Joel Silver | |
|---|---|
 Silver at the Tribeca Film Festival in May 2008 | |
| Born | July 14, 1952 South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | Karyn Fields (1999–2020; divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer.
Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. [1] His family is Jewish. [2] He attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. During his time there, Silver, Buzzy Hellring, and Jonny Hines created the rules for what he called "Ultimate Frisbee". He was later inducted into the USA Ultimate Hall of Fame as a result of this. [3] He finished his undergraduate studies at the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Silver began his career at Lawrence Gordon Productions, where he eventually became president of motion pictures for the company. He earned his first screen credit as the associate producer on The Warriors and, with Gordon, produced 48 Hrs. , Streets of Fire , and Brewster's Millions . In 1985, he formed Silver Pictures and produced successful action films such as Commando (1985), the Lethal Weapon franchise, the first two films of the Die Hard series, as well as the first two films of the Predator series and The Matrix franchise of action films.
Silver appears on-screen at the beginning of Who Framed Roger Rabbit as Raoul J. Raoul, the director of the animated short Something's Cookin. Raoul loses his temper at toon Roger Rabbit for seeing tweety birds when a refrigerator crashes on his head, and not stars as the script specified. This was a prank Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis pulled on then-Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, as Eisner and Silver had despised each other since their days at Paramount Pictures in the early 1980s, especially with the issues they faced making 48 Hrs . Silver trimmed his beard off, paid his expenses, and asked to not have his name in initial cast lists. Reportedly, when production wrapped, because Silver was unrecognizable, Eisner questioned who played Raoul and was told it was Silver, at which point, Eisner shrugged and praised his performance.
Silver directed "Split Personality", (1992), an episode of the HBO horror anthology Tales from the Crypt . He has run two production companies, Silver Pictures, and Dark Castle Entertainment, co-owned by Robert Zemeckis.
Silver is also known for his eccentric temper, inspiring characters based on him in movies such as Grand Canyon , True Romance and I'll Do Anything . [4] The character of Les Grossman (played by Tom Cruise) in the movie Tropic Thunder , is a parody of Silver. [5] Actor Rick Moranis parodied Silver on SCTV in the skit The Larry Siegel Talk Show. [6]
He also voiced "the police chief" in the 2001 film Osmosis Jones in an uncredited role. [7]
On June 24, 2019, Silver Pictures CEO Hal Sadoff announced that Silver had resigned from the company. [8] Two days later, The Hollywood Reporter cited unnamed sources claiming that Joel Silver's overspending, dearth of recent box-office hits, and an animosity between Silver and financier Daryl Katz led to Silver's departure. [9] No official reason has yet been given by the Katz Group, Silver Pictures, or Joel Silver himself. [10] [9]
On November 30, 2023, Silver was fired as a producer of Play Dirty by Amazon Studios. [11] [12]
Silver is well known as an aficionado of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1984, he bought the Wright-designed Storer House in Hollywood and made considerable investments to restore it to its original condition. The Storer House's squarish relief ornament then became the company logo of Silver Pictures. Silver sold it in 2002 for $2.9 million. In 1986, he purchased the long-neglected C. Leigh Stevens Auldbrass Plantation in Yemassee, South Carolina, and has been restoring it since then. Both restorations have been managed and supervised by the architect Eric Lloyd Wright (grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright).
Silver has also owned and restored two Lincoln Continental automobiles previously owned by Wright, one a 1940 convertible and the other a 1941 coupe. After the 1940 car was damaged, Wright had a body shop rebuild the car based on his custom redesign. For a time both cars were displayed in the Storer House. [13] [14]
On August 19, 2015, Silver's 28-year-old assistant Carmel Musgrove drowned in a lagoon while working on vacation with Silver and his family in Bora Bora. Later, in August 2017, Musgrove's family sued Silver and his assistant Martin Herold, arguing the latter had provided her with cocaine, which, along with alcohol consumption and exhaustion from work, they alleged had contributed to her death. [15] [16] Silver was exonerated in February 2021 by a Los Angeles judge. [17]
Film
Film
| TV series
TV movies
|
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Raoul J. Raoul | |
| 2001 | Osmosis Jones | Police Chief | Uncredited voice role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Crypt Keeper's Chainsaw Victim (Uncredited) | "Split Second" |
| 2007 | Entourage | Himself | "Less Than 30" |
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The End | Assistant to producer |
| Hooper | Assistant to executive producer | |
| 1979 | The Warriors | Associate producer |
| 1981 | The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper | Creative consultant |
Television
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | The Bette Midler Show | Assistant to the producer | TV special |
| 1983 | The Renegades | Production executive | |
| 1992 | Tales from the Crypt | Director | Episode "Split Personality" |
| 1999 | Tales from the Cryptkeeper | Special thanks | |
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf. The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Stubby Kaye, Joanna Cassidy, and the voices of Charles Fleischer and an uncredited Kathleen Turner. Combining live-action and animation, the film is set in an alternate history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters co-exist. Its plot follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit, a toon framed for murder.
