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Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher at Taormina Film Fest 2003 (cropped).jpg
Schumacher at the 2003 Taormina Film Fest in Italy
Born (1939-08-29)August 29, 1939
Died June 22, 2020(2020-06-22) (aged 80)
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater Fashion Institute of Technology
Parsons School of Design
Occupation
  • Film director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active 1970–2020

Joel T. Schumacher (/ˈʃmɑːkər/; August 29, 1939 – June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. He first entered filmmaking as a production and costume designer before gaining writing credits on Car Wash, Sparkle, and The Wiz.

Schumacher received little attention for his first theatrically released films, The Incredible Shrinking Woman and D.C. Cab, but rose to prominence after directing St. Elmo's Fire, The Lost Boys, and The Client. Schumacher was selected to replace Tim Burton as director of the Batman franchise and oversaw Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Later, Schumacher directed smaller-budgeted films, including Tigerland and Phone Booth. In 2004, he directed The Phantom of the Opera, which was released to mixed reviews. His final directorial work was two episodes of House of Cards.

Early life and education

Joel T. Schumacher was born on August 29, 1939, in New York City. His parents were Francis Schumacher, a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died from pneumonia when Joel was four, and Marian (Kantor), a Swedish Jew. He was raised by his mother in Long Island City. In 1965, he graduated from Parsons School of Design, after having studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and later became a designer for Revlon in 1966.

In 1970, he became employed at Henri Bendel.

Career

Production designer

In 1972, Schumacher served as a costume designer for Play It as It Lays and designed the wardrobes of Dyan Cannon, Joan Hackett, and Raquel Welch for the film The Last of Sheila. In 1973, he served as a costume designer for Woody Allen's Sleeper, and Paul Mazursky's Blume in Love. In 1974, he served as the production designer of Killer Bees. He later served as a costume designer for The Time of the Cuckoo, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Interiors.

Early filmmaking

In 1974, Schumacher wrote a script for an eponymous biographic made-for-television movie based on the life of Virginia Hill. He was selected to serve as the movie's director and started filming on September 9.

In 1974, he and Howard Rosenman wrote the script for Sparkle which later went into production in 1975, and was released in 1976. His original plan for the film was for the film to be a "black Gone with the Wind", but had to be modest due to the limited budget given to the production by Warner Bros. According to Schumacher the film represented his "personal fascination" with Jesse Jackson, Angela Davis, Tammi Terrell, and Diana Ross. He was later selected to write the screenplays for Car Wash and The Wiz.

In 1978, Schumacher was selected to serve as the director of Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill which was later released in 1979. On January 31, 1980, he submitted a script for A Chorus Line, but the film underwent rewrites in development hell.

In 1979, he was selected to serve as the director of The Incredible Shrinking Woman, his first theatrically released film, to replace John Landis, who had left after Universal Pictures had reduced the film's budget. In 1981, the film was released to negative reviews, and was a box office bomb. The film was initially given a $30 million budget, but it was reduced to $11–13 million although it would later rise to over $20 million due to the cost of special effects.

In 1983, he directed D.C. Cab starring Mr. T, but later stated that he only worked on the film as he needed a job.

St. Elmo's Fire and The Lost Boys

In 1984, Schumacher was selected by Columbia Pictures to direct St. Elmo's Fire and was secretive during the production of the film. In 1987, he directed The Lost Boys. Both films were successful among young people and were his first major critical and commercial successes.

Following The Lost Boys, Schumacher directed Cousins (a remake of the French film Cousin Cousine), Flatliners, Dying Young, Falling Down, and The Client.

Batman

Schumacher was selected by Warner Bros. in 1993 to replace Tim Burton as the director of the Batman franchise. He directed Batman Forever, which was a stylistic departure from Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. Batman Forever was released to mixed reviews, but was more financially successful than Batman Returns.

He later directed Batman & Robin, which was rushed into production following Batman Forever and was intentionally made toyetic and light-hearted to appeal to children and sell merchandise. The film was released to largely negative reviews and did not perform as well at the box-office as any of its predecessors causing a planned sequel, Batman Unchained, to be cancelled. Schumacher later approached Warner Bros. to pitch concepts for a new Batman movie which were inspired by Frank Miller's graphic novels, Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. But due to the box-office bomb of Batman & Robin along with the negative impact that the film had on his reputation, Warner Bros. refused to let him develop another Batman film. Schumacher later apologized for the quality of Batman & Robin in 2017.

