers Something Wild (1986) and Married to the Mob (1988), as well as Miami Blues (1990), which he produced. (He also directed another performance film, Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia in 1987.) His commercial breakthrough finally came with the outstanding nail-biter The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which earned him an Oscar as Best Director. Typical of Demme's generosity toward young filmmakers, he spoke of exciting new talent in the directing ranks while giving his thank-you speech. Since then he's directed an extremely personal documentary about a most unusual member of his family, Cousin Bobby (1992), executive produced Household Saints (1993), and tackled the difficult subject of AIDS in Philadelphia (1993).… Expand