Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is my current walking on the treadmill watch. It is obviously based on the character created by Tom Clancy but the plot is not based on any of the books. I noticed Tom Clancy has producing credit and is named as a producer on screen. He died in 2013. I understand how the estate is still involved and profiting on his work. What is the purpose of naming him as a producer when he wasn’t around to produce anything?
I’m assuming the same answer would apply to Mace Neufeld who produced the original movies and died at 93 before season 3. He’s credited as producer on all episodes and at 93 I believe he was retired and didn’t actually do any work on the series.
I understand that rights to a work may still be attached to a property. I understand the estate can still be due money. But why the need for onscreen credit? It doesn’t say “produced by the estate of Tom Clancy.”
Specific contract language requiring Clancy’s credit as producer could have been established before his death and carried forward with any licensing of the character. Even if not, I don’t think there’s any incentive for his estate to request any different credit. The value to them and the other film producers is his name. Pointing out that he’s dead has no benefit in this instance. Perhaps there would be other times that taking advantage of a contributor’s death is advantageous, but not several years after the fact.
It could be that the actual living producers just want to capitalize on Tom Clancy’s name, or it could be what @TriPolar said, or a combination of the two.
If I understand correctly, seeing a person listed as a “producer” of a movie or TV series doesn’t necessarily tell you what, if anything, they specifically did to contribute to it.
He’s actually listed as an Executive Producer, which tells you even less about their contribution. It does tell you that they have or will be receiving money for whatever it is they did or didn’t do.
The show is literally called Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. If they want to capitalize on the name there it is. That’s a lot more prominent than when the producing credit is buried in the opening sequence.
Here is the opening sequence. The Tom Clancy producing credit happens at 47 seconds. It’s like the 6th named producer. I didn’t even noticed he was named producer until I started the 3rd season.
Gene Roddenberry and Stan Lee also have a bunch of posthumous executive producer credits. A lot of these projects were first proposed and signed off on years or decades ago when these folks were still alive. Their names would be attached to give the project legitimacy when it was shopped around to studios, networks, directors, and cast.
