Master Class
DIRECTOR, SCREENWRITER & PRODUCER.
USA.
Born in August 29, 1939 in New York City, Joel Schumacher studied at Parsons New School for Design and The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. After first working in the fashion industry, he realized his true love was in filmmaking. He moved out to Los Angeles, where he began his media work as a costume designer in films and developed his skills with television work. He wrote the screenplay for the 1976 low-budget hit movie Car Wash directed by Michael Schultz. He also wrote Sidney Lumet’s The Wiz (1978), an adaptation of the stage play of the same name.
His film directorial debut was The Incredible Shrinking Woman in 1981 and he quickly made more successful films, including two "brat pack" works. St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987), considered to be archetypal movies of the 1980s, were two of Schumacher’s biggest hits. Their style impressed audiences and their financial success allowed studios to trust him with ever larger projects. He has also directed two adaptations of the books of John Grisham, The Client (1994) and A Time to Kill (1996), the latter as the personal choice of Grisham. Schumacher later replaced Tim Burton as the director of the Batman film franchise. He directed Batman Forever (1995), replacing Michael Keaton with Val Kilmer ; the film would finish as the second highest-grossing film of the year. Inspired by this success, Warner Bros hired Schumacher to direct a sequel, Batman & Robin, in 1997.
He also served as the director for music videos such as "Kiss from a Rose", by Seal and "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" by The Smashing Pumpkins. After back-to-back Grisham and Batman films, Schumacher decided to reinvent his career with darker, lower-budget fare like 8mm (1999) with Nicolas Cage, and Flawless (1999) with Robert De Niro. In 2000, he directed the Vietnam-era boot camp drama Tigerland, which introduced Hollywood to a young Colin Farrell. Schumacher returned to big-budget Hollywood with Bad Company (2001) starring Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. In 2002, he released the controversial Phone Booth, which reteamed Schumacher with Farrell. In 2003, he directed Cate Blanchett in the biopic Veronica Guerin, about the eponymous Irish journalist who was murdered by drug dealers in 1996.
He then directed a film version of the musical The Phantom of the Opera (2004), an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s original stage musical. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, as well as three Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy. The director has since filmed The Number 23 (2007), starring Jim Carrey, Town Creek (2009) and Twelve (2010). He has just finished the shooting of Trespass, his 23rd feature film, starring Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage.
DIRECTOR
1981
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN
1983
D.C. CAB
1985
ST. ELMO’S FIRE
1987
GÉNÉRATION PERDUE (The Lost Boys)
1989
COUSINS
1990
L’EXPÉRIENCE INTERDITE (Flatliners)
1991
LE CHOIX D’AIMER (Dying Young)
1993
CHUTE LIBRE (Falling Down)
1994
LE CLIENT (The Client)
1995
BATMAN FOREVER
1996
LE DROIT DE TUER ? (A Time to Kill)
1997
BATMAN & ROBIN
1999
8MM
PERSONNE N’EST PARFAIT(E) (Flawless)
2000
TIGERLAND
2001
BAD COMPANY
2002
PHONE GAME (Phone Booth)
2003
VERONICA GUERIN
2004
LE FANTÔME DE L’OPÉRA (The Phantom of the Opera)
2007
LE NOMBRE 23 (The Number 23)
2009
BLOOD CREEK (Town Creek)
2010
TWELVE
2012
TRESPASS
SCREENWRITER
1976
SPARKLE by Sam O’Steen
CAR WASH by Michael Schultz
1978
THE WIZ by Sidney Lumet
1983
D.C. CAB
1985
ST. ELMO’S FIRE
1999
PERSONNE N’EST PARFAIT(E) (Flawless)
2004
LE FANTÔME DE L’OPÉRA (The Phantom of the Opera)
PRODUCER
1995
THE BABYSITTER by Guy Ferland
1999
8MM
PERSONNE N’EST PARFAIT(E) (Flawless)
2000
FAUSSES RUMEURS (Gossip) by Davis Guggenheim
