Full Producers Roundtable: Tom Ackerley, Natalie Portman, Ed Guiney, George C. Wolfe & More

Christine Vachon ('Past Lives'), Ed Guiney ('Poor Things'), George C. Wolfe ('Rustin'), Natalie Portman ('May December'), Scott Sanders ('The Color Purple') and Tom Ackerley ('Barbie') join THR in Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter. The producers talk about the best piece of advice they've received, reading a script for the first time and the movie that made them want to be a filmmaker in this updated roundtable format hosted by Yvonne Orji. Shot on the Sony Burano.
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Full Producers Roundtable: Tom Ackerley, Natalie Portman, Ed Guiney, George C. Wolfe & More
The Hollywood Reporter
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[@illuvattar]

How about a new roundtable with studio executives? That one was really great back in 2020. Felt like different mob bosses going to a sitdown.

[@Nancy-sf2pl]

I don’t think this year would be the best year to do it because of the writers strike and the actors strike and the way the studio executives responded to it

[@AlwaysOn2Sumthing]

@@Nancy-sf2plexactly. i feel like studio execs will likely be much less open and accessible going forward

[@camilagaviria]

Tom and Margot produced two of the biggest movies of the year, Barbie and Saltburn.

[@thecircleclub_]

Producers and writers really are the foundation of storytelling and you can really see that in this years’ top films. You can see amongst these movies that storytelling was the forefront of these projects before anything else and that’s ultimately why they’re such a success.

[@yinyangpodcast2432]

What are you talking about, apart from some hits this was one of the worse years for Hollywood, maybe ever.

[@thecircleclub_]

@@yinyangpodcast2432 expand your pallet there was a lotttt of great movies especially ones that weren't blockbuster.

[@jacobgellert4298]

Loved Mia Galuppo as a host. She genuinely cared about fostering a safe and interesting conversation, which is important to note because I think hosts sometimes try to catch people off guard with overly personal questions

[@susiewhy]

she's so great!!

[@jeanniewarren4643]

I hadn't realized until a few years ago how long some of the movies we see had been in production, decades for some of them. These people have conviction and vision.

[@AA-qb7ni]

Now that I know Tom is Margot's husband, I can't stop thinking about that story she told on Ellen 😂😂😂

[@Elena-cq4hk]

Yeah that story is hilarious 😂😂

[@ilovehunterschafer153]

@@lox7923 i think they're talking about when margot said she met ellen and her wife portia at the hotel she was staying at with her husband on their honeymoon

[@mattwalker786]

@@lox7923 They were at a really small resort in Bora Bora and Margot told Tom to put on different shorts for their workout because his were really tight and she could see the whole outline of his bulge, but he said it wasn't a big deal cause no one would be at the gym... they get to the gym and there is one person running on a treadmill... Ellen.

[@Nancy-sf2pl]

@@mattwalker786you forgot to mention Barack Obama 😂

[@hellobookss]

I was thinking about that story the whole time I was watching this lol

[@poke1855]

I like how Margot Robbie could have been here as well since she's also a producer on barbie. Natalie Portman could have also been in the actress table because she was also in the film MayDecember.

[@Simonesayshi]

Emma Stone too, she was a producer on Poor Things as well.

[@rauchproduction8706]

Being written as producer and actually doing the job of a producer is a different thing. High level actors usually are written as producers to simply get bigger piece of the pie but without actually taking much responsibilities of what producer usually has. Therefore having here the real producers is the only way to do it.

[@nkechi4635]

​@@rauchproduction8706 Yeah but in this case it was Margo's production company and it was her pitching to Mattel, so I'd say she probably did a fair amount t of actual producer work

[@blackguyofthesouth2161]

Yea, but this isnt one of those cases ​@@rauchproduction8706

[@kaichen04]

Margot was the producer of Barbie and several films, including films she didn't even star in, like Promising Young Woman and Saltburn. Tom Ackerley is her husband and only produces films for her production company. He's the one ridding her coattails, not the opposite.@@rauchproduction8706

[@emmanuelokoye1575]

Not the Ozempic Doctors! I'm cackling, that was hilarious.

[@coreyromberg]

I loved George C. Wolfe’s comparison of theater vs film and leaning forward vs leaning back

[@SamBryans128]

Christine Vachon is such a legend!

[@RyanWrightfilms]

Is there going to be a Cinematographer roundtable?

