--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were friends with Jonathan Demme. We…" description: "\"We were friends with Jonathan Demme. We were all down on the West Side of New York, and I think I met Kurt Vonnegut through Edith Demme. And then I was..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/susan-sarandon-2799_adaptation_we-were-friends-with-jonathan-demme-we-w_2138673.jpg" --- # We were friends with Jonathan Demme. We were all down on… ![“We were friends with Jonathan Demme. We were all down on the West Side of New York, and I think I met Kurt Vonnegut through Edith Demme. And then I was lucky to do Who Am I This Time? 1982, which was an adaptation of his short story that Jonathan Demme directed with Chris Walken and I, and that…” quote by Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/susan-sarandon-2799_adaptation_we-were-friends-with-jonathan-demme-we-w_2138673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/susan-sarandon-2799_adaptation_we-were-friends-with-jonathan-demme-we-w_2138673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/susan-sarandon-2799_adaptation_we-were-friends-with-jonathan-demme-we-w_2138673.jpg) > “We were friends with Jonathan Demme. We were all down on the West Side of New York, and I think I met Kurt Vonnegut through Edith Demme. And then I was lucky to do Who Am I This Time? 1982, which was an adaptation of his short story that Jonathan Demme directed with Chris Walken and I, and that really cemented the friendship.” [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She recounts early friendships with filmmaker Jonathan Demme and meeting Kurt Vonnegut, leading to a collaborative film project that solidified their bond. **In simple terms:** Early connections with artists shaped her career and friendships. Key Takeaway Cherish and nurture creative collaborations. Themes friendship collaboration career film literature Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal historical When to use this quote - film festivals - screenwriting workshops - literary events - career retrospectives Key Concepts networking artistic influence adaptation mentorship Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain artistic friendships over time? - What role does mentorship play in creative fields? A Different Perspective Relationships can be fleeting; not all collaborations succeed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adaptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I've read some of Kurt Vonnegut letters from when he was young. He was a prisoner of war, and even when he was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-ve-read-some-of-kurt-vonnegut-letters-from-when-he-was-young-he-was/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [Kurt Vonnegut wasn't a chatty guy, but when he spoke, it was always clear and very funny, in the way that he wrote, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/kurt-vonnegut-wasn-t-a-chatty-guy-but-when-he-spoke-it-was-always/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I've just come back from Vegas, and I was in on the caucus process. It's insane. What a mess. And also with these particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-ve-just-come-back-from-vegas-and-i-was-in-on-the-caucus-process-it/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [ I think that his \[Kurt Vonnegut's\] appeal, though, will always be chiefly to adolescents. His sense of the world matches that of young people,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-think-that-his-kurt-vonnegut-s-appeal-though-will-always-be-chiefly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My theory is that Kurt had a lot of residual pain from his childhood. And when you pile that on top of his experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-shields/my-theory-is-that-kurt-had-a-lot-of-residual-pain-from-his-childhood/) [Charles J. Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-shields/) > [“Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before... He is full of murderous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2/beware-of-the-man-who-works-hard-to-learn-something-learns-it-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr-2/) > [“Billy Pilgrim: "You guys go on without me. I'll be alright." Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/billy-pilgrim-you-guys-go-on-without-me-i-ll-be-alright/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ Finally, one night we were smoking pot \[with Michael O'Donoghue\] and talking about the people that are invariably in high school, whether you go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/finally-one-night-we-were-smoking-pot-with-michael-o-donoghue-and/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [As Richard Pryor was to Eddie Murphy, that's what Kurt Vonnegut was to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/as-richard-pryor-was-to-eddie-murphy-that-s-what-kurt-vonnegut-was-to/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [ “\[...\] as Kurt Vonnegut pointed out \[...\] the literary novel has become extraordinarily privatistic of late. It's as if the big issues (Does God… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/as-kurt-vonnegut-pointed-out-the-literary-novel-has-become/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [I read a lot of short fiction, like Kurt Vonnegut and Raymond Carver and Wells Tower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-read-a-lot-of-short-fiction-like-kurt-vonnegut-and-raymond-carver/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [ \[Kurt\] Vonnegut once said, if you ever want to know who somebody is... Like you look at Richard Nixon, or Adolf Hitler, or Ralph… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/kurt-vonnegut-once-said-if-you-ever-want-to-know-who-somebody-is-like/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In seventh grade, with some vague sense that I wanted to be a writer, I crouched in the junior high school library stacks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/in-seventh-grade-with-some-vague-sense-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/everybody-should-read-slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut-this-book/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) ## More by Susan Sarandon > [I'm happy to be considered desirable. I love it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-happy-to-be-considered-desirable-i-love-it/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It's still not easy to find roles that offer more complex images of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/it-s-still-not-easy-to-find-roles-that-offer-more-complex-images-of/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I'm always trying to have a good time on set because that's when things happen. That's when you're playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-always-trying-to-have-a-good-time-on-set-because-that-s-when/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [To each person, their own way of death - with dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/to-each-person-their-own-way-of-death-with-dignity/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [To become a lapsed Catholic, first go to a Catholic university.