Producer Joel Silver Signs Five-Year Distribution Deal With Universal

Universal Pictures has signed a five-year domestic distribution deal with Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures Entertainment.

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The deal comes in the wake of Silver, who at one time was one of Hollywood's top producers, losing his lucrative deal at Warner Bros.

The Universal deal encompasses 12 movies of various genres across a five-year period, during which the studio will distribute two or three a year, according to a statement released Thursday.

The first project to fall under the deal will be the action thriller Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

That Silver would pair with Universal is no surprise. He is quite friendly with studio chief Ron Meyer, and Meyer’s daughter works as an exec at Silver Pictures.
 
For years Silver was associated with Warners, producing hits such as The Matrix trilogy and shepherding the recent Sherlock Holmes films. The latest movie in that franchise, 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, proved to be a hit, but Silver complained about the studio’s release strategy for the film, creating tension with Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov.
 
Warners told Silver in April that the studio would not renew its deal with him. The producer will now vacate his offices on the lot and is looking for a space in Los Angeles’ Westside.