The financing plan has a gap of a few hundred thousand, and the start date is six weeks away. The executive producer makes three calls, reminds a co-financier of an earlier promise, and gets a sales company to raise its advance. Nobody on set will ever see that afternoon. The executive producer is the person who makes a production possible at the top, through money, rights or relationships, and keeps an eye on it from above.
What an executive producer does
The title covers several kinds of people. Some executive producers bring in the money or represent a financier. Some own the rights to a book or format. Some are senior figures at the production company who oversee many projects at once. What they share is that they rarely run the day-to-day work. That belongs to the producer and the line producer.
The executive producer is most active during development and financing, when the project needs backing. Once the shoot starts they read the reports, approve big changes and step in when something threatens the budget, the schedule or the deal with a financier.
Responsibilities
- Raise or bring in finance, or represent the party that does
- Approve the budget, the key cast and the director
- Protect the position of investors, broadcasters or funds
- Open doors to sales agents, distributors and broadcasters
- Read cost reports and step in when the production goes over
- Sign off on major changes to the script, schedule or deals
- Support the producer in disputes with financiers or talent
How the role touches the budget
From above. The executive producer does not build the budget, but approves it and answers to the people whose money is in it. They look at the top lines, the contingency and the weekly cost report rather than individual purchase orders. The executive producer fee usually sits above the line, and some financiers ask for a credit and a fee as part of their deal.
How people get into the role
There is no single route. Many executive producers were producers for years and moved up within a company. Others come from finance, law, a broadcaster or a talent agency. Some earn the credit by bringing a star, a book or a large share of the money to a project.
In TV and commercials
In television the executive producer is often the senior creative and business lead at the production company, accountable to the commissioning editor for the whole series. In commercials the executive producer usually runs the production company's slate, wins jobs from agencies, signs off on the quote and keeps the relationship with the client healthy.