Hollywood is still mourning the death of legendary director Joel Schumacher, who passed away after his long fight with cancer on June 22nd, 2020. Schumacher was 80-years-old, and he is best remembered for directing the polarizing yet financially successful Batman films Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. However, there's a lot more to the director behind cult hits like Falling Down and Phone Booth than just his unique take on the Caped Crusader.
Schumacher was also an open member of the LGBTQ+ community, making him a trailblazer in a time when the industry was still fairly conservative. He was into politics as well, often donating to dozens of democratic candidates during election season. From these and a lot more, here are some facts about Joel Schumacher that movie lovers were probably not aware of.
He Had A Great Eye For Talent
A couple of today's popular actors have Schumacher to thank for their great careers. He spotted them and gave them major roles when no other person was looking their way.
Schumacher introduced movie lovers to Matthew McConaughey in A Time to Kill (1996). There was also Colin Farrell in Tigerland (2000). Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys (1987) and Joaquin Phoenix in 8mm. Joaquin previously went by the name Leaf Phoenix.
He Directed Music Videos
For the right sum, Schumacher could put his magic on a musician's music video too. Being a huge music lover himself, he ended up directing a couple of videos.
In 1999, Schumacher directed the music video for English rock band Bush's hit single "Letting the Cables Sleep." He also directed the video "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal and the video for INXS's hit single "Devil Inside." The last music video he directed was "World Long Gone" by Scars on Broadway.
He Replaced Tim Burton Because The Studio Wanted A More Kid-Friendly Batman
Tim Burton had directed the first two films in the first Batman franchise and he was planning to return for Batman Forever. However, Warner Bros. felt that Batman Returns had been too dark and not palatable for children, so they opted for a new director with a more light-hearted vision. This is how Schumacher landed the directing gig for the next two Batman movies.
As a result, though, Michael Keaton decided to leave the Batman role and was then replaced by Val Kilmer for Batman Forever and later on, George Clooney in Batman & Robin. Batman Forever wasn't so well received but it did well at the box office, but more trouble was to come.
He Has Regrets About Batman & Robin
The infamous Batman & Robin is the only film that stained Schumacher's great career. In the years since the campy movie's release, the director would issue countless mea culpas to fans who were disappointed. The film was lambasted for not being as dark as the other Batman films (among many other things) and Schumacher revealed that this was actually the result of the studio wanting it to be as kid-friendly as possible.
Schumacher stated that were it not for the studio's pressure, he would have made an adaptation of the comic Batman: Year One, which tells the story of Bruce Wayne's first year as a crime fighter in Gotham. Perhaps that would have turned out better.
He Started Out In The Fashion Industry
Schumacher went to fashion school and went on to get a job in the fashion industry as a window dresser at a high-end store. Soon, he realized that what he really wanted to do was make films. With that in mind, he slowly began looking for opportunities in the movie industry.
The younger Schumacher moved to Los Angeles and got a couple of gigs as a costume designer in movies. He then began writing screenplays before fully venturing into directing.
John Grisham Wanted Schumacher To Adapt His Books
The iconic filmmaker adapted two of John Grisham's legal novels into movies. The first was The Client (1994) and shortly after, he made A Time to Kill (1996). But as it turns out, it was Grisham himself who requested Schumacher to direct the latter due to the good work he had done on the former.
Only three authors in the world have ever managed to sell two million copies on their book's first printing, and Grisham is one of them. The other two are Tom Clancy and J.K. Rowling. Five more Grisham books have also been adapted to movies, all to varying degrees of success.
He Had A History Of Drug Abuse
The director admitted that he began drinking at the age of nine and started smoking when he was 10. By the time he was a teenager, he was already using hard drugs. As he told People Magazine, “I was someone who went to a party when I was 11.”
Fortunately for him, his addiction problems didn't prevent him from finding success. He founded a Manhattan clothes boutique before landing a cloth design job at Revlon. By 1970, he had kicked his drug habits and remained clean for the rest of his career.
His Last Credits Include House Of Cards
Schumacher was never known as a TV director but surprisingly, his very last credits came courtesy of House Of Cards. He directed the fifth and sixth episodes of the first season. The two episodes have ratings of 8.5 and 8.6 on IMDb respectively.
He was hired to direct due to his friendship with series creator Beau Willimon. That season ended up being nominated for eight Emmys, so Schumacher can take some of the credit for that.
Studios Loved Him For Finishing Films On Time & In Budget
Making a movie is a lot of work. Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances pop up and the production time tends to go way past schedule. When this happens, the budget also ends up ballooning when more money than intended gets spent just to finish the movie. But for Schumacher, it was never like that.
As it turns out, movie studios loved working with him because he always completed his movies on time and within budget, making him a great filmmaker to work with on both a professional and financial standpoint.
He Was A Child Entrepreneur
Schumacher knew how to make money from very early in his life. When he was a child, he built a puppet theater that he would use to perform at parties and get paid. After his father died, he also helped his mother make money by delivering meat.
He also got his first job at Macy's when he was only 16. Apparently, he had lied about his age. His job involved selling gloves in the menswear section.