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If producer Joel Silver’s new action-comedy The Nice Guys felt like a throwback to the 1980s, so did his behavior on the recent press tour.
Multiple sources report witnessing a loud tantrum Silver threw at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc near Cannes, where the film, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, was premiering May 15 before its U.S. debut and a press tour to promote its rollout overseas.
Silver, famous for his bad behavior during his 1980s and ’90s heyday with the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon films, was seen berating a petite female staffer working on Nice Guys. Why? She had the unfortunate task of informing Silver that his luggage — all 20 pieces of it, says one source — would not be flown on a private jet to the next European tour stop. The staffer was said to be in tears after the encounter and “completely traumatized.”
For years, Silver had a reputation in Hollywood for his outsized lifestyle and difficult personality. “He’s charming, he’s funny, he’s delightful. But keep your eye on him,” director-producer Richard Donner told THR in 2015. “Joel will use you and get everything he can.” More recently, Silver has faced tighter financial reins.
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Nice Guys reunited Silver with Warner Bros., which was his home base for much of the ‘80s and 90s. Warners agreed to distribute the $50 million-budgeted film from director Shane Black in North America, where it has grossed just $23.6 million (it has not opened overseas yet). Some have questioned releasing the midbudget, R-rated film in mid-May in the heart of blockbuster season and opposite another R-rated comedy, Neighbors 2. But sources say Silver personally insisted on the May 20 release date.
Meanwhile, the Venice Post Office, a local landmark that Silver purchased as the future home of his Silver Pictures, remains boarded up and covered in graffiti.
Silver’s reps did not respond to a request for comment.
A version of this story first appeared in the June 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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