Corey Feldman says Joel Schumacher tried to ‘prevent [his] descent’ into drugs when he was battling addiction as a teenage movie star.
Feldman paid tribute to the late filmmaker following his death Monday, calling him a ‘a legendary director, a friend, an influence, & a supporter’ via Twitter.
The troubled actor, 48, explained how Schumacher was never part of any ‘corruption’ that happened while filming their 1987 horror flick The Lost Boys, but actually tried to stop Corey from going ‘down the wrong path.’
Feldman previously made disturbing claims about what happened on set, alleging that he was given cocaine by an adult and also claiming co-star/close friend Corey Haim was sexually abused during production.
Grateful: Corey Feldman thanked Joel Schumacher for trying to ‘prevent’ his ‘descent’ into drugs in a tribute to the director Monday. The actor is seen in 1987’s The Lost Boys above
Corey recalled Joel stepping in after he noticed the young actor was high during filming. After first firing Feldman, Schumacher reconsidered but kept a close eye on the star.
The intervention was enough to make Corey avoid cocaine for a while, but he admitted he would pick up the habit just a year later.
Corey said that Joel continued to try and help as things began to spiral out of control for the Stand By Me star.
‘Once I started down the wrong path Joel called me 2 his home. We met. He tried 2 prevent my descent.’
RIP: Schumacher died at 80-years-old on Monday. He is seen in 2011 above
Respect: Feldman called The Lost Boys director as a ‘a legendary director, a friend, an influence, & a supporter’ on Twitter
Trauma: Feldman previously claimed he was given cocaine by an adult and friend Corey Haim was sexually abused while filming Schumacher’s The Lost Boys but said that Joel had nothing to do with it. The two Coreys are seen in 1989 above
Unfortunately, his effort was in vain. The young star was too stubborn to take Joel’s advice.
‘…I didn’t listen as I was 16 & had 2 go thru what I had 2 go thru.’
Despite Corey’s allegations about what happened on set, he said he was happy that Joel’s vision for The Lost Boys brought him and Haim together.
The Goonies actor wrapped up his message by wishing Schumacher was in ‘heaven’ with Haim, who tragically passed away at 38-years-old in 2010.
‘Maybe now u can start talkin 2 #coreyhaim about all the things we can create once we all meet again in eternity,’ Feldman wrote.
‘He tried 2 prevent my descent’: Corey said Joel tried to help him with his addiction problems. Corey is seen in 1993 above
Abuse: Feldman accused Charlie Sheen and three other men of sexual abuse in the documentary My Truth: The Rape Of 2 Coreys. Feldman is seen at the film’s March 9 premiere above
Feldman released the documentary My Truth: The Rape Of 2 Coreys back in March.
In the film he claims that both he and Haim were the victims of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of men in Hollywood.
He explicitly names actor Charlie Sheen, child agent Marty Weiss, Jon Grissom, and former talent agent Alphy Hoffman as the abusers that sexually assaulted him and Haim.
All of the men have denied such accusations, with Sheen’s camp calling the claims ‘sick, twisted and outlandish.’ Haim’s mother Judy and his sister Cari also dispute the allegations in the documentary.
Feldman got an early start in Hollywood, earning his first role at just seven-years-old. Haim began his acting career when 13-years-old.
Beloved: Schumacher passed away on Monday, with his reps saying ‘he will be fondly remembered by his friends and collaborators.’ Schumacher is seen in 2013 above
Behind the bat: Schumacher famously took over the Batman franchise from director Tim Burton with the two box-office smashes Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) although the films were less favorable with critics
Schumacher passed away on Monday at 80-years-old, following a year-long battle against cancer.
A statement from his representatives read: ‘Filmmaker Joel Schumacher, director of such films as ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’, ‘A Time to Kill’, ‘The Client’, and ‘Tigerland’, passed away quietly from cancer this morning after a year-long battle. He will be fondly remembered by his friends and collaborators.’
Schumacher – who was openly gay – famously took over the Batman franchise from director Tim Burton with the two box-office smashes Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) although the films were less favorable with critics.
However, Schumacher had an impressive career in Hollywood overall, directing classic films such as Flatliners (1990), The Lost Boys (1987), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985).
His first movie was directing Lily Tomlin in the sci-fi comedy The Incredible Shrinking Woman in 1981, which received positive reviews.
Classic: Schumacher rose to fame directed hit ’80s films such as the cult classic The Lost Boys (1987)
Classic cinema: Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Rob Lowe St Elmo’s Fire (1985) directed by Joel Schumacher
But it was his string of success directing the three hit films, St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, and Flatliners that propelled him to becoming one of Hollywood’s busiest movie directors.
Schumacher was accused of introducing homoerotic elements to the relationship between titular characters Batman and Robin, when he took over the franchise from Tim Burton who had put a much darker spin on the caped crusader.
Speaking about Batman and Robin in 2017, Schumacher said: ‘I want to apologise to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that.’
Following the debacle, Joel went on to direct the feature adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera, which scored three Oscar nominations.
Most recently, the director helmed a couple of episodes of Netflix series House of Cards in 2013, and worked as an executive producer for the ID channel series Do Not Disturb: Hotel Horrors.
Prolific: Schumacher directed Michael Douglas in the 1993 crime thriller Falling Down
Another classic: Tommy Lee Jones in the big-screen adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Client (1994)
When asked in a 1999 interview if he had any advice for young filmmakers, he said: ‘Be bold, take risks, follow your own instincts, listen to other people only when you really believe in your gut that they’re right.’
‘Get a great cast. Get a cinematographer that isn’t jealous that you’re the director. Get an editor that’s not jealous you’re the director. You can do it.’
Schumacher certainly had a tireless career in the business, turning out a long list of movies, some of them misses like the Nicolas Cage-starring 8MM (1999) and Jim Carrey thriller The Number 23 (2007), but many other big hits.
He made a Hollywood star out of Colin Farrell who starred in his 2000 war movie Tigerland, and worked together again on the action-thriller Phone Booth (2003).
He also directed Oscar-winners including Cate Blanchett in Veronia Guerin (2003) and Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the crime drama Flawless (1999,)