Film producer

George Lucas is known for producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies.

Film producers fill a variety of roles depending upon the type of producer. Either employed by a production company or independent, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting script, coordinating writing, directing and editing, and arranging financing. The average Hollywood film made in 2013 had just over 10 producer credits (3.2 producers, 4.4 executive producers, 1.2 co-producers, 0.8 associate producers and 0.5 other types of producer). During the "discovery stage" the producer has to find and acknowledge promising material. Then, unless the film is supposed to be based on an original script, the producer has to find an appropriate screenwriter.

For various reasons, producers cannot always personally supervise all of the production. As such, the main producer will appoint executive producers, line producers or unit production managers who represent the main producer's interests. Among other things, the producer has the last word on whether sounds or music have to be changed or scenes have to be cut and they are in charge of selling the film or arranging distribution rights. The producer's role can vary significantly from project to project and based on the circumstances and funding.

Clarification of term

Whereas historically in television, the primary role of the producer was to oversee all aspects of video production, in film and often in television today, this role is filled by the Line Producer. The line producer may manage a film's budget and maintain a schedule. The Executive Producer oversees the filmmaking with regard to film financing. They liaise with the line producer and report to production companies and distributors. Whether the person credited as "producer" or a person credited as "executive producer" has more input on a production is not always clear, and is subject to change as the film is substantiated. Since filmmaking is a dynamic process, responsibilities can grow or shift in the process and credits for producers can get adjusted retroactively. For example, somebody hired as a "line producer" might later be credited as an "executive producer".

Because of these dynamics, all involved producers must agree on production standards from the start. Negligence in that matter can lead to a domino effect. Other producers are more involved with the day-to-day workings, participating in activities such as screenwriting, set design, casting, and even directing. Currently, because of the restrictions the Writers Guild of America screenwriting credit system places on writing credits, many scriptwriters are credited as "producers" instead, even though they may not engage in the responsibilities generally associated with that title. In this limited sense, the producer and the screenwriter may be the same person. Producers differ from Production Management (Production and Unit Managers and Production Coordinators) in part, because the responsibilities of Production Management are more logistical than creative.

Types

Main article: Film crew

Different types of producers in the industry today include (in order of seniority):

Executive producer

The Executive Producer addresses the finances in that they pitch films to the studios, but upon acceptance they may focus on business matters, such as budgets and contracts.

Co-executive producer

Second in seniority to executive producer.

Line producer

Manages the staff and day-to-day operations. Finds staff to hire for the production. Most line producers are given the title of "produced by".

Supervising producer

Supervises the creative process of screenplay development, and often aids in script re-writes. They usually supervise less experienced story editors and staff writers on the writing team.

Producer

Traditional producers, who are responsible for physical facilities, are given the credit of "produced by". In U.S. films, a producer can also be a writer who has not written enough of the screenplay to receive approval from the Writers Guild of America to be listed as a screenwriter.

Co-producer

A writer who may not have written the script, but contributed significantly through table reads or revisions. In the U.S., co-producer credits also often require approval from the Writers Guild of America.

Coordinating producer or production coordinator

This producer manages the schedule and arranges the staff into teams.

Consulting producer

These producers are former executive or possibly co-executive producers, or in rare cases directors. They are called upon to assist the writers.

Associate producer

Runs day-to-day operations.

Segment producer

Writes or produces one segment of a film.

Field producer

Selects areas to film (outside of a set) and coordinates production in the field. They also form a trusting relationship with the cast/participants in order to get interviews while in the field. They may fill a number of different roles, including production manager/coordinator, videographer and also Production assistant.

Edit producer

Helps co-ordinate the edit by working with the editor and relaying information from other producers. Involved in creating stories and writing script if necessary.

Post producer

Supervises the overall post-production process, including editing, dubbing and grading. Post-producers are typically employed by facilities houses rather than by production companies directly.

In film or video productions, the executive producer is almost always given an opportunity to comment on a rough cut but the amount of attention paid to his/her comments is highly dependent on the overall personnel structure of the production.

Responsibilities

Development (film rights)

During the "discovery stage" the producer has to find and acknowledge promising material. Often a producer must then retrieve the film rights or an option. If the rights owner is worried about preserving the integrity, voice and vision of their work, the producer might have to comply with a variety of demands concerning the screenplay, the film director, casting, or other topics. Thus it occasionally takes a lot of time and effort before the actual pre-production can begin. Late German producer Bernd Eichinger is said to have worked 15 years on convincing novelist Patrick Süskind just to agree to a film adaptation of his book Perfume. However, sometimes all effort is futile. J. D. Salinger, for example, refused all film producers as long as he lived.

