British film producer Robert Watts, 86, has died, his family announced on Oct. 1. Watts began his career as a production manager and assistant director in the 1960s (Darling, You Only Live Twice, 2001: A Space Odyssey). He worked his way up to producer, working often with Lucasfilm: The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Watts also worked with Steven Spielberg on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. Watts described the jobs and travails of a producer: “My job with the help of the heads of department is to oversee and be responsible for the running of the show. All of us, every crew member, is there for one reason, to help the director tell a story. When shooting is complete, the editor, who has been on for the full run of shooting, now takes pride of place. My job is easier now as the crew is quite small. The composer joins and we organise the music recording sessions. Finally the first print of the finished film arrives. So my job is to coordinate these various stages of production. In other words, if the shit hits the fan, it hits me first.”
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