Joel Schumacher, director of films like ‘A Day of Fury’, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Hidden Youth’, ‘Murder in 8 millimeters’, Death Line’ or ‘Batman & Robin’, has died at 80 years in New York City.
The filmmaker, who competed in renowned international festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and San Sebastián, has died of cancer, his representative confirmed to The Hollywood Repoter.
Schumacher achieved recognition as a director with his third feature film, ‘St. Elmo, meeting point ‘, released in 1985, starring Emilio Estévez, Rob Low and Demi Moore. Two years later he directed ‘Hidden Youth’ with Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and Corey Feldman, a commercially successful horror comedy. He would later take two John Grisham novels to the cinema, ‘The Client’ in 1994 and ‘Time to Kill’ in 1996, with which he gained critical acclaim. In 2004 he adapted the Webber musical ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.
In 1995 his great opportunity in commercial cinema arrived when he took over from Tim Burton as director of the ‘Batman’ saga. That year he released ‘Batman Forever’, with Val Kilmer as the Dark Knight and which also starred Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman and Chris O’Donnell.
Its huge box office success, more than $ 330 million raised worldwide, prompted two years later a continuation ‘Batman & Robin’, with George Clooney in the role of Bruce Wayne and in which Arnold Schwarzenegger participated, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone and with the return of Chris O’Donnell in the role of Robin. The film was a commercial disappointment and is considered one of the worst installments in the DC superhero saga.
Other of his most popular films were ‘Murder in 8mm’ with Nicolas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix, ‘Last Call’, starring Colin Farrell, ‘The Number 23’, a thriller starring Jim Carrey and the series ‘House of Cards’ headed by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
