What a Producer Does: Art of Moviemaking (Not the Business) (Not the Business)

This is an excellent book for budding producers. It puts the important, realistic and human aspect of producing into layman's terms making it clear and consise. I have only one gripe - every important crew member, above-the-line person and producer are referred to as "he/him" through out the etire book. Unfortunately, the sole exception he makes is in regards to the script supervisor, in which Mr. Houghton states that it is "tradionally a woman's job". Yes, this is left over from the Golden Age of Film and studio contracts, and it's definitely one of the hardest of the on-set jobs, but I still didn't appreciate the male slant through the entire book. Other than that, it's a well thought out book that should be mandetory reading for any producer's program or budding producer/mogul/development executive.

Easy-to-understand primer on the lynchpin of moviemaking. (4/17 people found this helpful)

Ten, you say? Seems a bit over-the-top for just a little bitty book about making movies, doesn't it? Well, skin my duds off and nail me to a tree, I just can't help gushing a bit about this volume, 'cause my old Pap wrote it. Yup, my dad was the real thing, back when movie cameras were as big as pianos and they edited film with a gizmo that sounded like a giant out-of-control sewing machine. I grew up on the set, thanks to old Buck. They used to call me Fifty Cents (Half a Buck, get it?) Got to play with real guns (shooting blanks) and see some of the great moments of the Twilight Zone being filmed. I was there the day the guy behind the lunch counter took off his hat and revealed his third eye. I was, maybe, 9. I was IN the one about Jeff Myrtlebank coming back to life and confounding his countrified neighbors. That's me with the slingshot. Anyway, this isn't about me. My old dad really knows a lot about how to produce things on film, and he decided to come out of retirement for a year to put it down on paper so a first- or second-year film student could get some idea what a producer's for. Most film students want to be directors or actors or cinematographers. Very few actually set out to be producers, it's such a thankless and grubby task. But someone's got to do it, and once you get inside the mechanics of it, you realize the producer touches on every aspect of the art form before it goes out to the public. So, by learning what the producer does, you get a smattering of everything it takes to make a movie or tv show. That's got to be worth ten bucks or whatever they're charging here at this great new on-line bookstore. So, make my old dad smile, won't ya? He's gettin' up in years, feelin' a little worthless I guess now that all the whippersnappers and beancounters have taken over the industry. Buy his book, let him know you appreciate all those hours and hours of his shows you watched when you were a kid. Please? Hey, I never said I was going to be impartial, here. But seriously, it's a dandy read.

What a Producer Does: Art of Moviemaking (Not the Business) (Not the Business)

Buck Houghton

Reader Reviews:

Although it takes a sexist view, A must read for producers (12/16 people found this helpful)

Easy-to-understand primer on the lynchpin of moviemaking. (4/17 people found this helpful)

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