Celebrity Death: Joel Schumaker - 80

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

Falling Down is one hell of an underrated flick.

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[member 157595]

Falling Down is one hell of an underrated flick.

Definitely. Great movie.

Batman & Robin, on the other hand, is a super-sized shit sundae.

 

[discostu]

Definitely. Great movie.

Batman & Robin, on the other hand, is a super-sized shit sundae.

Definitely one of the more interesting filmographies for a director. I think I automatically associate him with the poorer Batman flicks,but had a lot of decent sized hits to his name.

He seemed to be cranking out a big studio film a year in the 90s. That probably explains the quality inconsistencies,but hard to wrap your head around.

It's also amazing that Batman and Robin didn't slow his career down that much. Most directors wouldn't survive that,but he never seemed to lack for work.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

The definitive style over substance director. A fan of some of his work but what he did to Batman was almost unforgivable.

 

[Langdon Alger]

The definitive style over substance director. A fan of some of his work but what he did to Batman was almost unforgivable.

Never saw Batman and Robin, but I enjoyed Batman forever when I saw it at the age of 13. Haven’t watched it since though.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Never saw Batman and Robin, but I enjoyed Batman forever when I saw it at the age of 13. Haven’t watched it since though.

Batman Forever was okay. Liked Kilmer in the role. Just not a fan of camp though. Batman & Robin is one of the very few movies I have ever walked out of.

 

[member 157595]

Definitely one of the more interesting filmographies for a director. I think I automatically associate him with the poorer Batman flicks,but had a lot of decent sized hits to his name.

He seemed to be cranking out a big studio film a year in the 90s. That probably explains the quality inconsistencies,but hard to wrap your head around.

It's also amazing that Batman and Robin didn't slow his career down that much. Most directors wouldn't survive that,but he never seemed to lack for work.

Good question. Batman Forever was very profitable, so perhaps that gave him some leeway? Not sure.

Never saw Batman and Robin, but I enjoyed Batman forever when I saw it at the age of 13. Haven’t watched it since though.

Batman Forever wasn't good but it wasn't terrible. It's certainly watchable.

B&R is everything that was bad about Batman Forever cranked up to 11, with none of the good aspects. Absolutely TERRIBLE movie.

Batman Forever was okay. Liked Kilmer in the role. Just not a fan of camp though. Batman & Robin is one of the very few movies I have ever walked out of.

Me too. I can tell you the exact part, it was when Batman took out the Bat Credit Card (f***ing barf) and said "Never leave the cave without it." I was seeing red. I have never been this mad in a movie theater before. They took a sullen, mentally tortured superhero that is almost universally loved by fans of the genre and made him into a mockery.

I love cheesy movies when done right. Commando, for instance, is absolutely brilliant. The difference is that Commando was A) deliberately done for fun as satire, and B) wasn't based upon a dark, brooding vigilante superhero with a ton of established canon material who conceals his true identity and is tortured in his own mind.

The 1960's Batman TV show was cheesy but charming. It made no attempt to be serious and dark. B&R wants to be taken seriously but the acting, plot and script are all brutal.

 

[montreal]

he had some decent flicks. The Lost Boys, Flatliners, Falling Down, The Client, A Time to Kill, Veronica Guerin, and St. Elmo's Fire.

 

[Osprey]

It's also amazing that Batman and Robin didn't slow his career down that much. Most directors wouldn't survive that,but he never seemed to lack for work.

I dunno. Batman & Robin seemed to end his run as an A-list movie director. He did keep working, but he was given seemingly lower profile movies after that.

The definitive style over substance director. A fan of some of his work but what he did to Batman was almost unforgivable.

I hate style over substance and don't mind Schumaker. I wouldn't describe him as that, personally. His movies tend to be rather commercial, but I think that he simply had a popular, mainstream style (or, some might say, lack of distinct style).

 

[93LEAFS]

He'll be remembered for the abomination that was Batman and Robin. But, I will say The Lost Boys is an 80's classic and Flatliners is entertaining.

 

[member 157595]

He'll be remembered for the abomination that was Batman and Robin. But, I will say The Lost Boys is an 80's classic and Flatliners is entertaining.

I think that in itself is kind of sad but very typical of the industry: one big blunder can overshadow a decent career.

I absolutely love the first two Batman films, especially the first one. They're dark and stand the test of time but I think the higher-ups wanted something more kid-friendly after Burton. I think the financial success of Batman Forever was a blessing and a curse: Schmaker gambled with B&R, and he very definitively lost that gamble.

 

[93LEAFS]

I think that in itself is kind of sad but very typical of the industry: one big blunder can overshadow a decent career.

I absolutely love the first two Batman films, especially the first one. They're dark and stand the test of time but I think the higher-ups wanted something more kid-friendly after Burton. I think the financial success of Batman Forever was a blessing and a curse: Schmaker gambled with B&R, and he very definitively lost that gamble.

It is really an issue with working on a huge budget film that is also an iconic character/franchise. While a critical bomb, it still didn't get destroyed at the box-office (although it may have still lost money for the studio despite making 240m on a 160m budget due to how revenue is divided, especially in international markets). I mean, its likely execs had a massive say on a project like this, so it being a disaster isn't likely all on him.

I'll choose to remember him more for Lost Boys which is a classic 80's film that is always great to put on during a rainy day at a cottage, like many other 80's films of that era.