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
No, what you’re describing is the executive producer. The producer’s job is to oversee set design, story development, casting, shooting etc. and create a good motion picture. GL clearly didn’t allocate enough money and time for the film he wanted to make in the first place, given that he went back after the premiere.
Also saying that Kurtz was financially clueless is laughable considering they made Star Wars on a total shoestring budget - less than most comedies at the time, IIRC.
The proof is in the pudding. RoTJ was generally regarded as “the bad one” until 1999 whereas ESB is still considered the best in the series and one of the better films ever made. It’s a little bit completely stupid to suggest Kurtz was incompetent when he’s had a hand in such great cinema.