A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to the film studio or other financing entity, while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed. Many film producers also have competency in other fields (directors, screenwriters, actors) but that is not always the case.

The producer is often actively involved throughout all major phases of the filmmaking process, from inception and development to completion and delivery of a film project.^[1] However, an idea or concept for a film can originate with any individual, including a screenwriter, a director or a producer.

Role[link]

A producer begins by obtaining the rights to create or co-create a feature-length screenplay. The producer oversees the process, which includes coordinating, supervising and controlling major aspects of the project. This includes fundraising and hiring key roles such as the casting director or film director. They'll also influence the hiring of other personnel such as the UPM or line producer and accountant.^[2]

Comparison to other producer roles[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

An executive producer is usually a person representing a financial investor in a film project, such as a movie studio or a distributor, but who is not directly involved in the day-to-day production. It can also be someone with other special interests in the project, such as the author of the book that the film is based on, or one of the movie's key actors who has been instrumental in persuading the studio to do the movie. In such cases, the executive producer credit is mainly honorary.

Associate producers and co-producers are also separate from the role of producer. They also support the producer to some degree, although not to the extent of an executive producer.

A line producer is a hands-on role which controls the day-to-day financial and production concerns and is there to support the vision of the director during production.

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

Laura Ellen Ziskin^[1] (March 3, 1950 – June 12, 2011)^[2] was an American film producer. In 1990, Ziskin was the sole executive producer of the hit comedy Pretty Woman. Ziskin became the first woman to produce the Academy Awards telecast alone, producing the 74th Academy Awards in 2002 and the 79th Academy Awards in 2007.

Life and career[link]

Ziskin was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, California, the daughter of Elaine Edelman, and Jay Ziskin.^[3] Jay was a psychologist and lawyer who died of prostate cancer aged 77 on June 14, 1997.^[4] Her family was Jewish.^[5] After graduating from the University of Southern California USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1973,^[3] Ziskin started out writing for game shows, then became the personal assistant of Jon Peters. Ziskin quickly became a development executive, moving into feature films with Jon Peters' production company where she worked on the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born, starring Barbra Streisand. When she was about 27, Ziskin married writer Julian Barry, relocating to Connecticut to help him raise his three children from a previous marriage. The two later had a daughter, Julia Barry.^[3][6] In 1978, she was the associate producer of The Eyes of Laura Mars. Ziskin was married to Alvin Sargent from 2010 until her death.^[3]

Fogwood Films and as an independent producer[link]

Ziskin formed Fogwood Films with partner Sally Field in 1984, and produced Murphy's Romance.^[7] As an independent producer, Ziskin cast the relatively unknown actors Kevin Costner and Sean Young with veteran Gene Hackman and produced the hit thriller No Way Out for Orion Pictures.^[8] In 1988, Ziskin and partner Ian Sander produced two films featuring Dennis Quaid, the remake of D.O.A.^[9] and Taylor Hackford's Everybody's All-American.^[10]

Touchstone Pictures[link]

Ziskin's success came with the hit comedy Pretty Woman in 1990, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, that Ziskin executive produced for Touchstone Pictures.^[11] The following year was difficult for Ziskin. On What About Bob?, Ziskin and star Bill Murray had spirited disagreements during production.^[12] Both that film and The Doctor^[13] were not as strong at the box office as Pretty Woman.^[14] A switch to Columbia resulted in Stephen Frears' Hero in 1992, a loose remake of 1941's Meet John Doe, for which Ziskin both produced and supplied the story.^[15] Ziskin directed her first short film in 1994, Oh, What a Day! 1914^[16] and produced the Nicole Kidman tour-de-force To Die For in 1995, under the banner of Laura Ziskin Productions.^[17]

Fox 2000[link]

By the time that last film was in release, Ziskin had been appointed president of Fox 2000, one of several off-shoots 20th Century Fox developed to speed up their production and distribution. Since the formation of Fox 2000, Ziskin rounded up an impressive number of directors and writers. Among those released were Edward Zwick's Gulf War drama Courage Under Fire and the romantic comedy One Fine Day and Pat O'Connor's Inventing the Abbotts and the big-budget disaster film Volcano. Ziskin and Tom Rothman helped develop the script for The English Patient before studio head Bill Mechanic returned the rights to director Anthony Minghella, who then got it produced and distributed through Miramax.^[18]

Ziskin executive produced As Good as It Gets in 1997. The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and three acting nods, and its stars, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, took home the leading role Oscars in the acting categories.

