A few years ago, ahead of the 2019 Oscars, I wrote a column that started with a simple question: What does a movie producer do? Despite the ubiquity of the term, it’s a job title that fails to capture the day-to-day work itself. Director? Sure, most of us have a decent idea of what that means. Screenwriter? That too. Production designer, stunt coordinator, music supervisor? Same. But producer? What does a producer even do?
The new limited series “The Offer” on Paramount+ is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “The Godfather” in the early 1970s. It’s told primarily from the point of view of the movie’s producer Al Ruddy, and it might be one of the best distillations of what a producer actually does, start to finish. I suspect anyone who has ever produced a film is going to feel vindicated by this portrayal.
“The Godfather” was a massive box office hit — the highest grossing film of 1972 — but it nearly fell apart at various points before making its way into theaters. The script was a mess. The executives didn’t want to cast an unknown named Al Pacino. The studio even had doubts about Marlon Brando. Money was always running short. And getting the movie made also involved making nice with the mob, a complicated dance considering the material at hand.
