Producer Panel 2014 Lobero Theater

Producer Panel 2014 Lobero Theater By Sara Grab

The 2014 producer panel for the Santa Barbara film festival was absolutely phenomenal. We were fortunate enough to have seven highly respected producers, who are all up for Oscar nominees. They spoke to us for an hour. The producers were Gabriella Tana for Philomena, Joey Mcfarland for the Wolf Of Wall street, Charles Roven for American Hustle, Dana Brunetti for Captain Phillips, Ron Yerxa for Nebraska, Robbie Brenner for Dallas Buyers Club and Dede Gardner for Twelve Years a Slave. The panel moderator was John Horn, who might I add did a great job at keeping the discussions flowing.            

This was defiantly one of the highlights during the film festival. It was very informational. I thought it was fascinating to hear that even the major movies go through struggles. For example Robbie Brenner the Producer of Dallas Buyer Club was talking about the fact the film had a vey low budget the director Jean-Marc Vallee insisted that he needed two extra days to shoot however they did not have the budget for that, he told her to take out the light package. Robbie said she was shocked and could not fathom making a movie with no lights however she had faith in her director and listen to him. In the end the film looks remarkable and the fact that they didn’t have lights actually adds a whole new dimension to the film.

A lesson I learned during the panel is that for producers it is crucial that one sets aside his or her ideas, ego and has full faith in the director’s vision. A producer’s job is to protect the director’s concept and be the one who helps him or her get whatever they need in order to create their work of art. The producers also talked about the fact that the whole role of a producer has changed. Back in the day, producing was mainly about raising money however now a days that is not the case. A producer job has grown exponentially; producers are the backbone of the film they get everything that needs to be done to have the film made.

They all couldn’t stress enough how important it is to pursue films that you feel passionate about. They said you cant put your whole heart into something that doesn’t resonate with you. I thought this was vey inspiring I fully agree that following your heart is vey important. I thought this was a great panel and I am very happy to have attended. I learned a great amount of what it takes to be a producer and to never get up following your dream.