Joel Schumacher | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Schumacher at the 2003Taormina Film Fest in Italy | |
| Born | (1939-08-29)August 29, 1939 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 22, 2020(2020-06-22) (aged 80) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Fashion Institute of Technology Parsons School of Design |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1970–2015 |
Joel T. Schumacher (/ˈʃuːmɑːkər/; August 29, 1939 – June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated fromParsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. He first entered filmmaking as a production and costume designer before gaining writing credits onCar Wash,Sparkle, andThe Wiz.
Schumacher received little attention for his first theatrically released films,The Incredible Shrinking Woman andD.C. Cab, but rose to prominence after directingSt. Elmo's Fire,The Lost Boys,The Client andFalling Down. Schumacher was selected to replaceTim Burton as director of theBatman film franchise, and oversaw two of the series's most commercially oriented entries,Batman Forever (1995) andBatman & Robin (1997). The latter's failure foresaw a steep career decline, although Schumacher continued directing work on smaller-budget films, such asTigerland andPhone Booth. In 2004, he directedThe Phantom of the Opera, which was released to mixed reviews. His final directorial work was two episodes ofHouse of Cards.
Joel T. Schumacher was born on August 29, 1939, in New York City. His parents were Francis Schumacher, aBaptist fromKnoxville, Tennessee, who died frompneumonia when Joel was four, and Marian (Kantor), aSwedish Jew. He was raised by his widowed mother inLong Island City. During his youth, he usedLSD andmethamphetamine and started drinking alcohol by age nine. In 1965, he graduated fromParsons School of Design, after having studied at theFashion Institute of Technology, and later became a designer forRevlon in 1966.[1][2][3][4]
Schumacher said that at the time of his mother's death in 1965 his "life seemed like a joke" as he was $50,000 in debt, lost multiple teeth, and only weighed 130 pounds (59 kg). However, in 1970, he stopped using drugs and became employed atHenri Bendel. He later stated that "I got my self-respect back getting a good day's pay for a good day's work."[3]
In 1972, Schumacher served as a costume designer forPlay It as It Lays and designed the wardrobes ofDyan Cannon,Joan Hackett, andRaquel Welch for the filmThe Last of Sheila.[5] In 1973, he served as a costume designer forWoody Allen'sSleeper, andPaul Mazursky'sBlume in Love.[6] In 1974, he served as the production designer ofKiller Bees. He later served as a costume designer forThe Time of the Cuckoo,The Prisoner of Second Avenue andInteriors.[7][8]
In 1974, Schumacher wrote a script for an eponymous biographic made-for-television movie based on the life ofVirginia Hill. He was selected to serve as the movie's director and started filming on September 9.[9][10]
In 1974, he and Howard Rosenman wrote the script forSparkle which later went into production in 1975, and was released in 1976.[11][12] His original plan for the film was for the film to be a "blackGone with the Wind", but had to be modest due to the limited budget given to the production byWarner Bros. According to Schumacher the film represented his "personal fascination" withJesse Jackson,Angela Davis,Tammi Terrell, andDiana Ross.[13] He was later selected to write the screenplays forCar Wash andThe Wiz.[14]
In 1978, Schumacher was selected to serve as the director ofAmateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill which was later released in 1979.[15][16][17] On January 31, 1980, he submitted a script forA Chorus Line, but the film underwent rewrites indevelopment hell.[18][19]
In 1979, he was selected to serve as the director ofThe Incredible Shrinking Woman, his first theatrically released film, to replaceJohn Landis, who had left afterUniversal Pictures had reduced the film's budget.[20][21] In 1981, the film was released to negative reviews, and was a box office bomb.[22][23] 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.[24][25]
In 1983, he directedD.C. Cab starringMr. T, but later stated that he only worked on the film as he needed a job.[26]
In 1984, Schumacher was selected byColumbia Pictures to directSt. Elmo's Fire and was secretive during the production of the film.[27][28] In 1987, he directedThe Lost Boys. Both films were successful among young people and were his first major critical and commercial successes.[29][30][31]
FollowingThe Lost Boys, Schumacher directedCousins (a remake of the French filmCousin Cousine),Flatliners,Dying Young,Falling Down, andThe Client.[29][30][31]
Schumacher was selected byWarner Bros. in 1993 to replaceTim Burton as the director of the Batman franchise. He directedBatman Forever, which was a stylistic departure from Burton'sBatman andBatman Returns.Batman Forever was released to mixed reviews, but was more financially successful thanBatman Returns.[29][30][31][32]
He later directedBatman & Robin, which was rushed into production followingBatman Forever and was intentionally madetoyetic 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 novelsBatman: Year One andThe Dark Knight Returns, but due to thebox-office bomb ofBatman & Robin, along with the negative impact that the film had on his reputation, Warner Bros. refused to let him develop another Batman film.[33] In 2017, Schumacher apologized for the quality ofBatman & Robin.[34][29][30][31]
