20 Movie Talents We Lost In 2017

Jonathan Demme first gained attention directing comedies like Melvin and Howard and Married to the Mob during the 80s before critical acclaim beckoned with The Silence of the Lambs in 1991 for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director and his 1993 drama Philadelphia which won star Tom Hanks his first Best Actor Oscar.

His 1998 adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved was a box office bomb but a hit with critics and was followed by a well-received remake of classic political thriller The Manchurian Candidate and his critically acclaimed Anne Hathaway fronted indie Rachel Getting Married.

Demme also directed a number of non-fiction films throughout his career including 1984’s Stop Making Sense – a concert film featuring the Talking Heads and hailed as one of the greatest rock movies ever made – and 2003’s The Agronomist, a documentary about Haitian activist and broadcaster Jean Dominique.