Joel Schumacher, Director of ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’, Dies at 80

Joel Schumacher, the director of films like St. Elmo’s Fire and The Lost Boys, has died after a year-long battle with cancer, The Wrap reports. He was 80.
Schumacher was famous for films like The Client and A Time to Kill, both John Grisham adaptations, as well as Flatliners and 2004’s Phantom of the Opera. His 1993 film Falling Down competed for the Palme d’Or, while his 1999 film 8mm was up for a Golden Bear award at at the Berlin International Film Festival.
He was celebrated for his thrillers in the ’80s and ’90s, but became widely known after the releases of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, his own interpretations of the DC Batman comics, which were first poorly received by critics, but later gained cult status. Most recently, Schumacher directed two episodes of House of Cards.
Schumacher was famous for discovering young actors. Throughout his career, he worked with Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Matthew McConaughey and Brad Renfro, casting them in some of their first onscreen roles. He counted Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Sutherland and Farrell as some of his most frequent collaborators, working with Farrell on Tigerland and Phone Booth. 
Born in New York City, Schumacher attended both Parsons New School for Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology with intentions of enterting the fashion world. After discovering his real passion was in the film industry, he moved to Los Angeles, where he got his start as a costume designer for Woody Allen, according to TMZ.

Schumacher then earned his MFA from UCLA and wrote multiple screenplays, including Sparkle, Car Wash, and The Wiz. In 1981, he directed his first film, The Incredible Shrinking Woman starring Lily Tomlin.
Schumacher’s most recent directing project was in 2013, but he most recently spoke to New York Magazine last year, sharing stories of his life spending decades in Hollywood.