EXCLUSIVE: As you must know by now, in the past 48 hours, Joel Silver had his $160M movie Speed Racer tank at Warner Bros, and his TV series Moonlight axed by CBS. And, because of his many faults, most of the town is ecstatic over it. And, to make matters worse, everybody and their dry cleaner have heard today's rumor that Warner Bros is supposedly cancelling or at the very least not renewing his deal there. Page Six is even writing about it tomorrow. But a Warner Bros spokesman told me officially today that Silver is and will be staying at the studio. So I phoned up Joel who just gave me this info exclusively: "My deal has a year and a half to go. I won't renew it until the deal is up. And my Dark Castle deal has 16 movies released through Warner Bros which are independently funded, and which we have all the money for. And the first one is the Guy Ritchie movie, RocknRolla, which will be in October."
Look, say what you will, but Silver's Lethal Weapon series and Matrix movies made gazillions for Warner Bros. Of course, he and the studio are down in the dumps about Speed Racer's disastrous opening. "Everyone is disturbed about this. I know there's a long list of Hollywood types right now kinda elated about that. But Warner Bros is my family, I've been there for 22 years, and we're fine. But I can't stop the slings and arrows of the world around me."
Producing a Guy Ritchie film. Now that’s a smart producing move.
Comment by Michael C. — May 13, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
agreed. Everyone I have ever met at Silver has been absolutely excellent, professional and fun to be around. It would be a shame to see Joel get shoved out after he’s delivered SOOO many hits for the WB. Nor can the studio afford to lose a man who’s very capable of reloading with a hot hand.
Comment by j.r — May 13, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
There is no denying that Joel Silver in his prime was as good as it gets. Lethal Weapon and Matrix were amazing films in their time. The problem is more that Joel has gotten lazy and has relied too heavily on his staff who aren’t even close to being as talented at identifying cool stories as him. I mean, how much worse can it get for him? The Reaping, The Invasion, The Brave One, Fred Claus and now Speed Racer and I hear Orphan is a disaster. Even if he randomly picks a few executives around town, he couldn’t do any worse than the garbage his company has developed in the past few years. He should clean house and re-build his company.
Comment by filmshark — May 13, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
While his movies have often made the difference on the Warner Bros. balance sheet, he better be careful and watch his back with Hollywood’s “what have you done for me this minute” attitude.
What’s that old saying? If you want loyalty in showbiz, buy a dog.
Comment by Furious D — May 13, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
The problem is simple. Joel’s time has come and gone. He doesn’t mention that every single Dark Castle film has sucked and lost money. His investors for those are certified idiots. Speed Racer was a HUGE bet on a property that was so three generations ago. Film was I thought good but thirty minutes too long. Matrix Two and Three actually sucked even if they made money. The fact that he has been there 22 years IS all the more reason to go. The eighties are long over and that macho action crud is over. Did you know he was developing a movie based on a defunct toy line called HE-MAN and the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE that was ALREADY a flop 80s film with Dolph Lundgren? I mean FRED CLAUS, INVASION and THE BRAVE ONE all killed Warners in 2007. Maybe he’s staying but my guess is no one at Warners proper listens to him again for a year and a half and he quietly heads out to that great Polo Lounge in the sky. And to be honest not a minute too soon. If Robinov listens to his bullshit ever again I will be shocked.
Comment by FairyTaleListener — May 13, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
“Speed Racer” is terrific. Its heartfelt and amazing visually. Its just getting weird bad luck with the idiot critics and they saw a different film than everyone I know did, including a friend who is a UCLA screenwriting professor, another screenwriting friend and his family, myself and my 11 year old, all who loved it.
Comment by Alfalfa — May 13, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
“a friend who is a UCLA screenwriting professor, another screenwriting friend and his family, myself and my 11 year old, all who loved it.”
Yikes. I’d rather trust the critics.
Comment by Bond — May 13, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
I saw Speed Racer today with my 11-year-old little brother and he adored it. Although he did think it was a little long (which it clearly is.) It’s weird as hell and even bad in places (like the original), and the kid humor can be more than a little grating to those of us above 12, and yes, characters speak without any subtext throughout, but… it is visually stunning and one of the rare time I came out of a movie saying, “I’ve never seen anything like that before in my entire life.”