Columbia Pictures[link]

After nearly five years on the job, Ziskin resigned from Fox 2000 in November 1999 and within a month had a production deal at Columbia Pictures. After being tapped to serve as the first solo female producer of an Academy Awards telecast in 2002, Ziskin returned to the big screen with the highly anticipated feature version of Spider-Man. The film was released on May 3, 2002 to good reviews from critics, went on to break box office records, and became the highest grossing film of 2002. The success of the film led to two sequels, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. In 2002, Ziskin was also awarded the Crystal Award by Women in Film for her efforts at expanding the role of women in the entertainment industry.^[19]

Breast cancer activism[link]

In February 2004, Ziskin was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, a disease doctors had repeatedly missed previously because of the diffuse type of cancer she had.^[20]

On May 28, 2008, Ziskin, along with Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the Noreen Fraser Foundation and Ellen Ziffren, announced the creation of Stand Up To Cancer. SU2C is an initiative intended to enable cutting-edge research targeting all types of cancer, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, brain cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, etc.

Ziskin died of breast cancer at her home in Santa Monica, California on June 12, 2011, aged 61.^[2][21]

Selected filmography as producer and executive producer[link]

• The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)
• Stealth (2005)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• Spider-Man (2002)
• The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV)
• As Good as It Gets (1997)
• To Die For (1995)
• Hero (1992)
• The Doctor (1991)
• What About Bob? (1991)
• Pretty Woman (1990)
• Everybody's All-American (1988)
• The Rescue (1988)
• D.O.A. (1988)
• No Way Out (1987)
• Murphy's Romance (1985)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Laura Ziskin at the Internet Movie Database
• Laura Ziskin at AllRovi
• Laura Ziskin at the TCM Movie Database
• Laura Ziskin at Find a Grave
• Laura Ziskin profile via Stand Up To Cancer
• Lukeford.net Biography

Gareth Edwards

Full name	Gareth Owen Edwards
Date of birth	(1947-07-12) 12 July 1947 (age 64)
Place of birth	Pontardawe, Wales
School	Millfield
University	Cardiff College of Education
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Scrum-half
Amateur clubs
Years	Club / team
1966-1978	Cardiff RFC
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1967-1978 1971-1974	Wales British Lions	53 10	(88) 0(3)

Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".^[1]

In 2003, a poll of international rugby players conducted by Rugby World magazine, Edwards was declared the greatest player of all time. In 2007, former England captain Will Carling published his list of the '50 Greatest Rugby players' in The Telegraph, and ranked Edwards the greatest player ever, stating; "He was a supreme athlete with supreme skills, the complete package. He played in the 1970s, but, if he played now, he would still be the best. He was outstanding at running, passing, kicking and reading the game. He sits astride the whole of rugby as the ultimate athlete on the pitch".^[2]

Edwards was prominent in the Welsh national team that was to the fore in European rugby in the 60s and 70s.

In the 2007 New Year Honours, Edwards was made a CBE for services to sport.^[3]

Early life[link]

Edwards was born a miner's son in Gwaun-cae-Gurwen, Wales. He attended Pontardawe Technical School (now Cwmtawe Community School) for Boys where, he was taken under the wing of sports teacher Bill Samuels.

He won a scholarship to the elite Millfield Public School in Somerset. Apart from rugby, Edwards showed promise in a wide range of sports, playing for West Wales Youth soccer team, and signing for Swansea Town at the age of 16. He also showed prowess in gymnastics and athletics.^[4]

Playing career[link]

Wales[link]

Image of Edwards on a wall at Cardiff Arms Park

Edwards won his first international cap for Wales on 1 April 1967 at the age of 19 against France in Paris.^[5] Wales lost 20-14 to eventual championship winners France.^[6] Between 1967 and 1978 Edwards won 53 caps for Wales, including 13 as captain. All his caps were won in succession; he never had a dip in form or an injury that would allow anybody else to take his place. He scored twenty tries in internationals.

Edwards is Wales's youngest ever captain, first taking the captaincy at the age of 20 in February 1968 against Scotland - a game which the Welsh side won 5 - 0.^[7] Edwards was very fortunate in playing with two of the best outside halves the game has ever seen: Barry John and Phil Bennett. In the early part of his career, Edwards and his club team mate Barry John appeared inseparable, always knowing what the other was doing. During his era the Welsh side dominated the Five Nations Championship, winning the title seven times, including three grand slams. In 1969, Edwards was named Player of the Year in Wales.

In 1974 Edwards was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the year. He followed up this success by receiving an MBE in 1975.

