Joel Schumacher

Biography

Joel T. Schumacher (August 29, 1939 – June 22, 2020) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and costume designer. He was raised in New York City by his mother and suffered from substance abuse at a young age. He became a fashion designer after graduating from Parsons School of Design, but would continue suffering from substance abuse and high levels of debt until the early 1970s. He first entered film-making as a production and costume designer before gaining writing credits on Car Wash, Sparkle, and The Wiz. He received little attention for his initial theatrically released films, The Incredible Shrinking Woman and D.C. Cab, but rose to prominence after directing St. Elmo's Fire (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), and The Client (1994). Schumacher was selected to replace Tim Burton as director of the Batman franchise and oversaw Batman Foreve (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). After the Batman franchise Schumacher directed smaller-budgeted films, including Tigerland (2000) and Phone Booth (2002). He directed The Phantom of the Opera, which was released to mixed reviews in 2004. His final directorial work was for two episodes of House of Cards (2013).

Directed

1. Batman Forever (1995) — Director
2. Batman & Robin (1997) — Director
3. Phone Booth (2003) — Director
4. Falling Down (1993) — Director
5. The Number 23 (2007) — Director
6. House of Cards (2013) — Director
7. A Time to Kill (1996) — Director
8. The Lost Boys (1987) — Director
9. 8MM (1999) — Director
10. The Phantom of the Opera (2004) — Director
11. Flatliners (1990) — Director
12. The Client (1994) — Director
13. Trespass (2011) — Director
14. Bad Company (2002) — Director
15. Tigerland (2000) — Director
16. St. Elmo's Fire (1985) — Director
17. Dying Young (1991) — Director
18. Veronica Guerin (2003) — Director
19. Flawless (1999) — Director
20. Blood Creek (2009) — Director
21. Twelve (2010) — Director
22. The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) — Director
23. D.C. Cab (1983) — Director
24. Cousins (1989) — Director
25. 2000 Malibu Road (1992) — Director
26. Virginia Hill (1974) — Director
27. Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill (1979) — Director
28. Man in the Mirror (2011) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Side by Side (2012) — Self
2. Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016) — Self
3. Heckler (2007) — Self
4. BRATS (2024) — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
5. Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2012) — Self
6. Everything Is Copy (2015) — Self
7. The Batmobile (2012) — Self
8. Halston (2019) — Self
9. Riddle Me This: Why Is Batman Forever? (1995) — Self - Director
10. Welcome to Hollywood (2000) — Joel Schumacher
11. Stupidity (2003) — Self
12. Very Ralph (2019) — Self
13. Radioman (2012) — Self
14. What the Folk?... Behind the Scenes of 'Queer as Folk' (2000) — Himself
15. Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer (2009) — Self
16. Bloodsucking Cinema (2007) — Self
17. Making of Phone Booth (2003) — Self
18. Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight (2008) — Self
19. Holy the Sabbath (2006) — Narrator