Everyone is a Producer

By Rebecca Green

In the last several months, Travis Kelce made his debut as a film producer, Emma Stone was shocked by “how many agents you have to talk to” as a producer, Sydney Sweeny explained that her pivot to producing was driven by her desire to create better roles for herself, Kim Kardashian has announced three projects she is producing, and Ronald Gladden, aka Juror No. 6 from the hit show JURY DUTY, inked a first look deal with Amazon to produce and star in more projects. 

The “Produced by” credit has become so meaningless, it’s surprising it’s so coveted. 

To solidify how out of hand giving away the “Produced by” credit has gotten, I went back through all of the Deadline Hollywood film announcements since January 1, 2024 to see which writers, directors, actors, musicians, and celebrities had been deemed a producer on a project (not executive producer, but “Producer by”) and the list is extensive:

(I did not make note of the many sales companies, financiers, and managers also receiving a “Produced by” credit.)

In almost all instances, except for a handful (James Wan, Jason Bateman, JJ Abrams, Keanu Reeves, Kelly Ripa, Lulu Wang, Mark Consuelo, Pharrell Williams, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Coogler on one of his two mentions, and Sam Esmail) the above named producers are also performing the role of writer, director, and/or star of the project, known as a “hyphenate.” 

While the majority of the projects listed above are fiction films, documentary producers also deal with crediting issues. The degradation of documentary producing credits can be seen more so with investors and funders rather than with talent and the director-producer hyphenate is much more accepted in the doc space given the way projects take shape. Of the names listed, five are producers on documentaries: Eminem, Keanu Reeves, Kelly Rippa, Kim Kardashian, and Mark Consuelo.

In addition, the following hyphenates also announced studio deals since January 2024:

It’s worth noting that there are a handful of hyphenates listed above who do have full-on production companies with a producing partner and development staff who are actively championing stories and putting projects together (hi Barbie). My point with the list isn’t to say that hyphenates aren’t real producers, it’s to show how loosely the credit is used, which has devalued its meaning, both for those who have dedicated their careers to producing and those hyphenates who are also doing the heavy lifting of producing. Rather than being about the work, the “Produced by” credit has become the token given to the person or brand who holds valuable IP or the star power to greenlight a movie. It is the reward for being “bankable.” 

SO WHAT IS A PRODUCER?

Last year I spoke to the AFI DWW+ class (a directing workshop for women) about the director/producer relationship and started by asking, “What is a producer?” The first woman to answer said, “It’s hard to say, there are so many different kinds.” And she’s not wrong. Another woman answered saying she wasn’t sure, but her manager told her to always ask for a producing credit. 

In 2019, The Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA) released Crediting Guidelines with the goal to “standardize the crediting landscape for documentary films big, small, and micro, towards clarity and parity.” However, these guidelines aren’t enforced or arbitrated by the DPA or any entity. In the fiction space, there is the PGA Mark that “identifies which producers performed a majority of the producing functions on a specific motion picture in a decision-making capacity.” However, the PGA does allow for hyphenates to receive the PGA Mark if they meet certain thresholds. The PGA Mark is also seen as messy amongst the producing community, with accusations that the PGA’s determination of the Mark favors directors and financiers.

The truth is, there is no credit distinction for the person whose sole job on a project is the role of producing, for the person who is ultimately responsible for the film, who ensures that the project will be completed safely, on time and on budget, and that the project meets the expectations of both the director and the financier/studio/streamer/distributor. There is no specific credit for the person who is on the hook for all things at all times. 

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Actors being producers and having their own production company goes all the way back to 1912 when actress Florence Lawrence, known as “The Biograph Girl,” started a film studio with her husband called the Victor Company, one of the first U.S. film companies to be led by a woman, which had a deal with Laemmle’s Universal Film Manufacturing Company to distribute their films. 

Most notable, in 1919, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists (which is now owned by Amazon MGM Studios). Other early examples of actors receiving a producer credit on films in which they were also the director and/or star include:

• Jackie Chan ZI BAO CHUANG BA GUAN (1980)
• Barbara Steisand, YENTL (1983)
• Jodi Foster, MESMERIZED (1985) 
• Robert Redford, THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR (1988) 
• Forest Whitaker, A RAGE IN HARLEM (1991)
• Danny DeVito, HOFFA (1992)
• Eddie Murphy, VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN (1995)  
• Tom Hanks, THAT THING YOU DO (1995) 
• Tom Cruise, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (1996)
• Oprah Winfrey, BEFORE WOMEN HAD WINGS (1997)
• Antonio Banderas, THE WHITE RIVER KID (1999)
• Drew Barrymore, NEVER BEEN KISSED (1999)
• Salma Heyek, FRIDA (2002) 
• Denzel Washington, ANTWONE FISHER (2002)
• Charlize Theron, MONSTER (2003)
• Brad Pitt, ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES (2007)

All of the above went on to launch their own production company. 

So when and why did giving out producing credits become the norm? I can’t quite pinpoint exactly when, but there are several factors as to why: 

1. Actors and directors started to become more expensive, but budgets needed to stay the same. In order to pay actors and/or directors more, they were offered a slice of the producing fee pool (usually capped around 5% of the production budget for all producers to split) and given a “Produced by” credit. Due to union regulations, there is no other role, other than producer (who do not have a union), that could be encroached upon in this way. 
2. In 2022, the WGA put an end to agencies receiving packaging fees, leaving a big hole in their revenue stream. By negotiating producing deals for their clients, agents are able to make more money than by just representing them as a writer, actor, or director. 
3. Giving away producer credits and fees is a way for financiers/studios to dodge paying union pension and health benefits. A studio can pay a director or actor scale per SAG and DGA contracts and then supplement their salary with a producing fee and credit. (Again, producers do not have a union and do not receive guaranteed pension and health contributions.) I even know an editor on a hit premium television series who received an executive producer credit because the studio only wanted to pay him scale as an editor and then supplemented his compensation with an executive producer credit and fee, which does not come with IATSE pension and health benefits. 
4. Studios and streamers are desperate to have the marketing power of A list talent. Offering a “Produced by” credit increases their visibility on the film.

