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Perhaps no title in the film world is as little understood as "producer" ("best boy" notwithstanding). In fact, the industry is replete with jokes about the producer's actual job function: How many producers does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer: One production assistant. That one kills over at Warner's. The Producers Guild of America holds a different opinion. Here are abridged PGA definitions, as applied to the film industry: - Producer - initiates and supervises either on his own authority or an employer's all aspects of the
production process, including creative, financial, technological, and administrative
- Executive Producer - supervises either on his own authority or an employer's one or more producers on single or multiple productions
- Associate Producer - performs one or more producer functions under the supervision of a producer
Despite sometimes having to answer to the executive producer, the producer is usually the project's ultimate authority, hiring the director, writer, and talent, and supervising logistics and other non-creative issues. Movie Geek Central has a different take, positing: "The producer credit has long been a political
plum...for otherwise unclassifiable contributions...or sometimes just a gift." Meaning anyone (like the film's star) can be credited with the title. Even more nebulous is the job of associate producer, sometimes used as a "handout, given simply to please underlings or financiers." Are you a prized assistant who holds Bruce Willis's toupee between scenes? You may qualify. PGA has been trying, with varying success, to combat such "credit proliferation." Let's hope they succeed.
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