Studios give movie producers long-sought credit

Movie producers are getting their own seal of approval with the blessing of the major studios.

All six of the major studios have agreed to a certification process designed to ensure that only those who actually produce movies get the recognition, the Producers Guild of America announced Thursday.

Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures this week agreed to a long-running effort by the PGA to establish a “produced by” credit for producers whose work has been certified by the PGA.

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The “Produced by” credit and producer’s name will be followed by the distinctive mark: “p.g.a.” during the end credits and opening credits of the film. The so-called producers mark indicates that the credited producer performed a majority of the producing duties on the film.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures had previously signed on to the certification process.

Thursday’s announcement culminates a decade-long effort by the PGA to implement a certification process to address the problem of too many people claiming to be producers on movies.

“We are extremely gratified and proud that the Guild has come so far with this important initiative, and we applaud both our studio and industry colleagues for their support, “ said PGA Presidents Mark Gordon and Hawk Koch. “People often talk about ‘historic moments,’ but this is truly that: From this day forward producers, studios and audiences will know for certain that those who are credited with the ‘p.g.a.’ mark actually did the work of a producer.”

A producer need not be a member of the PGA to be eligible for certification. The producers mark is given only to producers who request it and are certified through the PGA’s process.

The process for acquiring a “p.g.a.” certification is comparable to the arbitration process implemented by the PGA during awards season. Studios will provide a Notice of Producing Credits to the PGA when postproduction begins. The certification is modeled on the guidelines established by the Producers Code of Credits, which was initiated in 2004.

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