So You Want to Be a Producer (Screen and Cinema) (Professional Media Practice) [Paperback]

I'm not a producer. I'm a graphic designer. And from what I can tell from Mr. Turman's book, there are a lot of parallels between the two. In fact, that's why I bought the book in the first place: I suddenly found my creative-self undergoing mitosis, and generating a business counter-part. That's the part that doesn't just create a job, but has to sell and manage it. During my frustrations with having gone from "Designer" to "Orchestrator" a friend of mine told me that I was becoming more a less a "Producer." Around the time he said that, I was feeling more like worn-out ready to discard product than a producer.

And then I came across this book, and the title matched perfectly with the mood. Sort of. The author still loves what he does for a living. He's a masochist.

I got exactly what I wanted from this book: That is, a big reality check. Turman is probably dealing with the largest ego's the world will ever know - Cinema Artisans. Artists, when unfulfilled and unappreciated, are insecure. Invert that whole scenario and that insecurity turns into something that only a Producer or agent will tolerate. And when I read Turman's descriptions about many of the off-stage *characters* he's had to juggle, suddenly my life and work didn't seem so bad after all. Of course, I know jack about Producing a movie. But that's not the point. This book essentially illustrates how any type of "producing", places that person at the very center of a massive crowd that will undoubtedly span the gamut of personalities - all of which have to be juggled if the job is to be finished. Turman warns that it is not a job for the faint of heart.

And he covers every topic from what I can see. Like *collaboration*. A word that makes me laugh everytime I hear it. Because Turman's right: collabo projects are like a marriage where it is very rarely between equals. And sure, we may have known this already before opening the book, but I'll be damned if it doesn't feel good to hear someone else say it. And I can certainly relate to the collabo's he's outlined here.

And maybe that's the best part about this book: commiseration. Again, obviously I can't relate to working with a celebrity. But I can relate to working with artists and all the stubborn insecurities that come with that. Or the ugly competition. Or the divine posturing. And sometimes you actually like the SOB's, but they drive you insane.

There's a nostalgic value to the book that softens and seperates it from the suited-up shark value it could have had. For instance, Turman seems to have a healthy understanding of the balance between art and commerce - a balance that virtually defines Graphic Design. A self-indulgent artist will probably create a brilliant yet alienating piece of art with questionable marketing potential. Marketing types consider themselves the remedy for that. And yet now, as Turman illustrates, the scales have tipped to the other side with the marketing mavens taking over and pushing so far to the other side of commerce that movies are no longer stories but products to be consumed, discarded and forgotten. The best movies are stories that are remembered - and even quoted the way some quote Shakespeare. Ideally, you want to balance the scales so that both ambitions have their time in the sun. I'm too young to ever know if such a time existed. It sounds like maybe this time did exist during Turman's era, when he produced the movies he talks about in this book. But those days seem to have faded.

While there may not be a lot to like about being a producer, there's still a lot to love about this book. Another book like this should be written with a dozen producers talking about their jobs, their movies and the stories that go with them. But have mercy on the poor soul knighted with the task of producing such a book.

This book was great for being in the shoes of a producer. I wouldn't buy this book for tips on HOW to be a producer because you simply won't find any. That said, I enjoyed the book as a means to understand if I would want to subject myself to a producer's lifestyle. Lots of work, little recognition, ego management, gambling for a paycheck. I would recommend this book to anyone considering a career in producing.

Lawrence Turman emphasizes that this is not a how to book and rightfully so. This is mostly a memoir on how he made it in the business. He writes numerous times he is part of the Peter Stark porucing program at USC, so many times that it feels that you're being hit over the head with a baseball bat to make sure it sinks in.

He does write on what it takes to be a producer but I wish more emphasis was placed on how to get your foot in the door. He name drops so many times, it brings truth to the old Hollywood adage, "It's not what you know but who you know."

However, his stories on how he produced the Graduate and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, two great movies, are well worth the read.