Producer

In practice

A producer is the person responsible for getting a film or series made. They find or buy the material, hire and guide the writer through development, attach a director and cast, secure the money, and then run the project through shooting, post-production and delivery. The director decides how the story looks and plays; the producer decides whether, and how, it gets made at all.

For a screenwriter, the producer is usually the first buyer. A producer who loves a spec script options it, gives notes, and takes it to studios, streamers or financiers with a package around it. Many producers have a first-look or overhead deal with a studio, which means that studio sees their projects first and often pays for their office. Knowing which producer has which deal, and what they have made, is a large part of knowing where to send a script.

The word covers several jobs. A producer credit on a feature usually means the person who carried the project from start to finish. A line producer manages the budget and the physical production day to day. Executive producers, co-producers and associate producers each contribute something narrower, from financing to a particular deal. In television, producer titles also work as a ladder for writers, which is a different system covered on the executive producer page.

A producer's first question

A producer's first question is rarely about the writing. It is about how the project gets made: who would star, who would pay for it, and why now. Owen answers with a reason a star would want the part, which gives Dana something to sell. A writer who can answer that question in the room is far easier to say yes to.

What a producer does, from idea to release

In development, the producer finds the project. That can be a spec script, a pitch, a book or an article, or an idea of their own that they hire a writer to write. They secure the rights, usually with an option, give notes through several drafts, and decide when the script is ready to show to the people who can pay for it.

In packaging and financing, the producer attaches the elements that make the project easier to finance: a director, one or two actors, sometimes a budget and a schedule. Then they take it to studios, streamers, sales agents or equity investors. A studio project is paid for by the studio; an independent film may be pieced together from presales, tax incentives, gap loans and private money, and the producer is the person who closes each piece.

In production and post-production, the producer hires the department heads, approves the budget and schedule, protects the director's choices where they can and pushes back where the money cannot follow. They oversee the edit, music and delivery, and then work with the distributor on the release. On a large film several producers may split this work; on a small one, one person may do all of it.

Producer credits and what they mean

On a feature, the main credit is "Produced by". The Producers Guild of America has used the p.g.a. mark since 2012: the letters after a name in that credit mean the guild has certified that the person did a major portion of the producing work, rather than receiving the credit for a single contribution. The mark is not a membership badge; it is a judgment about that film.

The other credits are narrower. A line producer runs the budget and the physical production, often without any creative say. A co-producer or associate producer usually handled one part of the work or one part of the deal. An executive producer is often someone who brought money, rights or a star rather than someone who ran the project. The Best Picture Oscar goes to the film's producers, and the Academy normally names no more than three, which is one reason the "Produced by" credit is carefully guarded.

What a producer wants from a writer

A producer reads a script asking whether they can get it made. That means a clear logline they can repeat to a buyer, a role an actor will want, a budget the story can live within, and a reason this film should exist now. A beautifully written script that answers none of those questions is a hard sell, and the producer has to believe they can sell it before they spend their own money on an option.

Research before you pitch. Know what the producer has made, what their company is developing, and whether they have a deal with a studio or streamer. Send them the kind of project they make, at the stage they work at: some producers want finished scripts, some want writers for their own ideas, and some only buy books. A short, specific query that shows you know their work gets read more often than a general one.

Options, free work and getting paid

When a producer wants a script, they usually option it: they pay a fee for the exclusive right to set it up for a fixed period, with a purchase price agreed in advance if the film goes ahead. An option is a real commitment, but it is not a sale, and many optioned scripts never get made. Read the option term, the purchase price, the rewrite terms and what happens to your rights when the option lapses.

Be careful with requests for free rewrites. A producer who has not optioned your script may ask for "just one more pass" before they take it out. The Writers Guild treats unpaid work for a producer as a problem its members should avoid, and a writer who rewrites for free on a project nobody has bought takes all the risk. If the notes are good, ask for an option first; if the producer will not pay anything, the notes are a reason to rewrite for yourself, not for them.

Common questions