The racing scenes — especially the extended one — are simply breathtaking. A wild wild bizarre mind-boggling and very fun trip. College kids experimenting with ’shrooms are gonna make this one a classic on DVD.
If you have kids or young siblings, take ‘em. And if you like to see some nutty but completely original filmmaking go see it for yourself.
Comment by George Glass — May 14, 2008 @ 12:44 am
Yeah, I can work for a year on a TV serious, and the one time I am 5 minutes late on set with something, my neck is on the chopping block. There is very little tolerance in this business for mistakes. I have NO sympathy whatsoever when a “top dog” like Silver gets in hot water. I’m sure he’s given other people grief for far less.
Comment by Captain Howdy — May 14, 2008 @ 12:55 am
Thank God he has nothing to do with Harry Potter’s franchise.
I feel bad for him but you know the saying, ‘You are as good as your last film’.
Comment by Armand — May 14, 2008 @ 5:38 am
Lord Joel is the real deal. Warners should know that the second they let him go, he’ll end up competing against them and making somebody else money. Silver knows what a movie an audience wants to see is and that’s more than can be said about half the producers in Hollywood.
Comment by Digger — May 14, 2008 @ 6:27 am
I’m not someone with any connections or relevance in Hollywood, but I can say Joel Silver has always been arrogant, rude, and an overall jerk for quite a while now. He’s screwed more people than Jenna Jameson and I’m happy to watch his demise.
Comment by Kenny — May 14, 2008 @ 6:33 am
Joel’s a has been. With films like “The Brave One” and this “Speed Racer” diaster and many other horrible films, why would WB continue to make business with this inflated producer that is just an ass to everyone. Goodbye Joel. Its over time to move to UA / MGM I heard they ate hiring just anyone.
Comment by JackTheRpper — May 14, 2008 @ 8:16 am
Yeah, why would anyone want to create a movie based on an 80s toy line? Someone tell that to Michael Bay and Spielberg please, I think they’re making another Transformers movie, and look how little money the first one made! And that big G.I. Joe movie they’re shooting–tell them quick!
Comment by skeletor — May 14, 2008 @ 10:04 am
It couldnt have happened to a nicer guy.
ASS.
Comment by william randolph hearst — May 14, 2008 @ 4:54 pm
Joel is actually a decent guy. Has a temper and is a quite a bit over the top but how else would he get to this position without that. Regardless, WB had treated him like a dollar in a nickel factory. WB followed every whim he wanted. 3-d poster? OK. Tons of TV spots? No ok? It was shining a turd. Meanwhile WB doesn’t give Clint Eastwood the same treatment. He’s won them countless awards yet they disrespect him (inside) constantly.
BTW, If Joel goes anywhere ask this… where does his daughter work? Universal. He can start over easily and win.
Comment by WBknower — May 14, 2008 @ 9:53 pm
“Yeah, why would anyone want to create a movie based on an 80s toy line?”
Um, Speed Racer is from the late 60’s NOT the 80’s, BIG difference in generations.
Comment by Dorothy Zbornak — May 15, 2008 @ 5:13 am
This isn’t about different generations, this is about the look and execution therein of this movie. The Matrix had no awaiting fan base before it was released…and wasn’t an adaption of an pre-existing commercially known property, at least one that Joel Silver and the Wachowski Siblings with admit to.
No…Speed Racer as adapted by the Wachowskis was designed to appeal to little boys under the agae of 12 years old…and they, Warner, pulled in that very narrow audience. However, the original Speed Racer, at anime (Japanese cartoon) was violence, people got killed, and there was a James Bond esthetic of international intrigue…where Speed used a machine gun to kill advisaries in one of the episodes. This was a world populated with assassins, sociopaths, and for the first time in animation television, it had a story arc–one that featured a long lost brother who left home because of conflicts with his overbearing father. Faking his death after a car crash, Rex Racer disappeared, years later re-emerging as Racer X, now an international agent and assassin who must use his racing skills to enter car races that have been infultrated by conspirators who threaten the security of the entire free world.
