Joel Silver(born July 14, 1952) is an Americanfilm producer, known foraction filmslikeLethal WeaponandDie Hard. He is owner ofSilver Picturesand co-founder ofDark Castle Entertainment.He began his career atLawrence Gordon Productions, where he eventually became president of motion pictures for the company. He earned his first screen credit as the associate producer onThe Warriorsand, with Gordon, produced48 Hrs.,Streets of FireandBrewster's Millions. In 1985, he formedSilver Picturesand produced successful action films such asCommando(1985), theLethal Weaponfranchise, the first two films of theDie Hardseries and theThe Matrixfranchise of action films.He appears on-screen at the beginning ofWho Framed Roger Rabbitas Raoul J. Raoul, the director of the animated shortSomething's Cookin. He directed "Split Personality", (1992), an episode of theHBOhorror anthology,Tales from the Crypt.He currently runs two production companies,Silver PicturesandDark Castle Entertainmentco-owned byRobert Zemeckis. Along with Jared Kass, Silver was co-creator of the sport ofUltimate.