Joel Schumacher: Reluctant and Conflicted Gay Trailblazer

joel schumacher gay

"Beyond his great ntributns to cema, Joel Schumacher is the reason I'm gay."

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JOEL SCHUMACHER, GAY DIRECTOR OF LOST BOYS, ST. ELMO'S FIRE, HAS DIED

It might be why director Joel Schumacher, who passed away on June 22 at age 80 after a year-long battle wh ncer, was always able to weather bad reviews, poor box office numbers, and the ld shoulr that Hollywood tends to liver to artists who what do mean to be gay Hollywood? Today, boggl the md that Hollywood hand over the keys to the multiln-dollar Batman anchise to an openly gay filmmaker wh hardly a murmur. Polil gymnastics would force a gay readg on his films, should that be of tert.

Batman Forever, which celebrated s 25th anniversary earlier this month, at the tersectn of both gay pri and his untimely passg, was his first foray to major blockbter filmmakg, followed by 1997’s Batman & Rob — and was for many his undog. But jok about batnippl or the herent queerns of his visn always had the tone of sardonic observatn, as opposed to the legimate fgerprt of a gay filmmaker..

They had no tert anxiety or paranoia, the specter of ath, or the bliss of gay life. I had heard that Schumacher was gay, as pretty much everyone had at that pot, but I also knew that he had said wasn't somethg he really wanted to discs.

QUEER FANS MOURN THE LOSS OF OUT FILM DIRECTOR JOEL SCHUMACHER"BEYOND HIS GREAT NTRIBUTNS TO CEMA, JOEL SCHUMACHER IS THE REASON I'M GAY."{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}NEWSBY CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPHJUNE 22, 2020/3:31 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:1665PX;WIDTH:2428PX;}MAURIX/GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAGROME, ITALY - NOVEMBER 03: FILMMAKER JOEL SCHUMACHER POS AT A PHOTOLL DURG THE 6TH INTERNATNAL ROME FILM FTIVAL ON NOVEMBER 3, 2011 ROME, ITALY. (PHOTO BY MAURIX/GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAG)BY CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPHJUNE 22, 2020 / 3:31 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"QUEER FANS MOURN THE LOSS OF OUT FILM DIRECTOR JOEL SCHUMACHER","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2020-06-22T19:31:11.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2020-06-22T19:31:11.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"CHRISTOPHER RUDOLPH","KEYWORDS":"GEEK","ARTICLESECTN":"NEWS"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}DIRECTOR JOEL SCHUMACHER HAS DIED AFTER A YEAR-LONG BATTLE WH NCER, THE WRAP HAS NFIRMED. HE WAS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE OUT FILM DIRECTOR STARTED HIS REER THE FASHN DTRY, BEG GOOD IENDS WH HALSTON, BUT SCHUMACHER EVENTUALLY MOVED TO LOS ANGEL AND STARTED WORKG FILM. HIS FIRST THEATRIL FILM WAS 1981'S THE INCREDIBLE SHRKG WOMAN, STARRG LILY TOML. HE LATER FOUND SUCCS WH PROJECTS LIKE ST. ELMO'S FIRE, THE LOST BOYS, AND THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SCHUMACHER ALSO STCK BOX OFFICE GOLD WH BATMAN FOREVER 1995, BUT HIS MPY FOLLOW-UP, BATMAN & ROB, WAS A CRIL BT, WH MANY CLAIMG HE KILLED THE BATMAN FILM ANCHISE.WARNER BROS. PICTUR/SUNSET BOULEVARD/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGAMERIN ACTORS ALICIA SILVERSTONE, GEE CLOONEY AND CHRIS O'DONNELL ON THE SET OF BATMAN & ROB, DIRECTED BY JOEL SCHUMACHER. (PHOTO BY WARNER BROS. PICTUR/SUNSET BOULEVARD/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAG){BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN AN ENLIGHTENG 2019 TERVIEW WH VULTURE, SCHUMACHER TALKED AT LENGTH ABOUT GROWG UP GAY NEW YORK CY THE 1950S, AND HIS DG-FUELED "LOST" SUMMERS OUT ON FIRE ISLAND. HE ALSO SPOKE ABOUT ALLEGEDLY HAVG SEX WH UP TO 20,000 PEOPLE, AND HOW LIVG THROUGH THE AIDS CRISIS MA GAY MEN LOOK AT SEX DIFFERENTLY:{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A IEND WHO WAS NOT PROMISCUO WAS THE FIRST PERSON I KNEW THAT HAD . I THK HE WAS DIAGNOSED ’83. AND I WAS EXTREMELY PROMISCUO, SO I THOUGHT, "IF HE HAS , I MT HAVE QUADPLED." I WENT TO GET TTED. I WAS SURE I HAD , I WAS PLANNG MY ATH. IN THOSE DAYS, THE TT HAD TO BE DONE BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL. SO WAS SENT AWAY, AND TOOK THREE WEEKS OR MORE UNTIL YOU GOT THE ANSWER. WHEN THE DOCTOR LLED ME AND SAID, "NO, EVERYTHG’S FE, ’S CLEAN, JOEL," I WENT AND GOT TTED {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I ED NDOMS," HE EXPLAED, "BUT NDOMS BROKE. AND THERE WAS A LOT OF DG TAKG, A LOT GOG ON THEN. IT WAS A WAY TO AL WH THE LOSS, I THK, OF SO MANY PEOPLE I LOVED, OR LIKED, OR HAD AFFECTN FOR, OR ADMIRED."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SCHUMACHER'S LATER CREDS CLU TIGERLAND, PHONE BOOTH, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, AND TWO EPISOS OF HOE OF CARDS 2013. BUT WAS BATMAN & ROB THAT MA AN IMPACT ON A ENTIRE GENERATN OF YOUNG GAY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THERE WAS AN OUTPOURG OF LOVE FOR SCHUMACHER ONLE OM QUEER PEOPLE WHO THANKED HIM FOR THE MP CLASSIC, AND SPECIFILLY CHRIS O'DONNELL'S MCULAR BAT-SU:{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE 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.TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}RT PEACE, {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

I bluntly asked Schumacher why he avoid beg lled gay. Cut to 2007, and I was pullg together a range of new terviews for my book, The View om Here: Conversatns wh Gay and Lbian Filmmakers. I was exced to gather such a variety of directors om var backgrounds, but the cln of Schumacher felt really important, given the unique place he occupied film history: he had worked wh Woody Allen (signg stum for the hilar 1973 dystopia satire Sleeper) and had gone on to direct the prcient 1993 vigilante film Fallg Down, as well as beg the first out gay director to be hand the keys to a major superhero anchise (Batman, post-Tim Burton).

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* JOEL SCHUMACHER GAY

Joel Schumacher: Reluctant and Conflicted Gay Trailblazer .

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