I think you nailed it. I think Marquand was there to direct the actors. I don’t think he was useless or completely overridden. I bet they worked out an arrangement of responsibility with Marquand taking over what Lucas has admitted that he isn’t the best at. But having a producer on set is not unusual. The producers of the Bond films were on the set constantly. Sean Connery disliked one of them so much he promised to stop working if he came on the set and one day he came on the set and Connery stopped mid scene. Producers are ultimately in charge of the film. Usually the director has to cave to their directives and above them is the studio. In the case of Eps 5, 6, 1, 2, and 3, Lucas was not only the producer, but the studio as well.

That is not to say he wasn’t as annoying as hell, just that many directors have to deal with that kind of person all the time. I’ve been thinking that other than Disney not using Lucas’s ST story treatments (which I am dying to get my hands on) it is probably a good thing that he is no longer in charge of Star Wars. It gives hope for an official restoration of the OUT someday.

(ah… an actual interview. seems I was close but off on a few points. Interesting that he calls himself an actor’s director. Also interesting that he says he asked Lucas for help in the areas he lacked experience in. So was Lucas a meddling producer or was he advising a newcomer to effects movie production? It would be interesting to know.)