by Al Lieberman

Illustration by Gordon Studer

n late Sunday night, March 23, 2003 the 75th Academy Awards drew to a close. Oscar, that infamous miniature gold creature, had been held, kissed, and fondled all evening by leading men and leading ladies, and by representatives of every craft assembled under the entertainment industries’ union guidelines and Academy parameters. They had come together to congratulate themselves under the gaze of more than one billion viewers all over the world.

Late in the evening, after host Steve Martin had told his final joke, the collective audience held its breath as the father-son duo of Kirk and Michael Douglas opened the final envelope, the one that contained the name of the Best Motion Picture. But the fortunate person who laid claim to this ultimate award wasn’t a starlet, or a director, or even the chief executive officer of a large studio. It was the producer. In this case, Martin Richards, the veteran Broadway producer who had also produced films such as The Shining and The Boys from Brazil. Dressed in elegant Broadway style, Richards accepted the award for the movie Chicago, which was hailed by audiences and critics as a successful translation of Bob Fosse’s hit Broadway musical to the silver screen.

“Producers don’t have to possess any of the skills necessary to make film . . . Instead, they must figure out how to get people who are the best at their crafts to do even better.”

Amid the intricate and complex process that made Chicago work – choreography, costuming, direction and acting – Richards’ role seemed to be rather prosaic. He arranged for the financing of the Miramax blockbuster. What made Richards’ award somewhat anomalous wasn’t merely the fact that it was for a movie in which heartthrob Richard Gere sang for the first time. Rather, it was because independent producers like Richards would seem to be at a heavy disadvantage in this age of nine-figure movie budgets, Fortune 500 corporate ownership of studios, and the mandates of synergy, sequels, product placement, and global marketing.

Anyone can be a producer, or can decide to be a producer. It is one of the very few professions where a business card, an active credit card, a cell phone, and an idea can launch you into business. Yes this important and generally very credible profession or role in the Byzantine structure of the movie industry has frequently been shrouded in myth and stereotype. Of course, the reality of independent producers’ worlds is a far cry from the swindler of old ladies portrayed and written about by Mel Brooks in his successful movie The Producers, which was launched as a highly successful Broadway musical in 2001. In The Producers, Max Bialystock, more habitual con artist than showman, took a terrible idea “Springtime for Hitler,” sold participation several times over to a group of investors (in this case naïve older women) with the expectation that it would fail after a single show. Throughout Hollywood’s history, in fact, independent producers – entrepreneurs who work within and without a corporate structure – have been vital to making interesting and profitable films.

“In an industry where risk and responsibility rode side by side, the mogul/producer took all the credit and shifted blame to quickly departing subordinates.”

oday, producers in the entertainment industries come in all flavors, depending on levels of experience, risk-taking propensity, financial resources, power and clout, and even the number of Armani suits in their closets. But at root, these are entrepreneurial managers. The producer Buck Houghton, in his book What a Producer Does, describes the producer as a “creative administrator, who guides and helps hundreds of people toward an objective that becomes increasingly clear-cut as the work proceeds from an idea.” Producers don’t have to possess any of the skills necessary to make film. They don’t have to write, direct, act, compose music, or design costumes and sets. Instead, a producer must figure out how to get people who are the best at their crafts to do even better.

Evolution

The nature of producers – and of film production – has evolved over time. The original movie moguls who imprinted their names on the gates of the Hollywood studios were in fact independent producers without the title or credits. They operated on the basis of imperial clout, with an unquestioned power to hire and fire. Men like William Fox and Daryl Zanuck of 20th Century Fox, Louis Mayer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Jack Warner, the leader of Warner Bros.; and Sam Goldwyn, were truly micro-managers. They personally negotiated with talent, used studio money as if it was their own, changed scripts, hired directors, and supervised the marketing and promotion of the films – all while negotiating for the next project or planning expansion, the acquisition of theaters, and investments in new technology and equipment. They functioned as coordinators and heads of the production team, even when executives they hired had those same responsibilities. Ruling with a despotic hand, these producers had direct lines to New York bankers, talent agents, union leaders, and contract lawyers. Unshakable in their own confidence to judge great stories, they refused to accept blame for cinematic disasters. In an industry where risk and responsibility rode side-by-side, the mogul/producer took all the credit and shifted blame to quickly departing subordinates.

his model held from the birth of the film industry through the post-World War II era. But the studio system, under stress from government legislation, financial innovation, and growing entertainment conglomerates, has changed in the past few decades. With blue-chip global corporations increasingly dominating Hollywood, there is less tolerance for the old way of doing business. The entertainment and media businesses have changed as well. Today, they are as much about spreadsheets and internal rates of return as about hunches. The new era plainly called for a different approach. And so the moguls were replaced by flinty-eyed businessmen, lawyers, or bankers who have assembled today’s entertainment conglomerates. These larger entities can reduce the risk inherent in film production through distribution on alternative platforms. Managers in this environment must understand complex assets like broadcast, cable, international markets, and home video – and the complex interactions among these assets.

