Joel Silver

Production

Joel Silver

Born 1952-07-14 · South Orange, New Jersey, USA

Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer, known for action films like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. He is owner of Silver Pictures and co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment. He 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 and the The Matrix franchise of action films. He appears on-screen at the beginning of Who Framed Roger Rabbit as Raoul J. Raoul, the director of the animated short Something's Cookin. He directed "Split Personality", (1992), an episode of the HBO horror anthology, Tales from the Crypt. He currently runs two production companies, Silver Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment co-owned by Robert Zemeckis. Along with Jared Kass, Silver was co-creator of the sport of Ultimate.

Acting credits

Who Framed Roger Rabbit poster
7.5

Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

1988

Osmosis Jones poster
6.5

A white blood cell policeman, with the help of a cold pill, must stop a deadly virus from destroying the human they live in, Frank.

Osmosis Jones

2001

The Matrix Revisited poster
6.9

The film goes behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.

The Matrix Revisited

2001

The Matrix Recalibrated poster
7.0

The making of Matrix Revolutions, The (2003) is briefly touched on here in this documentary. Interviews with various cast and crew members inform us how they were affected by the deaths of Gloria Foster and Aaliyah, and also delve into the making of the visual effects that takes up a lot of screen time. Written by Rhyl Donnelly

The Matrix Recalibrated

2004

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot poster
6.8

Actors, crew and executives who worked at Warner Bros. Pictures recall their days at the studio.

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot

2013

Making "The Matrix" poster
7.4

A promotional making-of documentary for the film The Matrix (1999) that devotes its time to explaining the digital and practical effects contained in the film. This is very interesting, seeing as how they're giving away the cinematic secrets that they created solely for the this movie, that have now been spoofed and referenced in countless other films.

Making "The Matrix"

1999

Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime poster
10.0

A short documentary on Japanese animation featured on the DVD for The Animatrix (2003).

Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime

2003

On the Set of 'Gothika' poster
NR

Documentary on the making of 'Gothika', featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

On the Set of 'Gothika'

2004

Speed Racer: Car Fu poster
NR

Documentary on the making of 'Speed Racer.'

Speed Racer: Car Fu

2008

Executions: The Making of 'The Animatrix' poster
NR

This making-of piece is composed of seven segments: "Making The Second Renaissance Parts 1 and 2" (9:45), "Making The Program" (6:13), "Making World Record" (7:25), "Making Kid's Story And Detective Story" (9:42), "Making Beyond" (8:48), "Making Matriculated" (6:46) and "Making Final Flight Of Osiris" (6:39). Each of the features cover something a bit different, as some of the features are a pure "making of" type feature, while others might also delve into certain influences and things of that sort. Everyone involved speaks of their approach to their specific feature (or features) and they also talk about how they were approached by the Wachowski's about the Animatrix project and in certain instances, we learn about the director, as well as their work before signing on to this particular project. We get to see footage from the short itself, as well as interview footage with the principals and footage from behind-the-scenes.

Executions: The Making of 'The Animatrix'

2003

Sherlock Holmes: Reinvented poster
7.0

Making of featurette for Sherlock Holmes (2009).

Sherlock Holmes: Reinvented

2010

The Making of Exit Wounds poster
NR

Behind the scenes of Andrzej Bartkowiak's 'Exit Wounds'

The Making of Exit Wounds

2002

If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' poster
7.5

A behind-the-scenes look at the 1987 sci-fi/action film that has since become one of the modern classics, about a team of special forces soldiers who find themselves being stalked and killed by a hunter from another world. Includes interviews with the cast and crew, who relate their experiences in bringing this film to life. Produced for the “Predator” DVD.

If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator'

2000

No artwork available
6.8

A look at the stunts of The Matrix Revolutions

Mind Over Matter: The Physicality of the Matrix Future

2004

Making 'Enter the Matrix' poster
6.1

A look at Enter the Matrix: The game's story picks up just before The Matrix Reloaded and runs parallel to that of the film. Bend the rules of the Matrix with martial arts, pilot the fastest hovercraft in the fleet, or just fight with lots of guns.

