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Friday, October 25th, 2002

The Truth About Charlie opens today in North America. The critical response has not been pretty but the film does have its high-profile supporters (The New York Times' Elvis Mitchell, Roger Ebert). See it this weekend and judge for yourself.

I've added two more pieces from The Truth About Charlie press tour to the Interviews and Articles section: an interview from The Onion and an article from The Baltimore Sun.

Jonathan Demme appeared on Charlie Rose last night. He discussed The Truth About Charlie, The Agronomist, and confessed that, like Red Dragon, he hasn't seen Hannibal yet. If I have time, I'll post a transcript, in the coming weeks.

Next update: once the press for The Truth About Charlie passes, I'll add the long-promised Cast section. Until then, I'll continue to add new interviews and articles.

Storefront Demme reader and film student Shawn Zeytinoglu attended a special screening of Melvin and Howard at Chapman University, last Friday. Mary Steenburgen was in attendance and answered questions, after the screening. Zeytinoglu has created an article from Steenburgen's responses, in which she discusses Melvin and Howard and Philadelphia, among other things.

I've made several other additions to the Interviews and Articles section. Demme discusses The Truth About Charlie in an interview from ATN-Zone Magazine and an article from the Chicago Tribune.

I've also added a brief interview from The Boston Globe, in which Demme answers a few questions about the continuing screen-legacy of Hannibal Lecter.

Lastly, Jonathan Demme shared his thoughts on Paul Thomas Anderson (and his new film, Punch-Drunk Love) in a recent Chicago Tribune article:

"He's an artist, man," Demme said while in town recently. "There's stuff in this movie, endless stuff in this movie that we've never seen before: situations, images, characters. He's just a brilliant, brilliant filmmaker, and he's an absolute original. I wish he'd get the heck out of the Valley now. I want to see Paul branch out. I want the world to be his canvas."

You can read the rest of the article at cigarettes & coffee.

Next update: the Cast section is still on the way.

I've added the Sight and Sound article about Swing Shift to the Interviews and Articles section. This article details exactly how Goldie Hawn destroyed Swing Shift.

For more on this topic, see the Swing Shift chapter in What Goes Around Comes Around.

Next update: a new section on the actors in Jonathan Demme's films.

I've added a Posters section to the site. This includes poster images for several (but not all) of Jonathan Demme's films.

I've also added an interesting new article from themovieboy.com to the Interviews and Articles section. This article is made up of quotes from a roundtable discussion with Jonathan Demme and Thandie Newton. Demme discusses The Truth About Charlie's cameos (Agnes Varda, Charles Aznavour, Anna Karina), Charade, and his favorite recent releases (The Good Girl, Punch-Drunk Love, The Royal Tenenbaums, Adaptation).

Next update: the Sight and Sound comparison of Demme and Goldie Hawn's versions of Swing Shift.

I've added an article from the October 1998 issue of The International Cinematographers Guild Magazine to the Interviews and Articles section. This article focusses on Tak Fujimoto but he discusses his collaboration with Jonathan Demme, and the inspiration for the visual ideas in Beloved, at length.

Next update: a new poster section.

I've finally added a Music section to the site. This includes Soundtracks, Music Videos, and a link to the existing Musicians page, in the Crew section. The Music Videos list is incomplete so please email me with any additions.

I've also updated the Demme on DVD section, with information on Bruce Springsteen: The Complete Video Anthology (1978-2000), and more.

Next update: another addition to the Interviews and Articles section.

It looks like Jonathan Demme is almost finished a new documentary, entitled The Agronomist. There's a review of a work-in-progress cut of the film at Aint it Cool News. Apparently, Demme has been quietly working on this film for the last nine years, continuing his long-running exploration of Haitian culture and politics.

Two more reviews of The Truth About Charlie have also appeared online. The review at Aint it Cool News is extremely negative and mean-spirited, while the review at Dark Horizons is quite positive. Both reviews include anecdotes from the Jonathan Demme/Thandie Newton Q&A, conducted after the screening (in Chicago).

The track-listing and cover-art for The Truth About Charlie soundtrack are now available at amazon.com. As expected, this is a song soundtrack (it includes one excerpt from Rachel Portman's score). The tracks are:

1. Jim The Jinn (De Phazz), 2. Garab (Rachid Taha), 3. La voix du vaurien (Jean Marc Miro), 4. Les Enfants Perdus (AngiLique Kidjo), 5. Mr. Kennedy (Soft Boys), 6. This Is The Army Of Forgotten Souls (Transglobal Underground), 7. Ragda (Khaled), 8. It's A Wonderful Life (Sparklehorse), 9. Epoca (Gotan Project), 10. Mentira (Manu Chao), 11. Fortress Europe (Asian Dub Foundation), 12. De Cara A La Pared (Lhasa), 13. Slow Down (The Feelies), 14. Sous Le Soleil Exactement (Anna Karina), 15. Hey Natty [Day Monsters] (Backward Dog), 16. Bigga Man (Ted Demme), 17. Truthful Moods (Rachel Portman), 18. Quand Tu M'Aimes (Charles Aznavour)

Note the inclusion of Demme veterans The Feelies and Demme's late nephew, Ted Demme.

Finally, I've added a Film Comment interview from 1980, in which Demme discusses Citizens Band, Last Embrace, and Melvin and Howard.

Next update: a new section on Jonathan Demme's use of music.

I've transcribed an interview by Gavin Smith from the January/February 1991 issue of Film Comment. From the same issue, I've added an article by Kathleen Murphy. This is an analysis of both The Silence of the Lambs and Michael Mann's Red Dragon adaptation, Manhunter. In case you've missed the hype, the re-make of Manhunter, correctly entitled Red Dragon this time, is being released in North America on Friday.

Red Dragon director Brett Ratner appeared on Charlie Rose last night (with Anthony Hopkins) and said a few words about Jonathan Demme:

"I was very nervous, I gotta tell you. I called up Jonathan Demme and I said, 'Jonathan, what do I do? Anthony Hopkins, there's this big movie...' He said, 'calm down, Brett.' He said, 'I can't wait to see your version of this movie.' He said 'if this was The Godfather, I'm giving you my blessing.' And at that moment, I just forgot about the other movies that existed and I set out to make a movie that was my version of it."

Next update: another old interview from Film Comment.