Of all the job titles in the screen credits, 'producer' is the most amorphous, partly because these people are uniquely involved in several aspects of a movie project at once, partly because there are so many different kinds: businesswomen and businessmen producers, writer, director, film star producers & executive producers.

Producers raise money and supervise development, they procure a script or book or 'pre-sold property' (like Harry Potter or Batman) & more. This book is all about what producers have actually done during Hollywood's history, delving into the careers of the exemplary figures, from Irving Thalberg to the multiple co-producers of 7 Years a Slave. This is also a great introduction to the ways in which the Hollywood industry works as a business; producers are at the money, business end and their work runs through the entire process of getting a movie onto the screen - or failing to do so.