3 ms·

Am I the only one struggling to understand this? Are 'Mr. Big' and 'Showrunner' references to something specific? Why are these terms in quotes?

jowday 4y ago
He’s putting those in quotes because they’re generally not formal positions that are explicitly credited, but are informal phrases referring to whoever has final creative control over a series.
- deelowe 4y ago
  That sounds like it's all a bit made up then...
  - jowday 4y ago
    It’s not. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showrunner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showrunner
    - deelowe 4y ago
      So these are real terms then...
  - cygx 4y ago
    Showrunners are a thing. See eg https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hollywood+reporter+showrunner+roundtable https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hollywood+repor... for some stories from the trenches.
karaterobot 4y ago
"Mr. Big" and "Head Honcho" are euphemisms for "the person who is actually in charge", or the boss. "Director" and "Showrunner" are job titles you'd have on your resume. In the case of the showrunner, they're directly involved in day to day stuff. I've heard interviews in which showrunners say their job involves making 500 snap decisions every day: "which fabric swatch should we use? is it worth an extra $80k to film in this location?" that kind of thing. I guess the software equivalent would be a product manager? In Kathleen Kennedy's case, as head of Lucasfilm, she's making big decisions on everything, but likely not micromanaging individual decisions. So, she'd be the CTO or equivalent.
- jacobr1 4y ago
  Showrunner isn't a job title though. Most likely the actual title on the resume would most likely be "Executive Producer".
  - jollybean 4y ago
    Showrunner is definitely job. It's something you put on your resume. 'Executive Producer' is just a credit, it doesn't mean anything really. A powerful actor participating in a film, might get an exec prod. credit, not for doing anything at all.

jowday 4y ago

He’s putting those in quotes because they’re generally not formal positions that are explicitly credited, but are informal phrases referring to whoever has final creative control over a series.

deelowe 4y ago
That sounds like it's all a bit made up then...
- jowday 4y ago
  It’s not. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showrunner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showrunner
  - deelowe 4y ago
    So these are real terms then...
- cygx 4y ago
  Showrunners are a thing. See eg https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hollywood+reporter+showrunner+roundtable https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hollywood+repor... for some stories from the trenches.

karaterobot 4y ago

"Mr. Big" and "Head Honcho" are euphemisms for "the person who is actually in charge", or the boss. "Director" and "Showrunner" are job titles you'd have on your resume. In the case of the showrunner, they're directly involved in day to day stuff. I've heard interviews in which showrunners say their job involves making 500 snap decisions every day: "which fabric swatch should we use? is it worth an extra $80k to film in this location?" that kind of thing. I guess the software equivalent would be a product manager? In Kathleen Kennedy's case, as head of Lucasfilm, she's making big decisions on everything, but likely not micromanaging individual decisions. So, she'd be the CTO or equivalent.

jacobr1 4y ago
Showrunner isn't a job title though. Most likely the actual title on the resume would most likely be "Executive Producer".
- jollybean 4y ago
  Showrunner is definitely job. It's something you put on your resume. 'Executive Producer' is just a credit, it doesn't mean anything really. A powerful actor participating in a film, might get an exec prod. credit, not for doing anything at all.