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Friday, November 29th, 2002

It looks like Jonathan Demme has a serious case of re-make fever. According to Variety, Demme is in negotiations to direct a re-make of The Manchurian Candidate, starring Denzel Washington and produced by Scott Rudin. The Future/Unrealized Projects section has been updated, with this new information and some new images.

The current issue of Creative Screenwriting includes an interview with Adaptation writer, Charlie Kaufman. The introduction to the interview clarifies Demme's involvement, in the film:

"Producer Ed Saxon and development executive Valerie Thomas read an interesting article by Susan Orlean in The New Yorker titled 'The Hothouse Millionaire.' It told the tale of John Laroche, a quirky, colorful character who was arrested in Florida for stealing rare orchids from a state-protected preserve. Jonathan Demme agreed to let Saxon and Thomas option the article - and develop it for his company - into a film. Meanwhile, Orlean landed a book deal from the article, which again lead Demme's company, Clinica Estetico, to option her new book, The Orchid Thief. Columbia president Amy Pascal suggested that Charlie Kaufman adapt the screenplay, and after reading his three (then unproduced) screenplays (Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), all parties agreed that he was the right man for the job."

Lastly, I've added more names to the Cast section.

Next update: a new Links section.

I've added a new interview from MovieMaker magazine to the Interviews and Articles section. Subjects of discussion include The Truth About Charlie, Citizens Band, Melvin and Howard, Roger Corman, and Adaptation.

In this interview, Demme also mentions his planned re-teaming with Jodie Foster, to be written by Richard Price. I've updated the Future/Unrealized Projects section with this information.

Next update: more additions to the Cast section.

After a lengthy delay (I apologize), I've added my own personal defense of The Truth About Charlie, entitled "15 Reasons the Critics Are Wrong About The Truth About Charlie". Believe me, there are more than 15 reasons but the process of writing this kind of article is simply too time-consuming to cover them all. Feel free to contact me with hostile responses but, keep in mind, most complaints have already been voiced by the critics.

The absence of Charles Napier, in The Truth About Charlie, was addressed in a recent installment of Roger Ebert's "Movie Answer Man". Ebert has admitted that he sometimes makes these questions up and, since he's an old friend/collaborator of Russ Meyer, I have a feeling Ebert wrote this one, himself.

Q. I was disappointed that Charles Napier did not appear in Jonathan Demme's The Truth About Charlie. Napier's appearance in Demme's films was a fun cinematic footnote. Do you know if Napier is still alive or still working?
Michael Green, Phoenix

A. Napier, still alive and working, has the distinction of being a favorite actor of both Jonathan Demme and Russ Meyer. He was the guard whose face was stolen by Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, and played the sheriff in Cherry, Harry and Raquel. Demme tells me he tried to find a role for Napier in The Truth About Charlie but just wasn't able to.

Finally, on tonight's episode of "Larry King Live", Melanie Griifith was asked to name her best film. She named more than one but she said Something Wild first.

Next update: a new interview from MovieMaker magazine.

On Wednesday, Jeffrey Wells brought new attention to the Goldie Hawn/Swing Shift fiasco in his column, Hollywood Elsewhere. I alerted Wells to the relevant articles at this site (The Sight and Sound article, and The Guardian interview) and, as a result, he decided to bring up the subject, in an effort to locate a bootleg copy of Demme's original cut of Swing Shift.

According to an update in today's column, Wells has successfully obtained a copy of Demme's cut from L.A. Weekly contributor/film fanatic, Paul Cullum. Wells intends to view both versions of Swing Shift and write a comparative piece, in an upcoming column.

Next update: my article on the negative critical response to The Truth About Charlie.

After several delays, I've finally added a Cast section to the site. For now, this includes an incomplete list of actors who have appeared in more than one film, directed by Jonathan Demme. This section also includes internet movie database links for each of the actors, and a list of the Demme films they have appeared in.

If you're interested in the box office performance of Jonathan Demme's films, check the Jonathan Demme page at Box Office Mojo. The box office failure of even Demme's best films (Citizens Band, Melvin and Howard, Something Wild), puts the failure of The Truth About Charlie into perspective (it has grossed only $4.2 million, thus far.).

Next update: my own attempt to make sense of the negative critical response to The Truth About Charlie.

I've made two more additions to the Interviews and Articles section. As promised, I've added the Jonathan Demme article from last Sunday's issue of The New York Times. I've also added a recent article from The Washington Post.

Next update: at last, the long-delayed Cast section.

I've transcribed last week's Charlie Rose interview and added it to the Interviews and Articles section. Again, the conversation covers The Truth About Charlie, The Agronomist, and The Silence of the Lambs (and the continuing cinematic saga of Thomas Harris' novels and characters).

I've made two other additions to the Interviews and Articles section: an unusual assessment of The Truth About Charlie's box office potential from USA Today (with some interesting production information) and an article from The Globe and Mail.

Next update: a lengthy new article from The New York Times.