Like, do they only have influence in marketing or something?
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It varies widely. Basically, a producer is responsible for the logistical and financial production of the film, rather than the creative side. A producer might just be someone who gets the film funded and pays the employees. They might be the one handling high level financial decisions like paying for a studio or for the permits to film on location. They might be the one hiring the director and other important creatives to make the movie.
Some producers are credited just because they wrote a check and helped pay for the film, while others are more actively involved in the logistics and back-end work needed to make the film possible.
The producer is the business lead of a movie… they’re the one who lines up the funding to make the movie, allocates budget, sells stars on coming aboard, funds crew, sets/locations, effects, editing, etc. They also are the ones who handle distribution, marketing, licensing to TV/streaming services, and such.
They usually help get the ball rolling, help with financing and push to get it made in general. They have a lot of power in decision making because they are usually the individual(s) who have put up the most money (as opposed to corporations) and without whom the movie may not have been made at all
remember the long list of people in the credits? Producer interviews and hires all of them, makes sure they have whatever they need to get their job done (down to food and bathrooms are remote locations), resolves any conflicts or disputes, makes sure stuff gets done on time, or delay is really producing something that is worth it.
If you’ve ever wondered why there isn’t an Academy Award for Best Producer, that’s because it’s called Best Picture. Basically the producer is in charge of the whole production. How much they get involved varies a lot. Some producers are very hands on, some delegate a lot.
At a minimum, the producer is responsible for deciding what movie gets made to begin with, negotiating the rights to it if it’s going to be an adapted work, hiring key personnel such as the writer and director, and most importantly arranging financing. Even a major studio like Disney or Sony doesn’t have the cashflow to fund all their movies so big budget movies generally have to be financed through a bank.
Some producers mostly stick to the business side of things and don’t get too involved with creative decisions. Other producers are much more hands on creatively. For example, a surprising number of people don’t know that *The Nightmare Before Christmas* wasn’t directed by Tim Burton. However, it was produced by Tim Burton and it’s easy to see his fingerprints on the film. Likewise, films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer all have a similar feel regardless of who is directing.
Although people tend to think of the director as being in charge, ultimately the buck stops with the producer, not the director. However, a lot of the more well known directors are actually producer-directors. Most of Christopher Nolan’s movies list Christopher Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas as producers.
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