So you're a producer? What exactly do you do?

November 02, 2007 While producer credits have proliferated in recent years as a way to reward investors or accommodate those who own the rights necessary to bring a property to the screen, there still are so-called "working producers" who actually shepherd films through all the challenging stages of development and production it takes to get a movie made. A case in point is Jon Shestack, who with Brad Epstein produced the comedy "Dan in Real Life," directed by Peter Hedges and starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche, which opened in second place last weekend via Disney. For some perspectives on producing films these days I caught up recently with Shestack, a movie and television producer with a first look deal at New Line Cinema.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.