Abstract

The essay offers a discussion of the clichés, the stereotypes, and more in general the discourses regarding the role and profession of the film producer, as well as their (self)representations, as proposed by the trade press. The analysis will focus in particular on two trade presses, Araldo dello spettacolo and Cinema d’oggi, which devote particular attention to production-related issues, advocating the demands of trade associations such as ANICA – of which Cinema d’oggi is the official magazine. By establishing a dialogue between these materials and other sources – in particular audiovisual sources, from newsreels to Rai programmes – the essay investigates the rhetorical strategies that aimed to recognize and legitimize the role of the producer. The article will follow a diachronic path along the time span of the Prin research project Modes, Memories and Cultures of Italian Film Production (1949-1976). It will investigate not only the discursive practices and the imagery concerning the film producer but also the ways in which this professional role has been understood and redefined in accordance with the major transformations that have affected the history of the film and media industry in Italy.