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HOW MANY PRODUCERS…
… does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Answer: Does it have to be a lightbulb?
Jokes aside, the topic of producer credits — who deserves them, who doesn’t, and whether or not they should be regulated — has been in the news this year due to producer and financier Bob Yari’s lawsuit against the Producers Guild of America and AMPAS regarding his credit on Crash. In the new Filmmaker, producer Kendall Morgan (Southland Tales) uses the Yari case as the jumping off point for a discussion of these issues, and her piece — which is not posted on the web — has already elicited much feedback from fellow producers thankful that this subject is getting a proper examination.
A tiny excerpt:
Still, the question remains: what defines a producer and what secures his or her credit? Does bringing financing to a picture truly make someone a producer? How about the person who works for a long time on a project for free in return for an eventual credit? Does a person with the ability to access name cast deserve a producer credit? Where do you draw the line especially if giving that credit helps you get your movie financed, bought, or made? Would Phillip Seymour Hoffman have acted in Capoteif he didn’t have executive producer credit? Would he not take a pay cut without being rewarded with a credit?
Check out Morgan’s piece on the newsstands this month.
