I hear my colleague talking about feature films alone, and I understand since he directs feature films. However, we are discussing many other things here such as televised magazines, variety programs or reality television shows. Often, there is no scriptwriter. There may also be other directors who come in at the end of the development of the work. I'm saying that to highlight the fact that there are different types of works, and let's not forget that all of them fall under the “audiovisual work” definition.
Often, the producer starts the development process, whether we're talking about a variety show or a drama program. In that last case, he will work with the author, of course, who will have rights from his script, since this will be a distinct cinematographic work and he will be able to exploit it on the publishing side. Producers do not necessarily have all those rights.
The producer takes part in the development of the work and there are discussions, exchanges. We're talking here about dramas, but think about variety shows or TV magazines; the producer knows what the broadcaster wants, and he is the one who stays in contact with the latter and pilots the development of that work.
The director comes into the process at the production stage. By establishing and negotiating the production budget, we determine the scope of the work and its category: long series, long series of 30 or 60 minutes, filmed outside or not, and so on. All of these decisions will relate to the very content of the work, to its vision.
To say today that we have no impact on the creation of the work would be totally false. In the case of a full-length film, I recognize that the development of the work may be somewhat different. However, that is not the case every time, and we cannot ignore and not mention the involvement of the producer in the creative process.