Edwards's long successful international career came to an end on 18 March 1978 in the same way as he had started his career - against France in the Five Nations Championship. However, unlike on his debut, Edwards celebrated with a 16-7 winning finish in front of a home crowd at the Arms Park in Cardiff. Wales also sealed the Grand Slam and a third consecutive Triple Crown - a record, given that no team had ever won it more than twice in a row.^[8] To crown his achievements he was named Rothmans Player of the Year 1978.

British Lions[link]

Edwards also played ten times for the British Lions, playing for the legendary 1971 Lions team that was the only such team to win a series in New Zealand, and for the unbeaten 1974 side in South Africa.

Cardiff RFC[link]

He made his debut for Cardiff RFC against Coventry on 17 September 1966. All in all he played 12 season for Cardiff, scoring 69 tries in 195 games.

Other[link]

Edwards also played for Cardiff College, Wales Secondary Schools, East Wales, Wales, Barbarians, Wolfhounds, Irish President XV, World XV in South Africa in 1977, the combined England and Wales against Scotland and Ireland at the RFU centenary in 1971, first Wales Sevens team SRU centenary in 1973, and the RAF (though not in the Services) on tour in Cyprus 1972.^[4]

[edit] That Try

Edwards' try for the Barbarians against the All Blacks in 1973 at Cardiff Arms Park, often referred to simply as 'that try', is regarded as the greatest try ever. The move starts with a deep kick from the New Zealand winger. The ball dropped towards Phil Bennett near to his goal line. Bennett side-stepped and evaded three tackles, in turn passing the ball to JPR Williams. It next passed through four pairs of hands (Pullin, Dawes, David and Quinnell) before Edwards, slipping between two teammates and seemingly intercepting the last pass, finished with a diving try in the left-hand corner.

Cliff Morgan's now legendary commentary of the try describes it thus: "Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff. Phil Bennett covering, chased by Alistair Scowan. Brilliant! Oh, that's brilliant! John Williams, Brian Williams, Pullin, John Dawes. Great dummy! David, Tom David, the half-way line. Brilliant by Quinnell. This is Gareth Edwards. A dramatic start. What a score! Oh that fellow Edwards". The Barbarians won the game 23-11.^[9]

In a UK poll conducted by Channel 4 in 2002 British rugby supporters voted Edwards's historic try for the Barbarians #20 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.^[10]

Post-playing career[link]

The sculpture of Gareth Edwards in St. David's Centre

When he wrote his autobiography he was branded a "professional" and was temporarily prevented from coaching or being involved in any way with the sport of rugby union.

From 1978 until 1982 Edwards was a team captain on the TV quiz show A Question of Sport along with Liverpool and England footballer Emlyn Hughes.^[11]

In 1997, Edwards was one of the first fifteen former players inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame along with (among others) former playing partners Barry John and JPR Williams.^[12] He is also the subject of a plaque in the Rugby Pathway of Fame in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, which is credited as the home of the game.

On 21 November 2001, Edwards was voted the "Greatest Welsh Player of all time" at a rugby dinner held at the Cardiff International Arena by the 'Welsh Rugby Former International Players' Association' and First Press Events company. Voting took place via the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the nine Celtic Press titles. The public votes were then sifted by a team of experts and a 'crowd' of almost 1,000 packed into the CIA to discover who were the 'Greatest'.^[13]

In a poll of international rugby players conducted in 2003 by Rugby World magazine, Edwards was declared the greatest player of all time. Surprisingly, Edwards has admitted that All Black scrum-half Sid Going most likely got the better of him over their seven encounters, "As I say, he was the best I played against and, yes, he probably had the edge on me in the games we played". Edwards does however think that the pack Going was playing behind may have helped, "...I wouldn't have minded playing with the back row the All Blacks had...then Sid might not have come out on top".^[14]

He now commentates on the game for the BBC and S4C, commentating for the latter in Welsh, his mother tongue. He is also a director at the Cardiff Blues region, director of Mercedes dealership Euro Commercials Ltd. and President of Cardiff Institute for the Blind.^[4]

A sculpture of Gareth Edwards stands in the St. David's Centre, Cardiff.

In 1990 he set a British angling record when he landed a pike weighing 45 lb 6oz at Llandegfedd Reservoir near Pontypool. Edwards held the record for two years.

Edwards is patron of The Richard Hunt Foundation^[15] and in 2010 he was named a Patron of the Jaguar Academy of Sport^[16] .

See also[link]

• Welsh Rugby Union

References[link]