Wikipedia

Joel Silver

Joel Silver(born July 14, 1952) is an Americanfilm producer.

Joel Silver
Silver at theTribeca Film Festivalin May 2008
Born(1952-07-14)July 14, 1952(age 72)
South Orange, New Jersey,U.S.
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1976–present
SpouseKaryn Fields (1999–2020; divorced)
Children2

Life and career

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Silver was born and raised inSouth Orange, New Jersey,the son of a writer and a public relations executive.[1]His family isJewish.[2]He attendedColumbia High SchoolinMaplewood, 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 theUSA UltimateHall of Fameas a result of this.[3]He finished his undergraduate studies at theNew York University'sTisch School of the Arts.

Silver began his career atLawrence Gordon Productions,where he eventually became president of motion pictures for the company. He earned his first screen credit as the associate producer onThe Warriorsand, with Gordon, produced48 Hrs.,Streets of Fire,andBrewster's Millions.In 1985, he formedSilver Picturesand produced successful action films such asCommando(1985), theLethal Weaponfranchise, the first two films of theDie Hardseries, as well as the first two films of thePredatorseries andThe Matrixfranchise of action films.

Silver appears on-screen at the beginning ofWho Framed Roger Rabbitas Raoul J. Raoul, the director of the animated shortSomething'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 prankSteven SpielbergandRobert Zemeckispulled on then-Disney CEO,Michael Eisner,as Eisner and Silver had despised each other since their days atParamount Picturesin the early 1980s, especially with the issues they faced making48 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 theHBOhorror anthologyTales from the Crypt.He has run two production companies,Silver Pictures,andDark Castle Entertainment,co-owned byRobert Zemeckis.

Silver is also known for his eccentric temper, inspiring characters based on him in movies such asGrand Canyon,True RomanceandI'll Do Anything.[4]The character of Les Grossman (played byTom Cruise) in the movieTropic Thunder,is a parody of Silver.[5]ActorRick Moranisparodied Silver onSCTVin the skitThe Larry Siegel Talk Show.[6]

He also voiced "the police chief" in the 2001 filmOsmosis Jonesin 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 Reportercited unnamed sources claiming that Joel Silver's overspending, dearth of recent box-office hits, and an animosity between Silver and financierDaryl Katzled 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 ofPlay DirtybyAmazon Studios.[11][12]

Frank Lloyd Wright houses and automobiles

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Silver is well known as an aficionado of architectFrank Lloyd Wright.In 1984, he bought the Wright-designedStorer Housein 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 StevensAuldbrass PlantationinYemassee, South Carolina,and has been restoring it since then. Both restorations have been managed and supervised by the architectEric Lloyd Wright(grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright).

Silver has also owned and restored twoLincoln Continentalautomobiles previously owned by Wright, one a 1940 convertible and the other a 1941 coupe. After the 1940 car was damaged, Wright had abody shoprebuild the car based on his custom redesign. For a time both cars were displayed in the Storer House.[13][14]

Carmel Musgrove incident

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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 inBora 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]

Filmography

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Producer

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Film

Executive producer

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Film

TV series

TV movies

  • Parker Kane(1990)
  • W.E.I.R.D. World(1995)
  • Jane Doe(2001)
  • Newton(2003)
  • Future Tense(2003)
  • Bet Your Life(2004)
  • Prodigy(2004)
  • The Odds(2010)
  • Hail Mary(2011)

Acting roles

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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"

Other credits

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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

References

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  1. ^"Joel Silver Biography (1952–)".filmreference.
  2. ^James, Clive (2009).The Blaze of Obscurity.Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.ISBN9780330515252.
  3. ^"Founders (Class of 2005)".USA Ultimate.RetrievedJuly 4,2016.
  4. ^Wells, Jeffrey (February 21, 1993)."Enough Already: Joel Silver, Model Mogul".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMay 6,2018.
  5. ^"The Most Tolerable Works of Tom Cruise: A Retrospective".IndieWire.June 25, 2010.RetrievedMay 18,2021.
  6. ^Singer, Mark (March 13, 1994)."THE JOEL SILVER SHOW".The New Yorker.RetrievedJune 10,2023.
  7. ^Steve Weintraub (November 24, 2009)."2nd Joel Silver Interview NINJA ASSASSIN. Plus Info on Dark Castle Projects, Remakes, SHERLOCK HOLMES, More".Collider.
  8. ^"Joel Silver Out at Silver Pictures, CEO Hal Sadoff to Steer Ship".June 25, 2019.
  9. ^ab"'He Felt Strangled': Joel Silver's Lavish Spending, Lack of Hits Angered Producing Partners Ahead of Exit ".The Hollywood Reporter.June 26, 2019.RetrievedDecember 9,2019.
  10. ^Lincoln, Ross A. (June 25, 2019)."Joel Silver Exits Silver Pictures, Hal Sadoff to Run Company".TheWrap.RetrievedDecember 9,2019.
  11. ^"Amazon Fires Producer Joel Silver From Films Starring Mark Wahlberg, Jake Gyllenhaal Over Verbal Abuse (EXCLUSIVE)".Variety.
  12. ^"Jules Daly in Talks to Replace Ousted Joel Silver on Amazon's 'Play Dirty' (Exclusive)".The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. ^Shea, Terry (May 29, 2017)."Art of the design – 1940 Lincoln Continental".Hemmings Motor News.American City Business Journals Inc.RetrievedApril 1,2021.
  14. ^Lee, Matt; Lee, Ted (November 30, 2003),"Auldbrass Wasn't Rebuilt in a Day",New York Times
  15. ^"Producer Joel Silver sued over death of assistant".uk.movies.yahoo.
  16. ^Lincoln, Ross A. (August 18, 2017)."Joel Silver Sued for Wrongful Death by Family of Assistant Who Drowned in 2015".TheWrap.RetrievedAugust 18,2017.
  17. ^Patrick Hipes (February 22, 2021)."Producer Joel Silver Exonerated in Wrongful-Death Suit Filed over His Assistant's 2015 Drowning in Bora Bora – Update".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedJuly 23,2022.
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