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Saturday the 14th producer Julie Corman explains what a producer actually does
She was able to find success without much preparation!
The role of the producer is one of the least understood in moviemaking. We all have an idea of what a director does. The director makes all the big decisions, right? They're the ones who set the tone for the movie, carefully curating each scene so that the film is crafted cohesively. The cinematographer/director of photography, of course, figures out how to best capture each moment. Their vision gives us the picture. The sound person is our ears during production, catching each line so it's easy for us to hear in the theater. The actor's job is pretty obvious because we see it all onscreen!
So, what is it that a producer does, exactly?
For clarification, we can turn to Jule Corman. Not only does she have a ton of producer credits in her right, but Julie was also the wife of filmmaking legend Roger Corman. So, both at home and on movie sets, Julie Corman — maybe more than anyone else — knows exactly what it means to be a producer.
In 2021, Julie Corman spoke with The Frida Cinema about her experience as a producer on films like the horror-comedy classic Saturday the 14th. But before she could help craft the famous genre parody, Corman, like many of us, had to figure out what, specifically, a producer does.
"In the early '70s, my husband Roger asked me, 'I'm making three films now for our distribution company. I wonder if you would take one on and just watch the money on it?' [With me] not knowing what that meant, Roger explained 'Just make sure that the money is spent appropriately.' I replied, 'Well, I learned how to balance a checkbook in fifth grade. So, I think I could do that.' Roger contributed, 'Now, you're going to need a cameraman, a gaffer, and a grip.'
"None of this made any sense to me. I expressed my concern with Roger, 'Roger, I can't produce this, I have no idea what I would be doing.' He assured me, 'I'll be here if you have any questions.' Little did I know, this is Roger's sort of standard way of operation. Unfortunately, he really wasn't available. However, everything went well working with the production manager, the equipment houses, and the postproduction houses."
In addition to Saturday the 14th, Julie Corman produced movies like The Dirt Bike Kid, Brain Dead, Chopping Mall, and The Nest.
Luckily, most of us will never have the pressure of producing a movie before we truly know what that means. However, Julie Corman is proof that on-the-job training might be the most invaluable lesson of all!
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10 Comments
Nepotism is when you get a job because of WHO you know, not WHAT you know.