Question 1

What is the difference between a Producer and an Executive Producer?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

An Executive Producer is generally thought of as the person who oversees the finances for a film and has the most senior position on a production. A Producer on a movie is generally more involved with the day-to-day activities of filmmaking, such as working on the script with the Screenwriter, hiring other crew and principal cast, and making sure that the movie’s progress is proceeding as needed.

Question 2

Do Executive Producers get paid?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Unless an Executive Producer is hired onto a studio or production company-backed project, they may not receive any upfront pay for their services and go without payment until the distribution phase when the film is released for audiences.
Many Executive Producers are the first to come on board a project, and while it is normally their job to find the financing for a film, they will often hold off on paying themselves so that those funds can go entirely to the production instead.

Question 3

What do Executive Producers do?

Grady Craig · Accepted Answer

There are a number of different types of Producers. There are Associate Producers, Co-producers, Lead Producers, Line Producers, Creative Producers, and Executive Producers [EPs]. They all have unique classifications based around their contributions or responsibilities on a project.
Most of the time, the standalone title “Producer,” is reserved for the single person (or two) who lead(s) most of the production. They fundraise, run the financial closing, support casting, oversee the budget and schedule, they’re on the ground, and they’re the main point of contact for any production. Projects typically reserve one or two Producer credits to uphold the value of their contributions. Any of the other sub-producers–Associate Producers, Executive Producers–these are effectively limitless, but the more shared credits you add to any project, the more you dilute their perceived value.
Earning the Executive Producer credit usually comes down to making a “major” contribution to the project’s completion, either through investment, service, or some level of relationship access you can provide (Actors, Directors, distributors, financiers, etc.).
Sometimes individuals are credited for more than one role in the production. Acting and producing, directing and producing, writing and directing, etc. These are situations where individuals are compensated for multiple levels of responsibility.

Question 4

What are the responsibilities of an Executive Producer?

Angela Mancuso · Accepted Answer

I do a lot of reading. I read newspaper articles. I read a lot of books. It runs the gamut. I read specs people bring to me. When I’m in development or not in production, I’m doing a lot of reading or researching. And that can be anything: it can be looking at Amazon new releases, the book reviews in The New York Times or some magazine, or an article on the radio that I hear. Any story that sounds interesting to me. I spend a lot of time looking for stories.
That’s the easy part: finding a story or idea that you like and that’s compelling. The hard part is finding out if there’s a market for it and a place to sell it, and finding a Writer who wants to adapt it for you. That’s the part of my job that happens when I’m not in production.
Once I sell something, my job completely changes. It becomes about who the buyer is, what they want, what changes they want, and then getting it to production where it becomes a completely different issue of finding a Director and cast. Sitting on a set and scouting for locations and actually making something…that’s the fun part.
The hard part of it is things shift under your feet. You never know what you’re going to sell and what you’re not going to sell. We work for money and to make a living. There’s the stress of developing, developing, developing, and then not getting something made, and that happens often. You can work on something for years and never get it made.

Question 5

Who gets paid more, the Producer or Executive Producer?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

In most scenarios, the Executive Producer will earn more on a project because of their significant responsibilities and ability to negotiate payment structures in addition to an upfront fee for their work. Depending on the scope of the Producer’s work, they will typically earn less than the Executive Producer.

Question 6

Why do Actors become Executive Producers?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Actors may become Executive Producers on a project if they are contributing to the finances for it. They themselves may front funding for the film or bring in investors for the production on account of their connections, which allows them to earn an Executive Producer credit.

Question 7

What is the difference between an Executive Producer and a Co-Executive Producer?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Given that filmmaking can be an incredibly expensive undertaking even for a modest project, often multiple people are brought on board with the role of Executive Producer to help bring in financing for the production.
Essentially, there is no difference between an Executive Producer and Co-Executive Producer other than to denote with the latter title that more than one person in that role is part of the production.

Question 8

How does an Executive Producer make money from a project?

Grady Craig · Accepted Answer

Usually, there’s an Executive Producer fee built into the budget or backend profits. The percentage determined for either is negotiated with the Lead Producer, within reason, for what you’ve provided for the progress of the film or series.
Generally, investors in film are offered 120% of their financial commitment. The return can end up being more or less than this based on how the film performs in the box office.

Question 9

How do you become an Executive Producer?

Grady Craig · Accepted Answer

There are a couple of ways. My path was a little bit different in that I started at a small media finance company, but small companies actually open up a lot of doors. You have a lot of responsibility working at a small company, and if the people you work with are equally dedicated to putting the time into creating success, you’ll find yourself earning the credits you deserve.
For other people, I think it’s just about knowing people. If you know Agents and you know Managers who have rosters of name-talent, being able to have a cordial friendship and go to them and say, “Hey, I think Malin Åkerman or Matt Damon would be great for this. What would they cost for X-number of days, and would they be interested in doing something like this?” Those are avenues to becoming an Executive Producer. Again, it’s who you know and how you can provide value to a project that you care about.

Question 10

Do you need a college degree to be an Executive Producer?

Angela Mancuso · Accepted Answer

I think education is always important. I don’t think you necessarily have to go to film school at all, but know that you’re talking about a medium of storytelling. Whether you’re studying film and you’ve watched every Alfred Hitchcock movie to understand why that makes him important, or you’ve read every Hemingway novel, whatever it is you study: storytelling is about human beings. Higher education is important in that it helps you learn how to speak to people, and gives you more in common with the people you have to deal with.
I think studying psychology is really helpful in our business. You have to know how people’s brains work and you have to be able to talk to people. You have to be able to really communicate with people whether it’s in the selling part, on the set, or if you’re talking to a Writer who may be very sensitive. If you can’t read those people and relate to them in some way, you’re not going to be a good Producer.

Question 11

What else do people need to know about pursuing a career in production?

Angela Mancuso · Accepted Answer

It’s not something you should do unless you really love it, because it’s as much a lifestyle as it is a vocation. It sounds glamorous, but there’s nothing glamorous about having to work until 5 a.m. dead on your feet, where you’re getting bitten up by mosquitos or freezing cold. It’s not glamorous in the way many people think it is. You have to really love storytelling and the community. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone.
It’s physically demanding if you’re a hands-on Producer, which I am. As I get older, I don’t want a 5 a.m. call anymore. The worst thing is split days. When you come in at three in the afternoon and leave at three in the morning. That’s the worst. And that happens all the time.
Don’t do it unless you really love it. The reason I say that is because it’s pretty all-consuming. It’s very difficult to be getting married and having children when you’re on location, which you mostly are. You can be away from home for a long time and that’s a hard thing to do, especially for parents.
You shouldn’t take it lightly because it is what it is. The hours aren’t 9 to 5 hours. If you’re a Producer and you’re actually on a set, sometimes you gotta wake up at 3 a.m. because the call time is at 5 a.m. Sometimes you have to drive yourself in the dark and the cold and you don’t know where you are. (But now we have good GPS. We used to have to print Google Maps!)

Question 12

What’s higher than an Executive Producer?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

The Executive Producer is often considered the highest-ranking title on a production, and that typically is the case. That being said, even an Executive Producer may have to report to or take feedback from the production company or studio executives who brought them on board for the project.

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