Film Producer - Comparison To Other Producer Roles

Comparison To Other Producer Roles

An executive producer may be a person representing a financial investor in a film project, such as a movie studio or a distributor, but who is not directly involved in the day-to-day production. But on many films today the functioning line producer will receive this credit. It can also be someone with other special interests in the project, such as the author of the book that the film is based on, or one of the movie's key actors who has been instrumental in persuading the studio to do the movie. In such cases, the executive producer credit is mainly honorary.

The role of associate producers and co-producers vary from film to film. They may be part of the producer's support team. The person who found the property but passed it on to a better established producer often gets this credit. The writer often gets some type of producer credit, even if uninvolved in the production.

A line producer is a hands-on role which controls the day-to-day financial and production concerns and is there to support the vision of the director during production. In the 1970s, it was common for line producers to be credited as associate producers. Since the 1980s, however, it has become increasingly common for the line producer to be given the title of executive producer, while the initiating producer takes the "produced by" credit. On other projects, the reverse happens, with the line producer taking the "produced by" credit. So the two credits have become effectively interchangeable, with no precise definition.

In November 2012, three studios: Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures plus Screen Gems joined DreamWorks Animation and the Weinstein Company in Producers Guild of America certification program which designates those producer that request it "p.g.a." after their name those that were genuine producer.