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American filmmaker. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy Romancing the Stone (1984), the science-fiction comedy Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), and the live-action/animated comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). He subsequently directed the satirical black comedy Death Becomes Her (1992) and then diversified into more dramatic fare, including Forrest Gump (1994), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director. The film also won the Best Picture.
Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor and Patsy Kensit. It is a sequel to the 1987 film Lethal Weapon and the second installment in the Lethal Weapon film series.
Lethal Weapon 4 is a 1998 American buddy cop action film directed and produced by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, and Jet Li. It is the fourth installment in the Lethal Weapon film series. It is the last film in the series directed by Donner before his death, and the latest to be released theatrically.
Stuart Baird is an English film editor, producer, and director who is mainly associated with action films. He has edited over thirty major motion pictures.
James McTeigue is an Australian film and television director. He has been an assistant director on many films, including Dark City (1998), the Matrix trilogy (1999–2003) and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and made his directorial debut with the 2005 film V for Vendetta to critical acclaim. Since Vendetta he has collaborated with the Wachowskis an additional four times as director on The Invasion, Ninja Assassin and Sense8, and as producer of The Matrix Resurrections.
Silver Pictures is an American film production company founded by Hollywood producer Joel Silver in 1980.
Shane Black is an American filmmaker and actor who has written such films as Lethal Weapon, The Monster Squad, The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He is also known as the original creator of the Lethal Weapon franchise. As an actor, Black is best known for his role as Rick Hawkins in Predator (1987).
Dark Castle Entertainment is an American film production label and a division of Silver Pictures, It was formed in 1998 by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler. Susan Downey was the Vice President of Development until February 2009, a term running congruent to her tenure as a VP of Production at parent company Silver Pictures.
ImageMovers (IM), is an American production company which produces CGI animation, motion-capture, live-action films and television shows. The company is known for producing such films as Cast Away (2000), What Lies Beneath (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Monster House (2006), and Beowulf (2007). From 2007 to 2011, The Walt Disney Company and ImageMovers founded a joint venture animation facility known as ImageMovers Digital which produced two motion-captured CGI-animated films: A Christmas Carol (2009) and Mars Needs Moms (2011) for Walt Disney Pictures, neither of which were financially successful.
Lawrence Gordon is an American producer and motion picture executive. He specializes in producing action-oriented films and other genres. Some of his most popular productions include 48 Hours (1982), Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Point Break (1991), Boogie Nights (1997), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and Prey (2022).
Gilbert Adler is an American film producer who has collaborated with several notable filmmakers including Richard Donner, Brian De Palma, Walter Hill, Todd Phillips, and Bryan Singer.
Walter Hill is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western genre. He has directed such films as The Driver, The Warriors, Southern Comfort, 48 Hrs. and its sequel Another 48 Hrs., Streets of Fire and Red Heat, and wrote the screenplay for the crime drama The Getaway. He has also directed several episodes of television series such as Tales from the Crypt and Deadwood and produced the Alien films.
Mary Ellen Trainor was an American character actress best known for her roles as LAPD psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Woods in the Lethal Weapon films, newscaster Gail Wallens in Die Hard and Ricochet, and working mother Irene Walsh in The Goonies. She also appeared in numerous other well-known films including Romancing the Stone, The Monster Squad, Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump, and Freaky Friday (2003).
Bruce Berman is an American film industry executive and executive producer. He is the chairman and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures, a position he has held from 1997 to 2021. His credits as an executive producer include American Sniper, The Lego Movie, The Great Gatsby, the Ocean's trilogy, Sherlock Holmes and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Happy Feet and The Matrix franchise.
Auldbrass Plantation or Auldbrass is located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, near the town of Yemassee. The guest house, stable complex and kennels were designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright from 1939 to 1941. It is one of two structures that Wright designed in South Carolina. The property was purchased in the 1930s by Charles Leigh Stevens. Wright designed the plantation to serve as a retreat for Stevens. During Stevens' retreats he would use the property for riding and hunting excursions.
J. Mills Goodloe is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and actor.
Storer House is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles built in 1923. The structure is noteworthy as one of the four Mayan Revival style textile-block houses built by Wright in the Los Angeles area from 1922 to 1924.
Andrew Rona is an American film producer and movie executive. His popular films include Non-Stop, Project X, Equilibrium, Scream and Scary Movie.
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