Read This: David Byrne pens a tribute to his friend Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme died today, ending a directorial career that blended music, empathy, and technical artistry with elegance and skill. Despite Demme’s numerous triumphs, few of his films display that cocktail better than his Talking Heads concert film, Stop Taking Sense. Now, Demme’s friend, and Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne, has posted a letter to his personal web site, eulogizing Demme’s humanity and talent.
“I met Jonathan in the ‘80s when Talking Heads were touring a show that he would eventually film and turn into Stop Making Sense,” Byrne writes. “While touring, I thought the show had turned out well and might hold up as a movie, and a mutual friend introduced us. I loved his films Melvin and Howard and Citizens Band (AKA Handle With Care). From those movies alone, one could sense his love of ordinary people. That love surfaces and is manifest over and over throughout his career.”