There is a world where if enough producers start pushing back on giving away the producer credit to talent and financiers, over time, we could potentially solve this issue. However, while every producer I’ve ever spoken to feels that the “Produced by” credit has become abused and it pains them to give it to those who are not fully doing the work of producing, they also say they want the option because they feel they need that card to play in order to get their movie made. If a financier or actor asks for a “Produced by” credit, the producer would rather say ‘yes’ then take the risk of not getting that money or that actor. And particularly in the low budget space where it currently feels impossible to get a movie made, is it really worth pushing back on? 

WE NEED A NEW CREDIT

Earlier this month it was announced that SAG and the DGA approved the first-ever credit of “stunt designer” to more accurately reflect the work of stunt teams. The first person to receive this credit is veteran stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara on the release of THE FALL GUY. As reported by Variety, Kelly McCormick who championed this new credit said, “I felt it was crucial to highlight the artistic and technical aspects of this craft. We proposed the addition of the word ‘designer’ to the role to properly define the job and reflect Chris’ creative contribution on THE FALL GUY production, which he wields on every production when he is hired at the current stunt industry title of coordinator.”

Several years ago when leading the Producers Union, I suggested that we consider coming up with a new title for the producer role, but there was no interest. To win Best Picture at the Oscars, a producer must be eligible for a Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award for the picture. To qualify for the PGA Award, the producer has to have been contractually credited and credited on screen as “Produced by” or “Producer.” So if the Union were going to change the “Produced by” credit, it would make producers ineligible for both the PGA Award and Best Picture Oscar unless we got both organizations on board to recognize the new credit, which would be a huge undertaking, so this idea got buried. 

Personally, I’m not concerned with winning a PGA Award or an Oscar. What I am concerned with is being properly compensated for my labor and the extinction of the role of the producer, which I believe is imminent. Having a dozen producers on a film means it’s hard to distinguish who is doing what work, and if it’s hard to know who is doing what work, it’s hard to determine how much a producer should get paid. We’re all lumped together to share credits and split fees, regardless of who is doing what, shortchanging the producer who is carrying the most weight. 

More importantly, like Chris O’Hara with the new stunt designer credit, I want to be properly recognized for the speciality of my work. No shade to them, but I know the work I do as a producer is much different than the producing work Timothée Chalamet, Dave Bautista, or Robert Pattinson are doing on their above-mentioned projects. I acknowledge that it takes a village and that these people are vital in getting a movie off the ground, but it’s not producing. 

When an audience, or even our own industry, watches the “Produced by” credits go by on screen, they have no idea what it means anymore. To be honest, at this point, it’s comical to see the amount of people credited as a producer on any given film. 

We’ve hit the point of no return with the “Produced by” credit and we need a new title. 

WHO WOULD THIS NEW CREDIT BE FOR?

This new credit is meant for the producer who is not filling any other role on the film such as writer, director, actor, financier, talent rep, or distributor. 

How I define the role of the producer (on a fiction film) is how the Producers Union ultimately defined the role in their Basic Agreement: The Producer is the person who supervises the creative, financial, and logistical elements of the making of a film. The Producer is the person responsible for ensuring a film is completed in accordance with the script, budget, and schedule agreed upon by the Employer and Producer. 

Producer tasks include, but are not limited to: Securing the IP such as a script, book, or underlying material; Owning or managing the LLC in which the film will be produced under; Contributing script notes to the writer; Raising all or partial financing from third parties, negotiating finance deals, and acting as the liaison between production company and financier/studio; Collaborating with director and casting director on casting decisions, negotiating talent deals, and acting as the liaison between production company and talent reps; Working on location during pre-production and production weeks; Supervising the line producer’s execution of the day-to-day operations; Negotiating below-the-line deals; Ensuring the safety of all involved in the film throughout the entire process, often acting in place of an HR department; Problem solving creative issues outside of the scope of the schedule and budget; Maintaining accurate and up-to-date cost reports with accounting; Reviewing cuts of the film and providing feedback to director and editor; Supervising the post production process and timely delivery of all elements; Overseeing delivery of the technical, creative, and legal assets to festivals, distributors, and sales agents and acting as the liaison between the production company and these entities. 

(Some of the tasks slightly differ when working with a major studio or steamer, or in the documentary space, but these are the general duties of producing.)

WHAT WOULD THE NEW CREDIT BE CALLED?

Maybe you are concerned with winning your Oscar so a new title is not of interest to you, but as an experiment, I’d like to poll the producing community to see who is open to the idea and what title would be of interest if there was another option. And so I’ve created a short five question survey. 

Those who should fill out the survey are those working in the fiction and/or documentary space who have received at least one “Produced by” or “Producer” credit on a completed, feature-length film and who agree with the general definition of the role of the producer as described above (with the caveat that studio films and documentaries have slightly different tasks than what I listed). 

Even if no one else is on board with this concept, I am highly considering a new title for myself for my next film. There is nothing that says I have to take a “Produced by” credit and can’t negotiate a more suitable title for myself. There is no union regulating the credit to stop producers from starting a new precedent and changing the face of producing. Let’s be forward-thinking and seriously consider making a better name for ourselves by ensuring we are properly recognized for the heavy responsibilities we carry on each film and the sacrifices we make to bring stories to the screen. 

Please complete this survey by Friday, May 10. Results will be revealed the following week.