Later career

Following Batman & Robin Schumacher directed 8mm, Flawless, Tigerland, Bad Company, Phone Booth, Veronica Guerin, The Phantom of the Opera, The Number 23, Blood Creek, Twelve, and Trespass.

In August 2008, Schumacher directed the music video for American rock band Scars on Broadway, for their single "World Long Gone".

In 2013, he directed two episodes of the television series House of Cards.

Personal life

Schumacher was openly gay.

In 1984, Schumacher purchased the horse stables that had belonged to Rudolph Valentino from Doris Duke.

Schumacher donated to Democratic Party candidates, including multiple congressional campaigns as well as John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Death

On June 22, 2020, Schumacher died from cancer. Following his death, he was praised by Jim Carrey and Matthew McConaughey, who credited Schumacher with launching their careers.

Filmography

Films

Filmmaking credits

Title Year Director Writer Producer Notes Ref.
Sparkle 1976 Yes Directed by Sam O'Steen
Car Wash 1976 Yes Directed by Michael Schultz
The Wiz 1978 Yes Directed by Sidney Lumet
The Incredible Shrinking Woman 1981 Yes Directorial debut
D.C. Cab (a.k.a. Street Fleet) 1983 Yes Yes
St. Elmo's Fire 1985 Yes Yes
The Lost Boys 1987 Yes
Cousins 1989 Yes
Flatliners 1990 Yes
Dying Young 1991 Yes
Falling Down 1993 Yes
The Client 1994 Yes
Batman Forever 1995 Yes
A Time to Kill 1996 Yes
Batman & Robin 1997 Yes
8mm 1999 Yes Yes
Flawless 1999 Yes Yes Yes
Tigerland 2000 Yes
Bad Company 2002 Yes
Phone Booth 2002 Yes
Veronica Guerin 2003 Yes
The Phantom of the Opera 2004 Yes Yes
The Number 23 2007 Yes
Blood Creek 2009 Yes
Twelve 2010 Yes
Man in the Mirror 2011 Yes Short film
Trespass 2011 Yes

Executive producer

  • The Babysitter (1995)
  • Gossip (2000)

Other credits

Title Year Role Director Notes Ref.
Play It as It Lays 1972 Costume designer Frank Perry
Blume in Love 1973 Costume designer Paul Mazursky
The Last of Sheila 1973 Costume designer Herbert Ross
Sleeper 1973 Costume designer Woody Allen
The Prisoner of Second Avenue 1975 Costume designer Melvin Frank
Interiors 1978 Costume designer Woody Allen
Welcome to Hollywood 1998 Cameo appearance Adam Rifkin Mockumentary film
Halston 2019 Himself Frédéric Tcheng

Television

Filmmaking credits

Title Year Director Writer Executive
producer
Notes Ref.
Virginia Hill 1974 Yes Yes TV film
Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill 1979 Yes Yes TV film
Now We're Cookin 1983 Yes Yes Unsold pilot, directed by Noam Pitlik
Code Name: Foxfire 1985 Creator & Story Yes Creator and producer (8 episodes) / Story (Episode: "Pilot")
Slow Burn 1986 Yes TV film, directed by Matthew Chapman
2000 Malibu Road 1992 Yes Yes 5 episodes
Choose or Lose 2008 Yes TV special
House of Cards 2013 Yes 2 episodes
Do Not Disturb: Hotel Horrors 2015 Yes 3 episodes

Other credits

Title Year Role Notes Ref.
Killer Bees 1974 Production designer TV film, directed by Curtis Harrington
Nightcap 2017 Cameo appearance Episode: "Guest in a Snake"

Music videos

Directing credits

Artist Year Title
INXS 1988 "Devil Inside"
Lenny Kravitz 1993 "Heaven Help" (European Version)
Seal 1994 "Kiss from a Rose" (Version 1)
The Smashing Pumpkins 1997 "The End Is the Beginning Is the End"
Bush 1999 "Letting the Cables Sleep"
Scars On Broadway 2008 "World Long Gone"
The Killing Floor 2012 "Star Baby"

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Joel Schumacher para niños

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