Joel Silver - Details

Biography

Joel Silver is one of the most successful producers in the motion picture industry today. His films have earned a combined gross of over $3.3 billion worldwide, averaging over $100 million per picture. His 1999 release, The Matrix, grossed over $456 million worldwide, earning more than any other Warner Bros. release in the history of the studio. Universally acclaimed for its groundbreaking storytelling and visual, The Matrix, was nominated for four Academy Awards ®, winning the Oscar T~ for Best Visual Effects.

Silver began his career at Lawrence Gordon Productions, eventually becoming the president of motion pictures. He associate produced The Warriors, and with Gordon, produced 48 Hours, Streets of Fire, and Brewster's Millions.

Silver's first independent production under his Silver Pictures was Commando, followed by Jumpin' Jack Flash and Predator. Silver then produced (with Richard Donner), Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3,and Lethal Weapon 4, (all directed by Donner), as well as Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, The Last Boy Scout, Demolition Man, Richie Rich and Conspiracy Theory (with Donner who also directed). Silver also executive produced, with Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, David Giler,
and Walter Hill, eight seasons of the award-winning HBO series "Tales from the Crypt," as well as two "Tales from the Crypt" films: Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood.

Silver recently oversaw the successful launch of Dark Castle Entertainment, a new production entity he formed with Robert Zemekis, with a record-breaking release of House on Haunted Hill, which opened number one on Halloween of 1999. Silver and Zemekis created Dark Castle in the spirit of the late William Castle, who devised enterprising new ways to make and release horror films in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the fall, Silver expects to begin production of his next film for Dark Castle, a remake of William Castle's classic 1960s chiller, 13 Ghosts. He is also currently preparing the two sequels for The Matrix, which are expected to begin shooting in January 2001.

In 1967, Silver and some of his friends invented a game called Ultimate Frisbee while students at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. The fast-moving team sport has since become a global phenomenon with tournaments in 42 countries. Ultimate will be a medal sport in the 2001 World Games in Japan.

Events

  • 14th July 1952 - Birth