Producers are the more influential overall, in terms of the business metrics(budget, schedule, box office). They get to make a lot of key decisions, if only thr

Producers are the more influential overall, in terms of the business metrics(budget, schedule, box office). They get to make a lot of key decisions, if only through vetos. What a director does is more akin to structuring the day-to-day focus. A director who has taken to relaxing intent on some broad aspects of the production is going to have a smoother production, be more agreeable, be easy to hire again. But a director who is more stringent may deliver a product that coheres better. It's a kind of balancing act on the part of the producer to not end up with a staff full of prima donnas fighting for control and wasting money through indecision and résumé-driven development.