Legendary Hollywood Director Joel Schumacher Dies

Joel Schumacher the legendary Hollywood director responsible for ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ ‘Batman and Robin,’ and ‘Lethal Weapon’ has now died at the age of 80.

His death came after a year long battle with cancer.

As The Hollywood Reporter reports:

Joel Schumacher, the writer-director who came from a world of window dressing and costume design to bring a singular style to films including St. Elmo’s Fire, Flatliners and a pair of Batman movies, died Monday. He was 80.

Schumacher died in New York City after a yearlong battle with cancer, a representative announced.

Schumacher’s directorial body of work also included the horror comedy The Lost Boys (1987), which he was handed after Richard Donner passed on it to helm Lethal Weapon; the John Grisham thrillers The Client (1994) and A Time to Kill (1996); and 8MM (1999), the noirish drama starring Nicolas Cage.

The Warner Bros. regular dealt with dark themes with the medical thrillers Flatliners (1990) and Dying Young (1991), both starring Julia Roberts, and Falling Down (1993), with Michael Douglas playing an unhinged man who embarks on a violent rampage all around Los Angeles.

AU Staff