What do production companies do, exactly?

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geniusvisionary

I understand what producers do, but I'm not sure about the role of their production companies. When, in a film's credits, it says that something is "a (insert company or person here) production", what does that mean in regards to the production of the film? For example, No Country For Old Men was produced by Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen, and is "a Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss production" (Mike Zoss is the production company of Ethan and Joel Coen). However, The Ladykillers was produced by the Coens as well as Tom Jacobson, but is just "a Tom Jacobson production". Why is this? Also, what is the difference between producing and presenting a film? ((insert person or company here) presents a (insert person or company here) production). Also, some films only use "presenting" credits (Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl).
 
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Production Companies make the movie.

They request the money to do so, and the movie ultimately is owned by the major studio, but it was CREATED by the production company.
 
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I think the production company is responsible for getting the cast and crew together. The producer and his assistants are also responsible for dealing with the paperwork like getting insurance, arranging permits, dealing with payroll, and so on.
 
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mlesemann said:
Yeah, because they pay the bills. :)
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Yeah I wasn't really complaining just stating what they do :D
I think it's good to limit creative control to some degree. People like chris nolan and quentin tarintino would be better IMO with a very small push in the right direction.

It's much easier to criticize than it is to create, and that sort of perspective has it's advantages.
 
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The reason you're confused is that there are many different types of production companies. Most decently budgeted films are fairly or very complex financially, drawing funding from several/numerous sources and take advantage of various film funds and tax breaks. So sometimes, a production company is little more than just a registered address which doesn't actually "do" anything and only exists to provide a single legal and/or financial entity under which the film operates. Other production companies are ongoing concerns, providing production services (logistics for example) to different films. Others are ongoing concerns which fund (and oversee) the manufacture of films.

All of this is why you commonly see several different production companies listed in the credits of the same film. How they are credited is also not so simple, it basically depends on the agreed terms in the contracts between all the interested parties.

G
 
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