[@rockroll5002]

just started the video and the moderator seems so warm and invested. love it.

[@saraamw]

i love this roundtable, i think it' was the best.

[@AST-erisked]

Ok, some people fail to understand that schedules and agents exist, so not every person of every movie is available. This happens every year. Also its weird that if you dont consider a movie a "Big contender" for awards, its "taking a space"... do you care for movies or just awards?

[@jaxb.8351]

My only complaint is that this round table was not long enough! 😢

[@laurahgp]

I really wish a producer from Killers of the Flower Moon had been included in the roundtable 😭 it’s a masterpiece

[@izabellagurdon50]

This is such a beautiful discussion and gives such a nuanced and fascinating look into a producers mind

[@FramesPerSecond]

I definitely lean forward when a film is working lmao

[@charxgrace2995]

Feels like the producers are all pretty thoughtful introverts who ramble endlessly about their passion, film, when they get the chance.

[@DelliCan]

The moderator is so smart! I liked the way she turned the comments around. It felt that she is invested in the conversation. That's my take away...

[@jasoneisener]

Would love to see you do this with indy film producers.

[@Largo3point0]

I’m loving how much the moderator is “into” the stories with her reactions. Ha ha.

[@deepaksrinivasmondal]

Yeah! She's so expressive!

[@nellielaroy]

Tom!

[@hadeel2530]

Of course Margot would marry someone with BDE energy…

[@itstheboyaj]

Love Yvonne’s intros to these roundtables. She’s really charming and lowkey gorgeous

[@itstheboyaj]

@davidlovesfilm well she’s clearly promoting the hotel that sponsors these roundtables. It’s not that deep

[@pietiebeyers5237]

As an actor I'm genuinely interested, do people still watch movies?

[@WatchTheClipsFilm-Tv]

Can anyone please explain the how producers work. As in do they put money into the project and that’s what makes them a producer? Or are they selected by the production company to handle the day to day things leading to the film/tv show being made? Executive producer and producer are the 2 jobs in the industry I really get confused about

[@rosalindasculturalcabana8581]

It's an unusual situation. The role of producers is extremely flexible and can include many different defintions.

[@benjamindover4337]

It's all about money. And since they are taking that financial risk, they can pretty much get involved in any way they want. Some want to genuinely help by getting on the phone and making business arrangements. Others just want to buy their way into a powerful position to boss people around. Tom, for instance, became a producer when he married Margot and suddenly had a bunch of money to throw around. While Natalie has worked in the business for decades and knows it inside out.

[@zzga7]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@benjamindover4337I dont think it’s fair for you to diminish Tom’s work. He started his career as an assistant director before meeting margot… thats actually how they met, so yeah, they started a bussiness together among other friends and they work great together because is something they’re both passionate. I dont see anything wrong with this 🤷‍♀️ At this point it really looks like some people just don’t like him because he got married to their celebrity crush. How childish.

[@benjamindover4337]

@ZamiaAmyuni I don't disagree with your statements. I think he got lucky. But then, in all likelyhood, so too did everyone on this panel. Naturaly people will feel enviousous of his success. Anyway, I'd rather have Tom as my producer rather than most others, since he did spend a lot of time on set and likely respects the expertise of those he's working with.

[@honeymoon1115]

Natalie I love you

[@haro2830]

Natalie didn’t speak until the final 10 minutes?

[@aprilfrost490]

I'm a huge fan of these round tables and I've watched pretty much every single one. Just want to give a little feedback though- the addition of the new host lady at the beginning and very end is annoying and confusing. In another context, she seems like a fun host. But for the roundtables, not so much.

[@deepaksrinivasmondal]

Agreed. It is just tonally jarring. Doesn't make any sense.

[@MsTriangle]

What is Tom's accent?

[@MrSchwan2121]

British I think

[@donrumata1006]

sufficient accent... :)

[@russeluc]

Australian

[@jonedepth9164]

Upper-class southern English

[@MsTriangle]

@@russeluc he is British

[@Inayahinam]

Was not expecting Margot Robbie's husband to have *that* voice...thought he'd sound more Ladd-ish less public school

[@carmichaelk.5214]

what's a dye-rector?

[@HlifeRomania91]

Where is Lacey?

