The Producer’s Role - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. If you are a producer, what is your passion? Think as a producer thinks. What is your passion? You and I are producers, what is our passion? Is our passion the actors? No, our passion is our project!
A producer has to wear so many hats. They have to get funding, cast actors, and work out budgets, food, location, and crew, EVERTHING. Being a producer is a huge job, and they need ALL the support they can get. When working on a project, they are going at it 24/7, making sure all is running smoothly, on time, on budget and so much more. The producer’s project, that dream, that thing that she/he has been carrying for the last four, five, six years or longer – that’s the producer’s passion — to bring that project alive on the screen, to touch people, and be living their art, and always keeping in mind that it must be profitable financially, so that they can continue to create. So, always understand, as producers, our project is our passion!
If I am the actor and you are the producer, I can either make that passion and project come alive, or I am in your way. “And I want to know, Miss Producer or Mr. Producer, what can I do? How can I be of assistance to you? How can I make your project come alive? I’m here for you, and I really believe in what you’re doing. Just tell me. In front of the camera, I’m very good. Behind the camera - if you need someone to run for coffee and donuts - I’m there for you. If I can be, in some small way, a part of the success of a (fill in name of producer) project, that would be just extraordinary.” Do you think, as a producer, you might hire me? What is the most dangerous thing a producer does? What do you think?
Every time a producer puts an actor in front of the camera, that producer is risking everything. Not only is that day in jeopardy, the entire project is in jeopardy, and that producer’s entire professional future career and life, in this industry, is on the line. If you and I are producers, are we going to just go through pictures that come in the mail and say, “Oh, he looks good. Let’s hire him.”
No, we can’t afford to do that! It’s way too dangerous! We go with people we know and trust. We go with people we’ve used before, whom we know will not go out partying every night and not know their lines the next day. We want professionals, with great attitudes, upon whom we can rely. We’re going to go with nepotism, friends and relatives. We’re going to call other industry people we know and trust implicitly and ask them for suggestions.
Sure, as conscious producers, we want to make a difference. But, we’ll never have the opportunity if we hire one ‘wrong’ actor and lose our career! We have to play it safe.
