Variety has reported that Joel Silver has been fired from several projects being developed for Amazon, including Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House remake and Mark Wahlberg’s Play Dirty. The once-iconic producer was behind some of the biggest movies of the ’80s and ’90s, including Commando, Lethal Weapon, Predator, and Die Hard, but he hasn’t been quite as prolific in recent years.
According to Variety’s sources, Joel Silver was fired for being verbally abusive to two female executives, including Amazon Studios’ Head of Marketing Sue Kroll and Amazon’s Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical Courtenay Valenti. However, other sources say that Amazon is “retaliating against the producer after he pushed back on the studio’s calls to use artificial intelligence to finish a movie during the strike.“
Another Amazon source says that Joel Silver “fulfilled his obligations on Road House and he will not be working on Play Dirty.” Anthony Pellicano, private investigator and Silver’s longtime associate, added, “The parting of the ways is amicable. He was not fired. There were just disagreements with creative concerns.” The report alleges that Silver was “incensed” over Amazon’s release plan for Road House, which will likely see the reboot released early next year as a streaming title. The producer is said to have wanted a theatrical release for the movie. Despite whatever went down, Silver is still expected to receive a producing credit for the movie but won’t be involved in anything regarding its future.
There have been multiple attempts at remaking Road House over the years, with many questioning the need for a new version of the cult favourite. Thankfully, it does at least seem to be staying in the spirit of the original with an R-rating for “violence throughout, pervasive language, and some nudity.” The remake stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys where he quickly discovers that not everything is what it seems in this tropical paradise.
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