In Hollywood, reality and fiction are blurred, at best. Everybody is writing a script, waiting for that big break. And anyone can produce, right?
The Producers Guild said, “no!” They wanted to put a stop to people using the producer credit as a bargaining chip and giving it to those who hadn’t really earned it. We worked with them to create a print and PR campaign. Shortly after it ran the National Academy of Dramatic Arts & Sciences embraced the Guild’s guidelines in spite of resistance from the studios. In fact, they refused to give an Oscar to a producer who’s movie had won, but he didn’t fit the Guild’s criteria for producer. He promptly sued…and lost.