the business. He was very well-respected in this field." Machlis moved
up to second AD, and then to unit production manager.
He relocated from New York to California in 1976. "There were some
big union problems in New York and the business really slowed down.
There was a large movement of personnel [from] New York to California,
because the work originated
there." His first big feature
after the move was Grease.
"That was such a successful
film; a good movie to have
on your résumé."
Machlis progressed from
unit production manager to
associate producer, and by the
late 1980s, he was executive
producing some the screen's most successful films, such as: Planes, Trains
& Automobiles; Postcards from the Edge; Wolf; I.Q.; The Birdcage; Primary
Colors; Bedazzled; Dr. Dolittle 2; and The First $20 Million.
"I worked on six movies with Mike Nichols, so I had the benefit of
working with some great talents along the way." Machlis is currently
executive producing The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest.
Job Overview
Answering to the production's producer, the line producer is responsi-
ble for supervising the budget; hiring the below-the-line crew; overseeing
the production, from the daily operations on set through postproduction;
and working with the director to execute his vision for the production.
Special Skills
A line producer must be able to manage a budget, and possess the
people skills to work with and motivate a variety of personalities. Line
producers also must be good listeners and be flexible.
While scouting locations for Avalon, the director and producer deter-
mined that a particular scene needed to be shot on a sunny day. The day
the company arrived at that location, it was pouring down rain. So line
producer Peter Giuliano packed up the company, equipment, and trucks
JOB TITLE: LINE PRODUCER
"You have to work
hard . . . You need to
persevere. You need
to have good contacts
and you need to be
lucky as well."--Neil Machlis
CAREER TIPS
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