[@martinkiss3333]

No oppenheimer no killers of the flower moon? 😅

[@user-lu4ob5qp4t]

Lean on back in theartres

[@Kiccmovekory]

😮

[@seerpou]

why isnt margot robbie here? shes the producer too

[@lille-mary1517]

Perhaps she wanted to let her husband and producing partner have a stage for discussing the work on his own. Or she was busy and asked if he could fill the ”Barbie” seat instead of her.

[@nellielaroy]

Margot participated in actress roundtable. Tom in producers

[@Nancy-sf2pl]

Movies have multiple producers. They can’t all be here. She was already on the actress roundtable so it only makes sense to have someone else on the team here. They deserve to be seen for their work too.

[@maden341]

Margot Robbie doesn't need to be there because Tom Ackerley is also a producer for Barbie. Tom, Robbie and another producer setup a production company Tom has a lot of experience behind the scenes of the film industry

[@Mirrori]

Why isn't Emma Thomas here?

[@lille-mary1517]

I have a friend that books for similar productions. And it is not unusual for him that a person you would like to have attend. Simply can not because they are off doing work that make it impossible to attend at that date and time. Or some actually say no beacuse they are not comfortable in settings like these. They simply don’t want to do it. Perhaps that can be the case here.

[@vickyvanadium]

It fun to see bunch of hyprocrities specially Tom Ackerly talk about caring about anything but Money.

[@Jgoat-2025]

Natalie the most beautiful girl in the history of the earth

[@MagnitudeReviews]

Imagine having a producer roundtable for 2023 in film and not have Margot Robbie be a part of the conversation. I understand she was in the actress one, but she has a lot more that she could say as a producer and her body of work as a producer at that table.

[@rosalindasculturalcabana8581]

All her producing credits are with him or someone else as I understand it. She's an intelligent woman who understands the dynamics of film, unlike too many people outside the industry who think they know!

[@Nancy-sf2pl]

She is not the only persons who produced it. The other producers deserve to be seen and heard for their hard work too. Everything she has produced, she has produced with Tom.

[@jinnimoo]

Given that she recently said she wants to step back from acting and focus on producing films for a while, we'll no doubt see more from Margot the producer. Her company already has a first look deal with warner and multiple nominations, heck they even won the recent producer of the year award.

[@movieace1295]

It blows my mind that he is married to Margot! He's just a normal looking dude! :P

[@Nancy-sf2pl]

What did you expect him to look like?

[@movieace1295]

@@Nancy-sf2pl IDK at Margots level?

[@lulyabeyene7316]

Looks isn’t everything…

[@minocious8344]

I find him very hot, you're talking as if he looked like Ariana's boyfriend

[@rosalindasculturalcabana8581]

Clearly you underestimate women.

[@manuelortmann]

While at Harvard University, Portman became the assistant to Alan M. Dershowitz and significantly contributed to his book 'The Case for Israel.' Never Support NATALIE AGAIN!

[@zotter1235]

Literally!!

[@mattwalker786]

Wow really groundbreaking analysis - Israeli woman doesn't support the destruction of her country... someone call the press!

[@Tatopotatoo]

It's interesting how Taylor Swift/ Beyonce and their movies werent brought up

[@buckminsterfullerene2149]

This reeks of liberals.

[@donrumata1006]

"i got on to a Harry Potter set [...] and that's when i went that's what i'm going to do and i was 12-13" What a pretentious man!

[@MsTriangle]

Barbie is the most overrated crap this year.

[@izzoaum]

Thank you

[@michaelquinn7710]

Portman is trash!!!

[@lilmilontiktok]

So this dude gets to be at all these cool places just because he’s married to margot?

[@bluefrenchorn]

they own a company together

[@AA-qb7ni]

He was a producer before he met Margot. They met on a film. You don't need to sound bitter lol

[@rosalindasculturalcabana8581]

No he started as crew and went through the production hierarchy so he probably knows more about the process of line production and more than she does.

[@DannyJoltz]

First AD's and Producers probably have the toughest jobs in a production. There's no just "being at cool places" out of nowhere on a movieset

[@rosalindasculturalcabana8581]

No, because he's made his way up through the ranks of production and the role is hugely variable.

[@777TRUTHSPOKEN]

THE LORD WILL NOT HOLD THOSE GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN EXODUS 20 7 KJV

[@777TRUTHSPOKEN]

MATTHEW 15:11 KJV THAT WHICH COMETH OUT OF THE MOUTH DEFILETH A MAN