Director Joel Schumacher presented his 1987 teen-age vampire flick, "The Lost Boys," and offered words of encouragement to aspiring filmakers at the third annual Wide Screen Film Festival held at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center Friday.

"Don't ever give up your dream. Learn to live with rejection. If I can do it, you can do better," Schumacher said to a near-capacity crowd.

Schumacher, of "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin" fame, said "The Lost Boys" is one of the most popular films he has directed.

"I probably get more mail and more questions on "The Last Boys" than any other movie IÕve made," Schumacher said,

Richard Donner was originally slated to direct the film, but he chose to direct "Lethal Weapon" instead.

Donner asked Schumacher to take over.

"I was going to say no because [the movie] was too cutesy for me, but when I called to let the studio know, they were out to lunch," Schumacher said.

Although the studio was terrified because it had never heard of any of the actors in the movie, let alone of Schumacher, it went ahead with the project, even allowing Schumacher to change the script.

"It was originally a wholesome, child-vampire movie," Schumacher said. "I wanted teen-agers. I wanted sexy. I wanted humor."

Schumacher shot the movie in Santa Cruz, renamed Santa Carla for the film.

"If I was a teen-age vampire, I'd live in Santa Cruz," Schumacher said. "It has the boardwalk, a lot of runaways and transient life."

The fact that Santa Cruz was the murder capital of the world at the time enhanced Schumacher's decision to film at the seaside community.

Despite Schumacher's script changes, the studio worried the film's mixture of comedy and horror would not work well together.

Schumacher stuck to his script and the movie became a surprise hit for both the studio and Schumacher, who suddenly found himself catapulted into the spotlight.

"After 'The Lost Boys,' I began to get offered more work. That was a big jump for me," Schumacher said.

Currently, Schumacher is working on the film "Eight Millimeters," starring Nicolas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix.

Another installation of "Batman" is also in the works, although Schumacher is not certain which characters will participate in his newest rendition.