Joel Schumacher

Born: August 29 1939
Where: New York, USA

Schumacher has made a name for himself as a director of slick if empty box office hits with the odd gem thrown into the mix.

After entering the industry as a costume designer, Schumacher wrote screenplays for Car Wash, Sparkle and The Wiz.

He brought his design sense if not his feminine side to The Incredible Shrinking Woman starring Lily Tomlin.

Most of his subsequent output has been mainstream Hollywood fare: "brat pack" vehicles including St. Elmo's Fire and two well-done entries, The Lost Boys and Flatliners.

Falling Down presented an opportunity for an ambitious change of pace with a bespectacled Michael Douglas scything down all-comers as the Last Angry White Man.

Schumacher chose a more conventional follow-up with The Client: a slick legal thriller adapted from a John Grisham bestseller and boasting a respected cast.

He has also worked in TV with limited success, honing his directing skills on TV-movies and ventured into producing with pilots and short-lived series.

Surprisingly, he was handed the directing reins in following Tim Burton's legacy in the Batman series.

He was aided in his mission by Val Kilmer (replacing the departing Michael Keaton), and Chris O'Donnell as Robin.

Batman Forever was a massive success but the follow-up Batman & Robin (with George Clooney in the cape) was deemed a mess.

He returned to Grisham source material after The Client with A Time To Kill with the unknown Matthew McConaughey.

Schumacher then had a critical success with the Vietnam war drama Tigerland and again appeared to be top of his game with genuinely gripping Phone Booth.

In 2003, he made the biopic of murdered Irish journalist Veronica Guerin starring Cate Blanchett.

Recently, he teamed up with Andrew Lloyd Webber to make the big screen version of The Phantom of the Opera.