With his brother Speed, often, and accidentally, in the way of the crossfire…and sometimes the focus of it, Racer X acts as Speed’s avenging guardian angel…one who his brother, unaware of their relation, views as a villain and anything but a friend. The story arc ends with a scene guaranteed to make anyone cry as Speed is hit with the revelation that Racer X is his brother. Unsure he asks/demands the truth…this after a mission were he and his benefactor bring down a conspiracy together. His opinion now changed, he suddenly views Racer X as a maven. As he approaches him expecting to be embraced, the mysterious Racer X sucker punches him, never answering his question.
Later, found by his loved ones abandoned on the side of a mountainous road, Speed awakens in tears crying out, sobbing, for his brother Rex. The End
That was a movie worth making, but the wachowskis and Joel Silver dumbed it down for toy sales…and thus limited its audience. A film that should have been more adult…with flatter more real world colors, was turned into a Jason Pollack painting as cyphered through a Skittles commercial and the meaningless Spy Kids. That was enough to turn off audiences world wide!!!
Comment by Anonymous — May 15, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
Amendment 2 (Thanks Nikki):
This isn’t about different generations, this is about the look and execution therein of this movie. The Matrix had no awaiting fan base before it was released…and wasn’t an adaption of a pre-existing commercially known property, at least one that Joel Silver and the Wachowski Siblings will admit to.
No…Speed Racer as adapted by the Wachowskis was designed to appeal to little boys under the age of 12 years old…and they, Warner, pulled in that very narrow audience, but just that audience. Teenage boys, girls…Twenty Somethings and older audiences were not interested…as you don’t take your date to see such a immature adaption of said material.
However, unlike the movie, the original Speed Racer, an anime (Japanese cartoon), was violent, people got killed, and there was a James Bond esthetic of international intrigue…where Speed used a machine gun to kill advisaries in one of the episodes. This was a world populated with assassins, sociopaths, and for the first time in animation television, it had a story arc–one that featured a long lost brother who left home because of conflicts with his overbearing father…and a physical confrontation. Faking his own death after a car crash, Rex Racer disappeared, years later re-emerging as Racer X. Now an international agent and assassin, he uses his considerable racing skills to enter car races that have been infultrated by conspirators who threaten the security of the entire free world.
With his brother Speed, often, and accidentally, in the way of the crossfire…and sometimes the focus of it, Racer X acts as Speed’s avenging guardian angel…one whom his younger brother, unaware of their relation, views as a villain and anything but a friend…much to the intentional efforts of Racer X.
The story arc ends with a scene guaranteed to make anyone cry. Reminding one of the Darth Vader/Luke I am your Father scene, 13 years before it occured. The scene unfolds as Speed is hit with the revelation that Racer X is his brother. Unsure he asks/demands the truth…this after a mission where he and his benefactor bring down a conspiracy together. His opinion now changed, he suddenly views Racer X as a maven. Approaching him, Speed, expecting to be embraced, is instead sucker punched by the mysterious Racer X, who never bothers to answer his question.
Later, found by his loved ones, abandoned on the side of a mountainous road, Speed awakens in tears crying out–sobbing, for his brother Rex. The End!!!
That was a movie worth making, but the Wachowskis and Joel Silver dumbed it down for toy sales, and altered the story and some of the characters, Sparkie who was 16 is now a 45 year old Aussie??? Hit with these questionable changes, the movie’s direction greatly limited its audience appeal. A film that should have been more adult…with flatter more real world colors, was turned into a Jason Pollack painting as cyphered through a Skittles commercial and the meaningless Spy Kids films. That was enough to turn-off audiences world wide!!!
Comment by Metal Water — May 15, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
Great post Metal Water. I feel exactly the same way about the myopic thought process of this movie. In the series, cars exploded during the opening song. Snake Oiler was critically hurt (might have been killed) when they raced along the canyons in one episode. It was a dark, violent show. Some earlier scripts of Speed from 10 years ago and more were darker. This movie has been floating around for 15 years. But that was when movie studios weren’t corporations hoping to make a new franchise first and a solid movie second. Even the cross promotion was idiotic. How do you market Yokahama tires and petroleum companies when the target audience is 5 years away from driving? Couple that with a movie that looks like a “Lite Brite” that had too much LSD and you get what we have.
A mess.
Comment by WBknower — May 16, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
Well, quite funny to see people only interested in the business aspect of cinema discussing what “bad” films this guy has produced. Stick with the business aspect, we’ll take care of the artistic and creative side, ok?
Comment by Frank — May 17, 2008 @ 12:40 pm