Independents’ Day

But even amid the growing corporate dominance of Hollywood, independent producers have managed to thrive and forge the new landscape. Some have done so by finding ways of striking profitable alliances with established conglomerates. The career of Harvey Weinstein, who with his brother Bob, founded Miramax Films in 1979, stands as a sort of template for independent producers. In the 1980s, the Weinstein brothers bootstrapped their way, making provocative, arty films like My Left Foot and teen-age horror films, whose reliable profits helped fuel film production. In 1993, the brothers sold Miramax to Disney, monetizing their investment while maintaining managerial independence. In the years since, Miramax has emerged as a high-quality, brand-name movie studio whose films – including Chicago, The English Patient, and The Cider House Rules – are perennial Oscar contenders.

oday, Harvey Weinstein is a corporate executive responsible for profit and loss at a huge division of a Fortune 500 company, with reporting responsibilities to Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney. And at the same time, he functions as a hands-on producer of cherished, hand-picked projects such as Martin Scorcese’s epic Gangs of New York. Like the independent moguls of the past, Weinstein will intercede, bulldoze, and battle with everyone to accomplish his vision. But he sees it all as part of the overall responsibility of a producer to gain financial success and critical plaudits for his selected and championed films.

Other independent producers have proven adept at combining two or more media. David Geffen, who has made his mark and his billions as a producer of musical talent, is the toughest of the collective group of independent producers – and also the wealthiest. Geffen worked at Warner Bros., and then started his own record company, which included artists such as Cher and Aerosmith, and a companion film company that made hits such as Risky Business and Beetlejuice. In 1990, Geffen sold his record company to the Japanese firm MCA. Four years later, he joined with his friends, the director Steven Spielberg, and the producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, to form a new independent studio, Dreamworks SKG.

“Barry Diller, another of the new-style independent producers, has carved a niche in the newest of media - the Internet.”

Barry Diller, another of the new-style independent producers, has carved a niche in the newest of media – the Internet. Diller initially thrived within corporate entertainment environments, running Paramount Pictures, and helping to launch Fox as the fourth television network. In the past decade, Diller has effectively been out of the movie-making business. But he has consistently brought the values and buzz of entertainment to new forms of media – first to the home shopping channel QVC, and then to the Internet. In 1995, Diller formed an investment vehicle to acquire on-line businesses. Snapping up properties after the dot-com bust, he has now built USA Interactive into a group of Internet companies with a transaction orientation that includes Expedia, Ticketmaster, Hotels.com, and Home Shopping Network.

Another who has managed to cross industry and media borders is Peter Guber, who holds an MBA from NYU Stern. Guber rose to head Columbia Pictures in the early 1970s, developing films such as The Way We Were. In 1976, he left to become an independent producer. Teaming up with Jon Peters, he produced the 1980s smash hits such as Flashdance, The Color Purple, and Batman. In the early 1990s, he was recruited to head Sony Entertainment’s movie division. When that relationship ended poorly, he returned to the role of independent producer and founded Mandalay Entertainment. Although its centerpiece is a movie production entity, Mandalay Pictures, Guber grasped the responsibility of the producer to reduce risk whenever possible. And so he has developed companies under the Mandalay umbrella that can launch other potential sources of revenues, such as television production, sports, and licensing/product placement.

Perhaps the hottest independent producer today is Jerry Bruckheimer, the man behind hit films such as Beverly Hill Cops, Top Gun, and Pearl Harbor. Last summer, he released back-to-back “blockbusters” – Bad Boyz II and the Pirates of the Caribbean. His company has also produced recent network television hits such as the CSI franchise. A producer at the top of his game, Bruckheimer seems also to have adapted a very different style from the typical aggressive, flashy and self promoting producer. Quietly dressed in head-to-toe black, he creates few waves – but huge profits.

Making movies today is far more complicated than it was when the first Hollywood pioneers arrived in Southern California in the 1920s. But at root, there will always be a place for the producer whose role as an entrepreneur – or as an intrapreneur within a corporate environment – is the integral ingredient in maintaining and filling the pipeline of new film projects. The rules have changed, the landscape is much more complex, and the stakes are far higher. But the role and responsibilities of the producer remain the same: Find the idea, sell the idea, finance the idea, get the idea made, own the idea and provide the investors a profitable return on the idea. Then do it all over again.

Al Lieberman is clinical associate professor of Marketing Entrepreneurship and Innovation and executive director of the Entertainment, Media and Technology Program at NYU Stern.