Who does what
The Executive Producer, Producer, Director, Director of Photography and Screenwriter of a typical Steven Spielberg movie.
berkeley314567 writes:
I’m hoping you can help me with some basic movie industry knowledge. In discussions of movies, how they’re made, individual roles, etc., I’m constantly asked who really does what. For example, does it really matter that the executive producer of “Big Success” also produced “New Film?” Is it really a stamp of quality? I’ve tried to figure it out, but not being part of the business it’s still a little murky. So here’s my basic understanding:
Executive Producer – Provides the money, has final say on several matters.
Producer – Deals with day to day operational matters.
Screenwriter(s) – Provides the foundational material.
Director of Photography/Cinematographer – Creates the look of the film, including angles of shots, lighting, coloring
Director – Oversees individual takes, tries to get actors to deliver a performance that meets his ‘vision,’ decides when to move on to next scene.
Key Grip – Makes sure nothing moves that isn’t supposed to.
Best Boy Grip – No friggin’ clue.
So, assuming that I’m (mostly) right about the above job roles, what happens when someone like Spielberg or Cameron steps up to the helm? Do they just get more of the credit? Do they take on multiple roles? How accurate is it to say that Spielberg’s success is due in large part to good script selection, like Tom Hanks?
“Based on a True Story”
noskilz writes:
"My least favorite words to see in conjunction with any film is "based on a true story", because I tend to assume, unfairly or not, that films given the choice between "interesting" or "accurate" tend to go with "interesting." It just doesn’t occur to me that if I want to know more about something, I ought to catch the movie. How widespread this negative bias is, I have no idea."
I think the effectiveness of a movie (or a song,or a play) to shape mass consciousness with regard to a real-life event is directly proportionate to the talent of the artist involved. In the case of William Zantzinger, discussed yesterday, you have a world-class mega-heavyweight artist, Bob Dylan, weighing in on an event that is mere hours old when he sets his pen to paper. Zantzinger has been sentenced, the news has been reported, Dylan has read the headline, and by the end of the afternoon the heart-stopping classic "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" has been completed, which will then go on to shape the public’s perception of William Zantzinger forever.