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Friday, January 31st, 2003

On Wednesday, Jonathan Demme and several other people-of-note announced a large protest against the USA's impending attack of Iraq. This was reported by Amy Westfeldt, in The Associated Press:

NEW YORK - Anti-war protesters on Wednesday predicted "literally millions" of people in New York, San Francisco and more than 30 international cities would march the weekend of Feb. 15 against war in Iraq.

A day after President Bush said in his State of the Union address that he was ready to disarm Saddam Hussein's Iraq, organizers brought politicians, church leaders and Oscar-winning filmmakers Jonathan Demme and Mercedes Ruehl out to announce the protest.

I've also added an article enititled "Creating Sound For Demme", by Elisabeth Weis, to the Links section. In this article, Ron Bochar discusses the sound effects he created for The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia.

Next update: several additions to the Book Club section.

Thanks to writer and Storefront Demme reader Anton Giulio Mancino, I've added several titles to the Music Videos page. The updated list includes videos by Sandra Bernhardt, The Feelies, and Suzanne Vega.

Mancino has written two Italian-language books about Jonathan Demme: Angeli Selvaggi - Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme (with a preface by Roger Corman) and a second book that is not yet published.

Next update: more additions to the Links section.

Aint it Cool News has contradicted my previous report on Jonathan Demme's re-make of The Manchurian Candidate. They now report that Meryl Streep will play the Angela Lansbury role. I assume that this means Julianne Moore is actually playing the Janet Leigh role (which makes more sense, age-wise) but this hasn't been confirmed.

In the re-make department, I've added MGM's DVD Page for the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate to the Links section. This page features the film's trailer, photos, and soundbites. I've also added posters for Charade and The Manchurian Candidate to the Posters section.

Lastly, I've added the fifth and final chapter to Demme on Demme, entitled Part 5: The Silence of the Lambs.

Next update: several music video additions to the Music section.

DVD File reports today that The Truth About Charlie will be released on DVD, on April 1st. In spite of the film's poor box office performance, Universal will release a two-disc set with audio commentary by Jonathan Demme, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, ROM extras, and Charade, in its entirety. The DVD will also feature a 2.35:1 transfer (enhanced for widescreen TVs), Dolby Digital, and DTS 5.1 surround tracks. Sound and transfer information for Charade has not been released yet.

In Future/Unrealized Projects news, Julianne Moore will play Raymond Shaw's mother, in Jonathan Demme's re-make of The Manchurian Candidate. Angela Lansbury played this role in the John Frankenheimer-directed original.

Lastly, I've added another chapter to Demme on Demme, entitled Part 4: Swing Shift to Married to the Mob.

Next update: the fifth and final installment in Demme on Demme: The Silence of the Lambs.

As you've probably observed, from the banner at the top of this page, Storefront Demme is now sponsored by AllPosters.com. This sponsorship has allowed me to make some additions to the Posters page so be sure to take a look.

I've also added another chapter to Demme on Demme, entitled Part 3: Citizens Band to Melvin and Howard.

In an article at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Calvin Wilson lists The Truth About Charlie as one of the year's best films:

"Thandie Newton and Mark Wahlberg couldn't shake the shadows of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, and director Jonathan Demme's loose remake of the 1963 romantic thriller Charade was generally deemed a failure. But the truth is, Charlie was actually reminiscent of earlier Demme films like Something Wild - and wonderfully entertaining if you simply allowed it to work its quirky magic."

Next update: Demme on Demme Part 4: Swing Shift to Married to the Mob.

Happy New Year! I've added another chapter to Demme on Demme, entitled Part 2: Caged Heat to Fighting Mad. This covers the three films Jonathan Demme directed, under the supervision of Roger Corman.

Next update: Demme on Demme Part 3: Citizens Band to Melvin and Howard.