imperialscum said:
The film went two times over schedule and two times over budget. I think in film business, that is pretty much the most obvious evidence of producer’s incompetence you can get. Even big studies freak out at even one of those conditions, let alone a newly founded independent studio. Even though this is widely-known information, for reliable source you can refer to Making of ESB by Rinzler.I’m looking for a citation of your original claim here, and I can’t see it. Saying that the film went over schedule and over budget is one thing. It’s an enormous conjectural leap to suggest that Kurtz was fired during production as a result.
He was not officially fired before the end of ESB, however he was apparently effectively replaced by Kazanjian. I think it is diplomatically stated so in Making of ESB (it has been a while since I read the book). Also Wikipedia says so: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kurtz#The_Empire_Strikes_Back
It seems like Kazanjian was brought in by Lucas just to get the film finished after Kurtz & Kersh spent a bit too much time trying to make it good with no regard to costs. This was, I think, the start of GL’s tendency to surround himself with yes-men in later years - obviously with a view to maximising profit. I guess it depends what you consider the role of the producer to be; make the film as good as possible, or make the film as cheap as possible. Ironic though that Lucas was the one who went back and re-shot most of the film’s final sequence after the film had premiered.
The job of producer is to ensure things run according to schedule and budget. He/she should create or enforce the working conditions for that to be achieved. Of course it is not his/her fault if the director is not capable of achieving good results in a minimal amount of time, however in the end it is still the producers responsibility if the film goes over-schedule or over-budget. Producers/directors should be talented experts who can produce quality results in limited amount of time. That is why not just anyone is fit for the job.
In addition, saying something like “trying to make it good with no regard to costs” is completely detached from reality and downright ridiculous considering the specific conditions at that time. LF was a fragile newly-founded independent studio that could easily bankrupt. If that happened ESB would probably be quite different.