Silver Pictures

Silver Pictures
IndustryMotion pictures
FoundedJune 24, 1980 (1980-06-24)
FounderJoel Silver
Headquarters
Key people
Ethan Erwin (President)
Hal Sadoff (CEO)
Susan Downey
DivisionsSilver Pictures Television
SubsidiariesDark Castle Entertainment

Silver Pictures is an American film production company founded by Hollywood producer Joel Silver in 1980.

For many years, during the mid-1980s, the production company was based at 20th Century-Fox, but the production company was shifted to Warner Bros. in 1987.[1] In 1999, it launched, along with fellow Tales from the Crypt executive producer Robert Zemeckis, Dark Castle Entertainment, which served as a venture of the studio.[2]

In 2012, Joel Silver and Warner Bros. ended their 25-year production, marketing, and distribution relationship, due to Silver disagreeing with how Warner Bros. had been handling the marketing and releasing of the films his company produced.[3][4] Despite having split, Silver and Warner Bros. co-produced The Nice Guys four years later. That same year, Joel Silver and Universal Studios struck a 5-year, 12-picture, North American marketing and distribution deal, starting with the Liam Neeson action thriller Non-Stop on February 28, 2014.[5] Universal Pictures will not be a production partner with Silver Pictures, only a distributor. The second film in the distribution deal was originally going to be The Loft, a third-party film which Silver Pictures' Dark Castle Entertainment division acquired the U.S distribution rights to (as they did for Splice). Universal planned to release The Loft on August 29, 2014, but the studio pulled it from the schedule in favor of Legendary Pictures' As Above, So Below. Universal and Dark Castle sold the distribution rights to Open Road Films, who then released The Loft on January 30, 2015.[6][7][8][9] All of Silver Pictures' productions and Dark Castle's productions henceforth were excluded from the distribution deal with Universal since.

Three years after Silver finalized his distribution deal with Universal, the veteran producer connected with Canadian financier Daryl Katz. Founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies, one of Canada's largest privately owned enterprises, Daryl Katz holds operations in pharmaceuticals, sports and entertainment and real estate. The two came together to create a slate of feature films, digital projects and television shows. Hal Sadoff, longtime packaging and finance agent, will serve as chief executive officer of Silver Pictures Entertainment.[10] Sadoff left ICM in 2012. On November 13, 2015, Silver Pictures Television had received a commitment to a first-look agreement with Lionsgate Television whereas Silver would develop projects for the studio.[11]

Before Silver's connection with Katz, Silver Pictures required studio backing to develop and fund its films. After the formation of the new partnership, Silver possessed the ability to work on projects both inside and outside the studio system.

CEO Hal Sadoff and Silver still possess a longstanding relationship, having worked together on Gothika, Thirteen Ghosts and House on Haunted Hill.[12]

On June 24, 2019, Sadoff announced Silver's resignation from the company.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Joel Silver". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  2. ^ Carver, Benedict (1999-01-15). "Oh, the horror!". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  3. ^ Finke, Nikki (2012-04-27). "EXCLUSIVE: Joel Silver And Warner Bros Pictures Severing 25-Year Relationship". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  4. ^ Abrams, Rachel; Graser, Marc (2012-09-25). "WB ends Joel Silver era with $30 million payout". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  5. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Joel Silver Going Indie And Making 12-Film Distribution Deal With Universal For Post-Warner Bros Producing". Deadline.
  6. ^ "'The loft' is gekocht door producent van 'Die hard'-films" ['The loft' bought by same producer as 'Die hard'-movies] (in Dutch). Belgium: Het Nieuwsblad. 9 June 2012.
  7. ^ "'The Loft' nog maar eens uitgesteld" ['The Loft' once again delayed] (in Dutch). Belgium: De Standaard. March 8, 2013.
  8. ^ "Universal Sets 'The Loft' For Summer 2014, Zac Efron's 'Townies' For May". Deadline. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Universal Pulls 'The Loft' From Sked, Moves Legendary Pic 'As Above/So Below' Into Slot". Deadline. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  10. ^ Hipes, Patrick (2015-04-27). "Joel Silver Teams With Financier Daryl Katz, Launches New Company; Hal Sadoff CEO". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  11. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (2015-11-13). "Joel Silver Sets CBS, Fox Pilots Through First-Look Lionsgate TV Deal". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (2015-04-27). "Joel Silver Partners With Canadian Financier for Silver Pictures Entertainment". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  13. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-06-25). "Joel Silver Out At Silver Pictures, CEO Hal Sadoff To Steer Ship". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  14. ^ Nickolai, Nate (2019-06-25). "Joel Silver Exits Silver Pictures". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.