Pre-production

Unless the film is supposed to be based on an original script, the producer has to find an appropriate screenwriter. If an existing script is considered flawed, they are able to order a new version or make the decision to hire a script doctor. The producer also has the final say on which film director gets hired. In some cases they also have the last word when it comes to casting questions.

Production

For various reasons, producers cannot always personally supervise all parts of their production. For example, some producers run a company which also deals with film distribution. Also cast and film crew often work at different times and places and certain films even require a second unit. Consequently, it is normal that the main producer will appoint executive producers, line producers or unit production managers who represent the main producer's interests. The executive producer for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was George Lucas himself, the creator of the Star Wars universe.

Post-production

Among other things, the producer has the last word on whether sounds or music have to be changed or scenes have to be cut. Even if the shooting has officially been finished, the producers can still demand that additional scenes be filmed. In case of a negative test screening producers may even demand and get an alternative film ending. This happened for example with First Blood, in which the test audience reacted very negatively to having Rambo die, so the producers re-shot a new ending. Producers are also in charge of selling the film or arranging distribution rights.

Career process

There are different ways to become a film producer. Stanley Kramer started as editor and writer. Other producers started as actors or directors.

Film schools offer degree courses that include film production knowledge. Some courses are especially designed for future film producers, focusing on key topics like pitching, script development, script assessment, shooting schedule design and budgeting. The students can also expect practical training regarding post-production.

On the occasion of announcing his own film school "L’Ecole de la Cite" film producer Luc Besson admitted that at the beginning of his career he would have appreciated the chance to attend a film school.

The average annual salary for a producer in the U.S. is $109,860. If one examines just the 15,000+ producers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the average annual salary is $138,640. Producers also often have an agreement to take a percentage of the movie's sales.

Notable producers

A–M

• J. J. Abrams – Lost, Cloverfield, Alias, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Fringe
• Irwin Allen – The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno
• Judd Apatow – The Cable Guy, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Freaks and Geeks
• Avi Arad – Spider-Man, X-Men, Blade
• Lawrence Bender – Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, An Inconvenient Truth, Reservoir Dogs, Good Will Hunting
• Armyan Bernstein – Air Force One, The Hurricane, Children of Men, Bring It On
• Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli – James Bond film series
• Mel Brooks – The Elephant Man, The Fly, Frances, 84 Charing Cross Road, Young Frankenstein
• Jerry Bruckheimer – Top Gun, Crimson Tide, The Rock, Con Air, National Treasure, Pirates of the Caribbean film series, CSI (franchise)
• Tim Burton – The Nightmare Before Christmas, Cabin Boy, James and the Giant Peach, 9
• Jim Carrey – Bruce Almighty, Fun with Dick and Jane
• Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra – Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Veer-Zaara, Dhoom 2
• Raymond Chow – The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon, Project A, Winners and Sinners, Game of Death, Game of Death II
• Ethan Coen – Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, No Country for Old Men
• Tom Cruise – Mission: Impossible, Vanilla Sky, Narc, The Others, Minority Report, War Of The Worlds, The Last Samurai, Shattered Glass
• Dean Devlin – Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot
• Lorenzo di Bonaventura – Constantine, Shooter, Transformers
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Aviator, The 11th Hour
• Vin Diesel – The Fast and The Furious, The Chronicles of Riddick
• Michael Douglas – Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
• Eric Eisner – Risky Business, Beetlejuice, Hamlet 2
• Nora Ephron – Michael, You've Got Mail, Bewitched
• Robert Evans – Love Story, The Godfather, Chinatown, The Saint
• Chantal Feghali  – Alexander, Cloverfield, Terminator Salvation, World Trade Center, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Score, Sleepy Hollow, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
• Kevin Feige – Iron Man, The Avengers
• Buzz Feitshans – Rambo, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
• Ted Field – The Amityville Horror, The Last Samurai, Runaway Bride, What Dreams May Come, Jumanji, Revenge of the Nerds
• Peter Fonda – Easy Rider
• Todd Garner – Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Here Comes the Boom
• Mel Gibson – Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ
• Richard N. Gladstein – Finding Neverland, The Bourne Identity, Pulp Fiction, The Cider House Rules
• Charles Gordon – Field of Dreams, Waterworld, Die Hard, Die Hard 2
• Brian Grazer – Splash, Parenthood, Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code
• Matt Groening – The Simpsons, Futurama, The Simpsons Movie
• Paul Haggis – Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Tom Hanks – Cast Away, Band of Brothers, Mamma Mia, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Polar Express, Evan Almighty, My Life in Ruins, City of Ember, The Pacific
• Michael Hausman – Ragtime, Silkwood, Amadeus, House of Games,The People vs. Larry Flynt, Gangs of New York, Brokeback Mountain, All the King's Men, Taking Woodstock
• David Heyman – Harry Potter film series
• Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings film series, King Kong, District 9, The Hobbit film series
• Shintaro Katsu – Shogun Assassin, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
• Howard Kazanjian – Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Demolition Man
• Kathleen Kennedy – The Sixth Sense, Always, Munich, Jurassic Park
• Alexander Korda – Things to Come, The Four Feathers, The Thief of Bagdad
• Stanley Kubrick – Fear and Desire, Killer's Kiss, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut
• Gary Kurtz – Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Crystal
• J. F. Lawton – Under Siege, V.I.P., Jackson
• Spike Lee – Crooklyn, Malcolm X
• George Lucas – Star Wars, Indiana Jones
• Branko Lustig – Schindler's List, Gladiator
• Charlie Lyons – The Guardian (2006 film), The Water Horse, The Half Life of Timofey Berezin, Mardi Gras
• Eric Manes – Voices of Iraq
• Frank Marshall – The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Back to the Future trilogy, Jurassic Park, The Sixth Sense
• W. David McBrayer – Beat the Drum
• Rick McCallum – Star Wars
• Ismail Merchant – Bombay Talkie, A Room with a View, Mr & Mrs Bridge, The Remains of the Day, Jefferson in Paris, The Golden Bowl, The White Countess
• Arnon Milchan – Pretty Woman, Natural Born Killers, L.A. Confidential, City of Angels, Entrapment, Fight Club, Unfaithful, Daredevil, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Fountain, What Happens in Vegas
• Walter Mirisch – West Side Story, The Sound of Music
• Hayao Miyazaki – Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Whisper of the Heart
• Scott Mosier – Clerks, 'Mallrats, Chasing Amy