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/to-become-a-lapsed-catholic-first-go-to-a-catholic-university/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [To know that once you decide to look at life outside of the narrow limits of just your world and start to understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/to-know-that-once-you-decide-to-look-at-life-outside-of-the-narrow/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [You have to take away the idea that something you do is right or wrong. I don't think there's a right or a wrong;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/you-have-to-take-away-the-idea-that-something-you-do-is-right-or/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I hesitate to direct even though I feel I contribute a lot on a set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-hesitate-to-direct-even-though-i-feel-i-contribute-a-lot-on-a-set/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I think looking at your own life, on- and offscreen, you can motivate anything, or you can delude yourself into anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-think-looking-at-your-own-life-on-and-offscreen-you-can-motivate/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It is a different world than when I was growing up, and you started to just kind of maintain at thirty-five and just hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/it-is-a-different-world-than-when-i-was-growing-up-and-you-started-to/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I'm a native New Yorker. Everything to do with New York feels like my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-a-native-new-yorker-everything-to-do-with-new-york-feels-like-my/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I try to live my life every day in the present, and try not to turn a blind eye to injustice and need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-try-to-live-my-life-every-day-in-the-present-and-try-not-to-turn-a/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I hope they're present in their lives and feel some kind of empathy. I think a lot of the mistakes that have been made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-hope-they-re-present-in-their-lives-and-feel-some-kind-of-empathy-i/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [If you walk down the street and see someone in a box, you have a choice. That person is either the other and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/if-you-walk-down-the-street-and-see-someone-in-a-box-you-have-a/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) [Explore all 149 Susan Sarandon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) ## More Adaptation quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [“Why I am Passionate and Dedicated 1000% to producing and bringing my books Loving Summer, Bitter Frost, and other book series to the Screen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/why-i-am-passionate-and-dedicated-1000-to-producing-and-bringing-my/) [Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) Alexander Agassiz > [The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-the-ageless-law-of-nature-but-the/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-facts-of-variability-of-the-struggle-for-existence-of-adaptation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-law-of-nature-we-overlook-that-intellectual-versatility-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world may not be ready yet for the film equivalent of books on tape, but this peculiar phenomenon has arrived in the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/the-world-may-not-be-ready-yet-for-the-film-equivalent-of-books-on/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [“Evolution is more about adaptivity than adaptability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/evolution-is-more-about-adaptivity-than-adaptability/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [There is change by necessity or adaptation, and there is contrived change or novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/there-is-change-by-necessity-or-adaptation-and-there-is-contrived/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The tendency for depression to repeat reflects the normal default settings of a plastic mood system that is open to experience. The unfortunate consequence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rottenberg/the-tendency-for-depression-to-repeat-reflects-the-normal-default/) [Jonathan Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rottenberg/) > [“The unglamorous truth is that there are but a handful of uniquely human traits that we have clearly demonstrated are adaptations evolved to thrive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/the-unglamorous-truth-is-that-there-are-but-a-handful-of-uniquely/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/you-must-be-shapeless-formless-like-water-when-you-pour-water-in-a/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“On the rare occasions on which a movie was shown, there was as much suspense in the audience over whether the electricity would hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/on-the-rare-occasions-on-which-a-movie-was-shown-there-was-as-much/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. With 'L.A. Confidential,' I loved the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/working-on-an-adaptation-is-not-as-satisfying-because-it-s-not-your/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) [Browse all 476 Adaptation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were friends with Jonathan Demme. We were all down on the West Side of New York, and I think I met Kurt Vonnegut through Edith Demme. 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