Producer Joel Silver has officially settled his long-running dispute with Canadian billionaire Daryl Katz, six years after the two went into business together.
Silver exited his namesake company, Silver Pictures, in 2019, but the two sides continued to wage a legal battle in arbitration. Katz accused Silver of failing to meet his projections due to his voluminous debts, and Silver accused Katz of reneging on their deal and of making “extortionate threats.”
Lately, Silver hired former private eye Anthony Pellicano to help reach a resolution. According to a statement obtained by Variety, the dispute is now settled. Under the terms, Silver Pictures — owned by Katz — will get the rights to all existing projects and development deals.
Silver will pursue his own projects separate from the company.
“Today’s announcement follows the signing of a binding settlement agreement resolving their disputes,” the parties said in a joint statement. “All existing projects and development remain with Silver Pictures Entertainment. Mr. Silver will be pursuing new ventures outside of the company. The parties wish the best of luck and success to each other in the future.”
Pellicano said the deal would free Silver from his entanglement with his former company.
“I’m very happy for both of them, and glad I was able to settle this matter when apparently no one else could,” he said. “I’m really happy for Joel. He’s got his life back. Now he can go on and do great things.”
The settlement means that Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel will not have to give deposition testimony or appear at an arbitration hearing, which was set for March 1. Emanuel was involved in an earlier effort to settle the dispute, in the spring of 2019.
His attorneys went to court on Jan. 20 seeking to quash a subpoena from Katz’s lawyers. The attorneys wanted Emanuel to turn over business records and give testimony, but Emanuel argued that he should not be forced to do so, as he was not a party to the arbitration agreement.
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