Joel Schumacher - Details

Biography

Director Joel Schumacher is one of America's most vigorous, talented and successful filmmakers.

Schumacher's features have displayed the filmmaker's versatility and close attention to performance, nuance and atmosphere. "St. Elmo's Fire (1985)" was an ensemble drama that made stars of such young players as Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy and Demi Moore; "Lost Boys, The (1987)," starring Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland, successfully combined fantastical imagery, comedy and very contemporary horror; "Cousins" was a tender romantic comedy starring Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini and Sean Young; "Flatliners (1990)," toplining Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and Oliver Platt, was a stylish,
surrealistic story of science and spirituality; "Dying Young (1991)" reunited Schumacher and Julia Roberts in an unflinching love story; and "Falling Down (1993)," starring Michael Douglas, was a gritty, controversial and timely story of social disorder.

Schumacher's two hit adaptations of John Grisham's best-sellers have been hailed as the best of the author's work to be translated to film: "Client, The (1995)]," starring Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones, and 1996's summer smash, "Time to Kill, A (1996)," which introduced Matthew McConaughey in a star-making role alongside such accomplished players as Sandra Bullock, Samuel L Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Kiefer Sutherland, Brenda Fricker, Charles S Dutton, Ashley Judd, Patrick McGoohan and Donald Sutherland.

Schumacher's last four films - "Client, The (1995)," "Time to Kill, A (1996)," "Batman Forever (1995)," and "Batman & Robin (1997)" - each grossed in excess of $100 million with domestic audiences alone, and "Batman Forever (1995)" achieved the distinction of being the highest grossing film of 1995.

Schumacher was born and raised in New York City, where he studied design and display at the Parsons School of Design. He began his career in the entertainment industry as an art director for television
commercials before becoming costume designer for such notable films as Woody Allen's "Sleeper (1973)" and "Interiors (1978)," Herbert Ross' "Last of Sheila, The (1973)" and Paul Mazursky's "Blume in Love (1973). " He then wrote the
screenplays for the Motown-inflected musical "Sparkle" and the funk-driven hit comedy "Car Wash (1976). "

Schumacher made his directing debut with the television movie "The Virginia Hill Story," followed by his award-winning telefilm "Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill. " "The Incredible Shrinking Woman,"
starring Lily Tomlin, marked his feature-film directing debut, followed by "D. C. Cab (1983)," for which he also wrote the screenplay. Schumacher also wrote the script for "St. Elmo's Fire (1985)" with Carl Kurlander. In 1988, Schumacher directed the successful Chicago theatrical run of David Mamet's scorching Hollywood satire, "Speed the Plow. "

Events

  • 29th August 1939 - Birth