It was alleged that Schumacher, a gay man, had addedhomoerotic elements to the film with the most prominent being the rubber nipples, codpieces, and close-up camera shots of Batman and Robin's buttocks.[35] Schumacher said the suit designs had been based on anatomically correctGreek statues and medical drawings.George Clooney, who played Batman in the film, said in 2005 that Schumacher told him that Batman was gay.[34][36]
FollowingBatman & Robin, Schumacher directed8mm,Flawless,Tigerland,Bad Company,Phone Booth,Veronica Guerin,The Phantom of the Opera,The Number 23,Blood Creek,Twelve, andTrespass.[29][30][31]
In August 2008, Schumacher directed the music video for American rock bandScars on Broadway, for their single "World Long Gone".[37]
In 2013, he directed two episodes of the television seriesHouse of Cards.[30]
Schumacher was openly gay and described himself as "extremely promiscuous", saying in a 2019 interview that he became sexually active at age eleven, and estimating he had sex with between 10,000 to 20,000 men over the course of his life. He said the first person he knew who died from theAIDS epidemic, in 1983, "was not promiscuous", which led Schumacher to believe he would die soon after, recalling that he thought at the time, "If he has it, I must have it quadrupled [...] I was sure I had it, I was planning my death", though he never contracted the disease.[38]
In 1984, Schumacher purchased the horse stables that had belonged toRudolph Valentino fromDoris Duke.[39]
Schumacher donated toDemocratic Party candidates, including multiple congressional campaigns as well asJohn Kerry's2004 presidential campaign.[40]
Schumacher died from cancer in New York on June 22, 2020, at the age of 80.[3] Following his death, he was praised byJim Carrey as well asMatthew McConaughey who credited Schumacher with launching his career.[41]
| Title | Year | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparkle | 1976 | Yes | Directed bySam O'Steen | [31] | ||
| Car Wash | 1976 | Yes | Directed byMichael Schultz | [14] | ||
| The Wiz | 1978 | Yes | Directed bySidney Lumet | [14] | ||
| The Incredible Shrinking Woman | 1981 | Yes | Directorial debut | [31] | ||
| D.C. Cab (a.k.a.Street Fleet) | 1983 | Yes | Yes | [31] | ||
| St. Elmo's Fire | 1985 | Yes | Yes | [14] | ||
| The Lost Boys | 1987 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Cousins | 1989 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Flatliners | 1990 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Dying Young | 1991 | Yes | [31] | |||
| Falling Down | 1993 | Yes | [14] | |||
| The Client | 1994 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Batman Forever | 1995 | Yes | [14] | |||
| A Time to Kill | 1996 | Yes | [31] | |||
| Batman & Robin | 1997 | Yes | [14] | |||
| 8mm | 1999 | Yes | Yes | [14] | ||
| Flawless | 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes | [14] | |
| Tigerland | 2000 | Yes | [31] | |||
| Bad Company | 2002 | Yes | [31] | |||
| Phone Booth | 2002 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Veronica Guerin | 2003 | Yes | [31] | |||
| The Phantom of the Opera | 2004 | Yes | Yes | [14] | ||
| The Number 23 | 2007 | Yes | [31] | |||
| Blood Creek | 2009 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Twelve | 2010 | Yes | [31] | |||
| Trespass | 2011 | Yes | [14] | |||
| Man in the Mirror | 2011 | Yes | Short film | |||
| Sparkle | 2012 | Story | Directed bySalim Akil |
Executive producer
| Title | Year | Role | Director | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play It as It Lays | 1972 | Costume designer | Frank Perry | [31] | |
| Blume in Love | 1973 | Costume designer | Paul Mazursky | [31] | |
| The Last of Sheila | 1973 | Costume designer | Herbert Ross | [31] | |
| Sleeper | 1973 | Costume designer | Woody Allen | [31] | |
| The Prisoner of Second Avenue | 1975 | Costume designer | Melvin Frank | [31] | |
| Interiors | 1978 | Costume designer | Woody Allen | [31] | |
| Welcome to Hollywood | 1998 | Cameo appearance | Adam Rifkin | Mockumentary film | |
| Halston | 2019 | Himself | Frédéric Tcheng |
| Title | Year | Director | Writer | Executive producer | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Hill | 1974 | Yes | Yes | TV film | [31] | |
| Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill | 1979 | Yes | Yes | TV film | [31] | |
| Now We're Cookin | 1983 | Yes | Yes | Unsold pilot, directed byNoam Pitlik | [42] | |
| Code Name: Foxfire | 1985 | Creator & Story | Yes | Creator and producer (8 episodes) / Story (Episode: "Pilot") | ||
| Slow Burn | 1986 | Yes | TV film, directed byMatthew Chapman | |||
| 2000 Malibu Road | 1992 | Yes | Yes | 5 episodes | ||
| Choose or Lose | 2008 | Yes | TV special | |||
| House of Cards | 2013 | Yes | 2 episodes | [30] | ||
| Do Not Disturb: Hotel Horrors | 2015 | Yes | 3 episodes |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lie | 1973 | Wardrobe Designer,Costume designer | TV film, directed byAlex Segal | |
| Killer Bees | 1974 | Production designer | TV film, directed byCurtis Harrington | [7] |
| Real Housewives of New York City | 2012 | Cameo appearance | S05E18: "All's Well That Doesn't End Well" | |
| Nightcap | 2017 | Cameo appearance | Episode: "Guest in a Snake" |
| Artist | Year | Title |
|---|---|---|
| INXS | 1988 | "Devil Inside"[43] |
| Lenny Kravitz | 1993 | "Heaven Help" (European Version) |
| Seal | 1995 | "Kiss from a Rose" (Version 2)[43] |
| 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" |
