The Producer as Auteur

The way films are sold to the general public is something that interests me. Most people don't go to IMDB, or Aint It Cool News, or any other websites that offer information on upcoming movies. Most people go see a movie based on repetitive advertising, word of mouth, or mainstream film critics. They don't worry about the struggles the film had making it to the screen or who was rumored to play Batman before Christian Bale got the part. Most of them don't even know who Christian Bale is, they just recognize his face. This is why I find it interesting when films are sold based on their "auteur."

The "auteur theory" in film, believes that the final product of a film should reflect a director's personal vision. In other words, the director is ultimately responsible for what the audience sees on screen. Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, and Stanley Kubrick all come to mind as directors who would fit this definition. Their names are selling points for their films. Commercials, posters, reviews and interviews will all lend credence to the theory of the director as author. However, what I have noticed lately, is the use of famous "auteur" directors as selling points for films that they have produced.

The Orphanage is directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, yet the name most people associate the film with is Guillermo Del Toro, or "That Guy Who Did Pan's Labyrinth." Both Hostel films have "Quentin Tarantino Presents" above the title. Cloverfield is directed by Matt Reeves, yet people mostly refer to J.J. Abrams when talking about it. Walk Hard and Superbad are considered Judd Apatow films yet they were directed by Jake Kasdan and Greg Mottola, respectively. As producers, they have all probably had varying degrees of involvement. Guillermo Del Toro and Tarantino were more likely involved to both help the studio sell the film and to get more exposure for less-known directors. However, with J.J. Abrams and Judd Apatow, there seems to be a much greater degree of involvement.

Superbad and to a lesser degree, Walk Hard very much look and feel like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, which Apatow both wrote and directed. He seems to have almost as strong a guiding hand in these films as he does his own. While not having seen Lost, I know it by reputation as a show that embraces the internet to make viewers a part of solving the mysteries on the show. A similar approach was made with Cloverfield. I believe that in the case of these two writer/producer/directors the reason that so much of their influence is felt in everything they do is due to their television backgrounds. You know when you're watching an episode of Freaks and Geeks or Lost even if you come in after not watching the show for awhile. Despite different writers and directors, the show is usually kept consistent with the producers'/creators' vision. If that familiarity is gone, the viewers are gone.

The people who buy Hostel on DVD based on Quentin Tarantino's name on the box are not getting a Quentin Tarantino film for their money. While I think its a good thing that Tarantino or Del Toro's name on the poster may help get the film to a larger audience, its a shame that in the eyes of the public, these directors are getting credit for films that aren't theirs. In the case of Kasdan, Mottola, and Reeves, how they supposed to effectively get their vision onto film when their biggest successes are the visions of the producers?