Carl Kurlander: Last News

Carl Kurlander, who went from being director Joel Schumacher’s assistant to writing St. Elmo’s fire with him, wrote a look back on that film for Deadline as well as a tribute when the director passed away., Kurlander today shares memories about Louie Anderson, the comic and actor who died last Friday in Las Vegas at age 68. Kurlander co-authored The F Word: How to Survive Your Family with Louie Anderson and was a consultant on his The Louie Show on CBS. His other credits include St Elmo’s Fire, he has been a senior lecturer at the U of Pittsburgh and producer of Chasing Covid and other titles. Here he discusses the empathy Anderson showed to most everyone around him, and many career breaks he provided, actions informed by the slights and hardships he faced in his own life.  

Carl Kurlander This week marks the 35th anniversary of the release of St. Elmo’s Fire.

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmMost who worked with director Joel Schumacher walked away feeling like they’d made a friend. He was generous in spirit, open and honest about his own success and flaws and disappointments.