Entertainment is the basic need of people. When people get tired of their routine, work, and chores, they seek entertainment according to their interests to freshen up or divert their minds from daily life for some time.
Through entertainment, people can change their mood by watching anything as per their interest. The main source of entertainment nowadays is the media. Basically, media is the tool of communication which includes, TV, newspaper, cinema, radio, and magazines.
Cinema is a very famous way of entertaining people. In my generation, people love watching movies and TV shows rather than listening to the radio or reading newspapers or magazines.
Movies being the medium of entertainment is the combination of beautiful faces, songs, wonderful colors, and graphics that attract people. That’s why people even pay to watch their favorite movies at the cinema.
When people watch a movie, they only see what is being presented upfront. What they don’t see is the hard work and efforts of the people who are behind the movie as a good movie is the result of good execution.
There are many people behind the movie but the two most important people are the Producer and the Executive Producer. They give life to characters by coming up with unique and audience-attracting scripts.
These two are the major faces responsible for the movie.
The main difference between both is that the producer gets the script, puts money on the film and hires a director and executive producer to execute the script. The executive producer is responsible for hiring cast and crew, getting investors, arranging and approving locations, and all of the legal matters.
If you’re more interested in knowing their differences, keep reading!
Let’s start.
What Exactly Does An Executive Producer Do?
The executive producer has a tough job to do as he is responsible for the execution of the film.
The executive producer arranges the marketing team, hires the cast and crew, rewrites the script if needed, decides and arranges locations, and even gets the investors for the film.
Executive producers don’t get the recognition they deserve, as all of the film tasks are done by them. He is the one who checks up on everyone on the set from high-paid cast to low-paid workers, from being fed to being facilitated in every manner.
The executive producer tries his best to get the investors for the film and arrange a meeting with a producer. He does the entire job of fundraising for the film.
But this role of executive producer is entirely opposite in Hollywood as he is the one who puts money into the film and hires the producer to do the rest of the tasks of the film.
Sometimes, the title of producer and executive producer is used by the same person for putting money and arranging everything for the film like getting investors to arranging locations.
In some cases, an executive producer is hired as a famous person to attract good investors and for the promotion of the film. As you know, people love their favorite actors, so they cash the name of the famous person in the film industry.
What Do Producers Do?
A producer is a person who puts money and is the owner of a film. He decides and manages the budget if things go the wrong way.
The major responsibilities of producers are:
- Approving the script and coordinating with writers.
- Taking major decisions of a production.
- Deciding the size of the budget and its implementation.
- Conducting meetings with staff to discuss production progress.
- Producers establish management policies.
A producer is a highly educated person having a degree in theater or film. Some producers don’t have a degree but years of experience which they got by working in the film industry as writers or assistant producers.
It is the producer who hires the executive producer and director to ensure the execution of a movie.
Sometimes, he gets the investors or arranges fundraising events for a film. You can say that it is a producer who takes the final financial decisions of the film or TV show.
Have a look at this video for more information:
Why Do Some Shows Have So Many Producers?
If the production is of large scale then several producers are needed to look after different aspects of production.
In TV shows, releasing two or three episodes per week is a tough job so two or more producers such as associate producers, line producers, and co-producer are hired to divide responsibilities, reduce the burden, and ease the execution of production.
Production responsibilities like shooting, securing the finance, looking after post-production, conducting a meeting to ensure production goals are being led and marketing involvement is distributed among other producers.
Which Position Is Higher, Executive Producer Or Producer?
The position of the producer is higher than the executive producer because the producer is the head of the film and provides funding while the executive producer is the supervisor of things that happen on the set.
Have a look at this table to know about the role and position of producer and executive producer.
| Producer | Executive producer | |
| Position | Provide funding and is the head of the production team | Supervise the production team |
| Role | Manage the production team | Arrange investors for the movie |
| Responsibility | Utilize the budget for the film | Gaining the trust of investors |
How Much Do Producers Get Paid Per Movie?
Producers of a movie make huge money depending on their budget.
Some top-earning producers can make around million of dollars while studio producers make up to $750,000 dollars per film.
After the fee cut of actors, executive producer, and crew members and returning the money of investors with profit, the money left is the share of a producer.
Some producers get paid really high than other producers, the three most highly paid producers are following:
| Producers | Amount | |
| 1 | Kevin Feige | $802,243,643 |
| 2 | Kathleen Kennedy | $368,460,670 |
| 3 | David Hayman | $410,207,413 |
The amount mentioned above is just average. They can even make more money depending upon the size of production and their profit share per movie.
Final Thoughts
The difference between a producer and an executive producer can be summarized in the following points.
- Producers take the major financial decisions of the production.
- The executive producer is equally involved in the film production and supervises everything on the set.
- The executive producer job is underrated and doesn’t get enough credit that he deserves.
- The position of a producer is higher than an executive producer because he provides funding and makes a plan.
- Both producer and executive producer are equally involved in the making of the film and make sure to meet the production objectives.
- A producer makes more money than an executive producer.
Want to read something more? Check out my article on Chief Financial Officer VS Chief Investment Officer.