Making 'Enter the Matrix'

2003

No artwork available
6.1

This making-of piece offers the standard mix of movie snippets, behind the scenes materials, and interviews from cast and crew on the making of the film.

The Matrix Reloaded: Pre-Load

2003

No artwork available
NR

Documentary on the special effects of the film 'Gothika'.

Painting with Fire

2004

The Matrix Reloaded: Car Chase poster
7.0

This thirty-minute documentary follows the Wachowski sisters and the film's crew through production on the film's famed highway chase sequence. We get interviews with the visual effects supervisors, the stunt coordinators and even are taken through aspects of pre-production and planning for the scene. Then the documentary moves into production, the scariest aspect of which is certainly Carrie Anne-Moss trying to learn to ride a motorcycle good enough to do so safely without helmet for the scene. We also watch as the stretch of freeway used in the film is being built.

The Matrix Reloaded: Car Chase

2004

The Matrix Revolutions: Double Agent Smith poster
5.3

The special effects of the Agent Smith scenes in Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix Revolutions: Double Agent Smith

2004

Behind the camera

Die Hard poster
7.8

High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He's alone, tired... and the only chance anyone has got.

Die Hard

1988

The Matrix poster
8.3

Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

The Matrix

1999

Road House poster
6.9

Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.

Road House

2024

V for Vendetta poster
7.9

In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.

V for Vendetta

2006

Predator poster
7.6

A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

Predator

1987

The Matrix Reloaded poster
7.1

The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.

The Matrix Reloaded

2003

Lethal Weapon poster
7.3

A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.

Lethal Weapon

1987

The Matrix Revolutions poster
6.8

The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.

The Matrix Revolutions

2003

The Nice Guys poster
7.1

A private eye investigates the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles and uncovers a conspiracy.

The Nice Guys

2016

Sherlock Holmes poster
7.2

Eccentric consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson battle to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy England.

Sherlock Holmes

2009

Die Hard 2 poster
7.0

One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Christmas Eve, as he waits for his wife's plane to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system in a plot to free a South American army general and drug smuggler being flown into the US to face drug charges. It's now up to McClane to take on the terrorists, while coping with an inept airport police chief, an uncooperative anti-terrorist squad, and the life of his wife and everyone else trapped in planes circling overhead.

Die Hard 2

1990

Lethal Weapon 4 poster
6.6

With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with a deadly Chinese crime lord trying to get his brother out of prison.

Lethal Weapon 4

1998

Demolition Man poster
6.8

In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future, Spartan is awakened to capture his nemesis the old-fashioned way.

Demolition Man

1993

Lethal Weapon 2 poster
7.0

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Lethal Weapon 2

1989

The Book of Eli poster
6.8

A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.

The Book of Eli

2010

Orphan poster
7.0

After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.

Orphan

2009

Commando poster
6.7

John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.

Commando

1985

Predator 2 poster
6.3

A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.

Predator 2

1990

House of Wax poster
6.0

A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.

House of Wax

2005

Unknown poster
6.7

A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.

Unknown

2011

Speed Racer poster
6.4

Speed Racer is a young and brilliant racing driver. When corruption in the racing leagues costs his brother his life, Speed must team up with the police and the mysterious Racer X to bring an end to the corruption and criminal activities.

Speed Racer

2008

Swordfish poster
6.3

Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson, a n'er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.

Swordfish

2001

The Losers poster
6.3

On a mission deep in the Bolivian jungle, a team of elite commandos finds itself on the receiving end of a lethal betrayal. Now presumed dead, the men join forces with a mysterious operative named Aisha to hunt down their enemy and even the score.

The Losers

2010

Lethal Weapon 3 poster
6.7

Riggs and Murtaugh pursue a former officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.

Lethal Weapon 3

1992