Producer vs. Director...Who's the real filmmaker?

First off, if your trying to get a picture made and the director is going against the producer and vise verse you have a major problem.  If this were to ever happen it stands a great chance you'll never see that film in any movie theater or the Internet for that matter.  So, its safe to say producers and directors should collaborate together to create art versus working against each other to destroy a vision.  But, the question still remains, who's the real filmmaker?

Ever watched the opening credits of one of your favorite movies and wondered about the titles...directed by, produced by or maybe even produced in association with? Ever wondered who the people are, which one is truly the filmmaker? Well, the move business is in the business of making art and any environment where art and business coexist, uncertainty will exist as well.  Every major studio production will have numerous personnel working in various departments adding to someone one's vision.  Who is this someone you may ask? Artistically, it’s usually the director.  Most time the director is the most recognizable of the whole crew, not including high profile actors.  

The director is responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a film, including controlling the content and flow of the film's plot, directing the performances of actors, helping to organizing and select the locations in which the film will be shot, and managing technical details such as the positioning of cameras, the use of lighting, and the timing and content of the film's soundtrack.  Though the director wields a great deal of power, they are ultimately subordinate to the film's Producer or Producers.  Some directors, especially more established ones, take on many of the roles of a Producer, and the distinction between the two roles is sometimes blurred.  A powerful director with a lot of clout in the business can wrest a lot of this control from producers if he has the inclination, and there usually ends up being a lot of political give-and-take between the two.

The title of "producer" varies between the roles the producer may actually be doing.  This in itself can be consider another topic for a blog altogether.  The creative/business producers are the logistical muscle for getting things in place to make the movie.  They answer a thousand questions that most people would never consider.  Does the hero's costume look right? More fake muscles? Less? Should we get heartthrob for the lead role, or indie queen? What city will be cheapest to shoot the movie in? Who should we hire to DIRECT? The producers handle many of these on their own, but depending on the size of the production they may depend on a network of smaller producers.  A film producer creates the conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, coordinates, supervises, and controls matters such as raise funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors.  The producer is involved throughout all phases of the film making process from development to completion of a project. 

In my opinion a filmmaker shepherds the project from conception to distribution.  A film director works for hire.  I usually use the term filmmaker only to describe makers of documentaries, shorts, indies and personal films.  I use term film director for industry works, usually from Hollywood or foreign film industries.