Hollywood loses one of its stars. Joel Schumacher, the director of two "Batman" and "Lost Generation", died of cancer at the age of 80, those responsible for his communication with AFP said on Monday 22 June. 

The one who started his career as a costume designer, before becoming a big name in Hollywood, died "peacefully" in New York "after a year of fighting against cancer," they said in a statement. 

“Batman forever” 

Joel Schumacher is notably known for "Batman Forever" (1995) and "Batman and Robin" (1997), films which had split. 

For this lucrative franchise, he took over from Tim Burton, and his first "Batman", with Val Kilmer, had success at the box office. 

But the two films had been criticized both by many critics and by fans, who had inter alia taken umbrage of the nipples added to the costume of Batman. 

In an interview in 2017, Joel Schumacher told Vice that he wanted to "apologize to all the fans disappointed" by "Batman and Robin", adding that he had the impression of having "killed a baby". 

The franchise was then reinvigorated by Christopher Nolan, in 2005, with "Batman Begins". 

“Career launch” 

Joel Schumacher started out as a costume designer in the 1970s on films like "Woody and the Robots" (1973). 

"St Elmo's Fire" (1985) was his first success as a director. 

Followed "Lost Generation" (1987) and "The Forbidden Experience" (1990), before he launched into the "Batman" for Warner Bros. 

Joel Schumacher is credited with helping to launch careers like those of Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell. 

With AFP

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