Many of the tasks of producing films seem rather confusing. While some people have specific jobs pertaining to control of lights or costumes, others have strange names like “Best Boy” and “Key Grip”. However, when movies are advertised, the people that are usually mentioned in the ads are writers, directors or producers. One will hear about few writers usually. They usually don’t get too much glory as far as directors and producers are concerned. One name does come to mind when thinking of writers though–Aaron Sorkin, the writer of The Social Network. I personally am not very knowledgeable about Hollywood writers, but Aaron Sorkin’s name is one that easily comes to mind. A writer is obviously the person in charge of writing the script, but who are the other two?
Now for some definitions. Wikipedia defines a film producer as one who oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed. The producer is often actively involved throughout all major phases of the filmmaker process, from inception and development to completion and delivery of a film project. However, an idea or concept for a film can originate with any individual, including a screenwriter, a director or a producer. Also, a film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. they control a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors.
Now that those definitions are out of the way, what exactly is the difference between the two? It would seem that the main difference by pure definition is the financial risk involved. While a Hollywood film studio might often take on the financial risk of a movie, at times the producer has to. When one is a director, they never have to take on any financial risk. A producer is there to try to deliver the writer’s overall message that was intended, but a director is the one who is actually there on set to make that vision happen through individual aspects.
While there are many methods of film directing, there are certain ones that seem to work better with producers than others. Some of these methods involve outlining a general plotline and letting the actors improvise their own dialogue, such as in Ben Affleck’s The Town, or Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. Another method entails controlling every aspect, and insisting that both the actors and crew follow the director’s instructions to the letter. Two examples of this kind of directing is in Michael Bay’s Transformers or James Cameron’s Avatar. And although there are many more kinds of film directing, one more notable example is when a director appears in his own films, such as in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction or Jon Favreau’s Ironman.
In summary, movie producers and directors have some of the same responsibilities, but their jobs do have very stark differences. What do you guys think the main differences between movie producers and directors are?
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