N–Z

• Michael Nozik – Syriana, The Motorcycle Diaries, Quiz Show, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Mississippi Masala
• Tyler Perry – Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea's Family Reunion
• Jon Peters
• Julia Phillips – The Sting, Taxi Driver, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• Brad Pitt – The Departed, 12 Years a Slave, Kick-Ass, Moneyball, World War Z
• Hal Roach – Our Gang
• Robert Rodriguez – El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, Grindhouse
• Scott Rudin – No Country for Old Men, School of Rock, The Royal Tenenbaums, Clueless
• Harry Saltzman – James Bond, Battle of Britain, The Ipcress File
• Adam Sandler – The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, The Animal, Mr. Deeds, Eight Crazy Nights, The Hot Chick, Anger Management, 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Click, Joe Dirt, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
• Martin Scorsese – The Grifters, Naked in New York, The Aviator
• David O. Selznick – King Kong, Gone with the Wind, The Third Man
• Run Run Shaw
• Atit Shah – A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island, Money, An Act of War
• Daryush Shokof – Seven Servants, Iran Zendan,Heaven's Taxi
• Joel Silver – The Matrix, Lethal Weapon, Predator, Veronica Mars, V for Vendetta
• Dean Silvers – Flirting with Disaster, Spanking the Monkey, Manny & Lo, Wigstock: The Movie
• John Singleton – Boyz n the Hood, Hustle & Flow
• Sam Spiegel – The African Queen, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia
• Steven Spielberg – The Goonies, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, Transformers (executive)
• Ben Stiller – Blades of Glory, Zoolander, The Ruins, Tropic Thunder
• Shobuj Taposh – Cycle, Chittagong, Bangladesh
• Quentin Tarantino – From Dusk till Dawn, Hostel, Grindhouse
• Irving Thalberg – Mutiny on the Bounty, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Grand Hotel, A Night at the Opera
• Hal B. Wallis – The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca
• Fran Walsh – The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, Halo
• Robert Watts – Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, You Only Live Twice
• Harvey Weinstein
• Ralph Winter – Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, X-Men, Fantastic Four, X2: X-Men United
• Christopher Woodrow
• Saul Zaentz – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, The English Patient
• Darryl F. Zanuck – The Grapes of Wrath, All About Eve, The Longest Day
• Robert Zemeckis – The Frighteners, Matchstick Men, Monster House

External links

• The film producer as a creative force (Widescreen Journal)