Joel SilverBirth Place: South Orange, New Jersey, USA Date of Birth: July 14, 1952 Heritage: American Famous for: Producer of 'The Matrix' (1999) Contact Joel Silver | 
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Producer of The Matrix Background: One of the most successful producers in the motion picture industry today, Joel Silver's films have received a combined gross of more than $3.3 billion worldwide with the average of $100 million per picture. Currently, the former assistant of producer Lawrence Gordon runs two production companies, Silver Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment (co-owned by Robert Zemeckis). He has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films and was named ShoWest Convention's “Producer of the Year” in 1990. Silver is best known for producing the blockbuster hit “The Matrix” (1999), a film starring Keanu Reeves that won four Academy Awards. He also produced the sequels “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” (both 2003). Prior to the outstanding achievement, the producer made a name for himself as leading producer of action-adventure movies with films like the “Lethal Weapon” series (1987, 1989, 1992 and 1998), the first two films of the “Die Hard” franchise (1998 and 1990) and “Predator” (1987) and “Predator 2” (1990). While most of his movies were victorious, Silver has had his share of unforgettable flops like “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” (1990) and “Hudson Hawk” (1991). He was handed two Razzie Awards for his work in the films. Silver's most recent and upcoming credits include “House of Wax” (2005), “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005), “V for Vendetta” (2005), “Fred Claus” (2007), “Speed Racer” (2008), “RocknRolla” (2008), “Whiteout” (2008), “Masters of the Universe” (2009), “Wonder Woman” (2009) and “Logan's Run” (2010). Silver, who has been named by Premiere as “The Selznick of Schlock” for his showy, crowd-pleasing style, has also worked for a number of TV programs since making his debut in HBO's “Tales from the Crypt” (1989-1996), which he executive produced with frequent collaborator Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill and Zemeckis. Other credits include “Veronica Mars” (2004-present), “Next Action Star” (2004) and “Moonlight” (2007). As for his personal life, Silver has been married to his production assistant, Karyn Fields, since 1999. He was once linked to Lisa Matthews, who was a Playboy Playmate in 1991. Silver is a fan of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He collects houses designed by the legend.
Childhood and Family: Joel Silver was born on July 14, 1952, in South Orange, New Jersey. He was educated at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, where he is recognized for helping invent a game called “Ultimate Frisbee” (now known as just “Ultimate”). When he attended Lafayette College in 1970, Joel formed the first collegiate Ultimate Frisbee team. He finished his undergraduate studies at the New York University's Tisch School of the Art. Joel has a sister named Allison. On July 10, 1999, Joel married his production assistant Karyn Fields.
Career: After completing his film studies at NYU where he produced and starred in several student films, Joel Silver began his career in Los Angeles as an assistant to producer Lawrence Gordon. He made his debut as associate producer in the 1979 action movie “The Warriors” and a year later moved on as co-producer for the Olivia Newton-John vehicle “Xanadu” (1980). He then served as executive producer for the science-fiction film” Jekyll and Hyde ... Together Again” (1982). Silver quickly climbed up the ranks and eventually became the president of the motion picture division of Lawrence Gordon Pictures. He went on to produce hits like Walter Hill's “48 Hrs” (1982) and the teen comedy “Weird Science” (1985), as well as “Brewster's Millions” (1985). 1985 saw Silver form his own production company called Silver Pictures. “Commando,” an action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, marked the newly formed studio's first release. After Penny Marshall's “Jumpin' Jack Flash” (1986), he started a screen partnership with director Richard Donner for the Mel Gibson/Danny Glover's “Lethal Weapon” (1987), which went on to become one of the best action films of the year. The success led to his producing the sequels “Lethal Weapon 2” (1989), “Lethal Weapon 3” (1992) and “Lethal Weapon 4” (1998), which was also helmed by Donner. Also with Donner, as well as with David Giler, Walter Hill and Robert Zemeckis, Silver executive produced the HBO horror anthology series “Tales From the Crypt,” which ran from 1989 to 1996, and made his directorial debut in the show episode “Split Personality” in 1992, which starred Joe Pesci as a swindler who marries a set of twins under the deception that he is a twin too. In addition to the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, Silver also lent his producing talents for the first two of Bruce Willis' hits, “Die Hard” (1989) and “Die Hard 2” (1990), as well as the successful Predator series, “Predator” (1987) and “Predator 2” (1990). For his efforts, ShoWest Convention named Silver “Producer of the Year” in 1990 and he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 7, 1993. However, the producer had to deal with disappointments with the films “Road House” (1989), Andrew Dice Clay's “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” (1990) and “Hudson Hawk” (1991). He was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Picture in the first and won the award for the latter two. Next, Silver found himself working on the high-octane thrillers “Demolition Man” (1993) and “Fair Game” (1995) and the lawbreaking drama “Executive Decision” (1996), as well as the comedy “Ri¢hie Ri¢h” (1994). He reunited with Donner for 1995's “Assassins,” which was jointly scripted by Larry and Andy Wachowski, and 1997's “Conspiracy Theory,” a mystery/romance that also rejoined him with Lethal Weapon star Mel Gibson. By this time, Silver had added several TV credits to his resume, including HBO's “The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies” (1995) and “Perversions of Science” (1997). It was in 1999 that Silver scored his biggest success to date when he produced the Keanu Reeves starring film “The Matrix,” a special effects-driven movie directed and penned by the Wachowski brothers. A box office smash, the movie grossed over $456 million internationally and became the highest seller in the history of Warner Bros. Generally praised for its innovative storytelling and visual affects, “The Matrix” triumphantly won four Oscars, in addition to a number of other honors. The same year, Silver served as executive producer for the short-lived UPN series “The Strip” and the controversial Fox sitcom “Action.” Also in 1999, he teamed up with producer/writer/director Robert Zemekis to start a new production company called Dark Castle Entertainment. Dark Castle's first release, “House on Haunted Hill” (1999), debuted at No. 1 on Halloween in 1999. With two production companies under his wings, Silver became even busier. Some of his projects included Jet Li's “Romeo Must Die” (2000), “Exit Wounds” (2001), “Swordfish” (2001, starred John Travolta), “Thir13en Ghosts” (2001), “Ghost Ship” (2002), “Gothika” (2003), the remake “House of Wax” (2005), “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005) and “V for Vendetta” (2005), as well as sequels for “The Matrix,” “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions.” On the small screen, he worked for the UPN fall drama “Freedom” (2000), “Next Action Star” (2004) and “The Studio” (2005). He also served as executive producer of the Kristen Bell vehicle “Veronica Mars” (2004-present). More recently, in 2007, Silver produced the movies “The Reaping,” “The Brave One” and “The Invasion,” and executive produced the WB series “Moonlight” (2007-2008). His upcoming projects are the comedy “Fred Claus” (2007) and the actions films “Speed Racer” (2008, directed by the Wachowski brothers), “Masters of the Universe” (2009), “Wonder Woman” (2009) and “Logan's Run” (2010), as well as two horror films for Dark Castle, “RocknRolla” and “Whiteout” (both 2008).
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