The Lost Boys and Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher dies at 80
Joel Schumacher, the director known for movies like The Lost Boys, St. Elmo's Fire, and Batman Forever, has died at 80.
Schumacher's death was confirmed on Monday in a statement from his publicist, who said he had been suffering from cancer. "He will be fondly remembered by his friends and collaborators," the publicist said.
After getting his start as director with TV movies and with 1981's The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Schumacher helmed St. Elmo's Fire in 1985, which he followed up with the classic vampire film The Lost Boys in 1987. In the 1990s, he directed the Batman movies Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, and other films of his include Flatliners, Falling Down, A Time to Kill, and Tigerland. He began his Hollywood career as a costume designer, working on movies like The Last of Sheila and Sleeper, notes Variety.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Schumacher "had an uncanny ability to recognize young talent," writes The Hollywood Reporter, pointing to his casting of actors including Rob Lowe, Matthew McConaughey, and Colin Farrell.
"Joel was a creative genius; a master at clothing design, costuming, writing and of course directing," tweeted Alex Winter, who starred in Schumacher's The Lost Boys. "Joel saw something in me as an actor I didn't see and gave me the confidence and space to pursue it. Unfairly savaged by critics his entire career, his great work will live on."
-
How to financially prepare for divorceThe Explainer Facing ‘irreconcilable differences’ does not have to be financially devastating
-
Why it’s important to shop around for a mortgage and what to look forThe Explainer You can save big by comparing different mortgage offers
-
4 ways to save on rising health care costsThe Explainer Health care expenses are part of an overall increase in the cost of living for Americans
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
