Go Into The Story Interview: Jeff Portnoy

Go Into The Story Interview (Part 1): Jeff Portnoy

An extensive conversation with the Bellevue Productions literary manager.

“A manager generally spends the bulk of their time helping writers develop said materials so that they have the best chances of selling and getting produced.”

Jeff Portnoy is a literary manager at Bellevue Productions. Prior to joining Bellevue, Jeff worked at Creative Artists Agency, The Gotham Group, Resolution talent agency and Heretic Literary Management.

I met Jeff a year or so ago at a Black List Live! event in Los Angeles and we had a good discussion about the business. I made a mental note to get back to him for an interview. Then Amber Alexander, one of the 2018 Black List Feature Writers Lab participants, recently landed a writing gig adapting the horror novel “Snowblind” for Zoic Studios. When she emailed me to share the good news, she connected me with Jeff who is her manager.

Jeff and I ended up having about a 45-minute conversation covering a lot of territory which promises to be both interesting and helpful reading for Go Into The Story readers.

Today in Part 1 of a 5 part series, Jeff explains some key differences between what a manager does and what an agent does in the life of their clients.

Scott Myers: You’re originally from the East Coast.

Jeff Portnoy: Yes. I’m from a town called Westborough, Massachusetts.

Scott: How did you become interested in the entertainment business, growing up in Massachusetts?

Jeff: I got hooked on movies when I was a really little kid. I had an older brother who would rent really awesome movies that I had no business seeing at that age…we’re talking Kubrick and Lynch and Scorsese. I got exposed to some heavy stuff when I was really, really young. I remember seeing A CLOCKWORK ORANGE at, like, age 9 or 10. Had a huge impression on me. Plus, then there’s all the commercial stuff, all the guys like Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola. I got hooked on movies at a pretty young age. I was on a movie track my whole life.

Scott: Did you know you wanted get into agenting and managing?

Jeff: My first dream was to direct. After I graduated from college and moved out to LA, the dream started to segue into writing. Then it segued again into wanting to be either a producer or a creative executive. On my path to pursuing that goal, I landed at a management/production company and learned about management and just got hooked on it and of course I also have aspirations to produce and have recently begun producing but only very selectively and only on projects that I develop with clients from scratch and which are usually based on an idea that I brought to the writer or an idea that I cracked with the writer.

Scott: You’ve also been an agent too, right?

Jeff: Yeah, I worked at Resolution talent agency for a year‑and‑a‑half.

Scott: This question always comes up. I’m sure you get it from outsiders. What’s the difference between being an agent and a manager?

Jeff: In some cases, there is no difference. In other cases, there’s a big difference. It really depends on the personalities and the styles of the agents and managers in question. An agent should be spending the bulk of their time networking and fostering relationships so that when their client’s material is ready, whether it be a spec screenplay or an original pilot or pitch, they can shop said materials to producers, studio executives, buyers/financiers with the goal of getting those materials produced.

A manager generally spends the bulk of their time helping writers develop said materials so that they have the best chances of selling and getting produced. So, whereas, on any given day, I might spend 1–3 hours on a call or in a meeting with a writer going through their screenplay/pilot/pitch giving them notes as to where I think it could improve, an agent might spend that same amount of time making dozens of networking calls, asking studios execs what open writing assignments they’re trying to fill or asking TV execs what shows are staffing and what level writer they’re looking to hire and sending samples for said TV and feature assignments.

So, typically, agents specialize in finding their clients assignments and shopping/selling their clients’ materials and managers specialize in helping their clients develop their materials and giving their clients general career advice/guidance. In order to do this, managers typically have fewer clients so that they can dedicate more time to development, which is very time consuming. There’s always going to be some crossover and by that I mean agents will often have some notes for their clients’ materials and a manager should also be networking and trying to sell their clients’ materials and finding their clients jobs.

I find that the best manager‑agent dynamic is when your agent dedicates 75 percent of his or her time to networking and fostering relationships so that when a piece of material is ready, they can get it out there and sell it and/or find the client an assignment or get them staffed and 25 percent of their time to development. Conversely, the manager should dedicate 75 percent of the his or her time to development, i.e. helping the writer vet and find ideas, giving them notes on multiple drafts of an outline, treatment, script, pitch, etc., and 25 percent of their time to networking/selling/staffing/assignment-finding. The agent has the right to say, “I have a few notes” and the writer should seriously consider implementing those notes. The manager conversely has the right to say, “I just sat with so and so. He’s looking for this such and such producer or director or studio executive. They want this exact thing.” The agent might say, “Well, go ahead and send it.” So while there’s some crossover, the agent and manager are spending the bulk of their time doing different things. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Some managers operate more like agents and some agents operate more like managers and it’s not uncommon for a writer to be repped by a major management company that operates more like a small agency and a small agency that operates more like a larger management company. If a writer has a manager who used to be an agent and operates no differently than they did when they worked at the agency, and if they also have an agent then, in essence, they have two agents. Thus, if the writer wants or needs objective, third-party feedback and help developing, they will need to team up with a producer or turn to their writers’ group. As great as writers groups are, no one will be as honest with you about your material than a manager. Friends, family and acquaintances will tell you what you want to hear not what you need to hear. Moreover, they are not as incentivized to see you succeed as managers who only make money if the writer makes money. Managers and agents are also more in tune with what the market is looking for and what resonates with producers/studio/network execs etc. Other writers in a writers group are focused on their own careers and spend most of their time writing. Managers/agents are talking to producers and execs and finding out what the industry is looking for. So for many reasons, a writer should want a manager to help them with development and not depend on other writers or a writers group.

Scott: Is it fair to say because you came at the movie business with an interest in directing and then writing, that your shift over to management was more because of your creative interests?

Jeff: For sure, yeah. I worked at a management company and then I worked at an agency so I got to see what both sides were like and found that the management side is typically more creative. Again, there are exceptions but, in general, a manager is expected to give creative input than an agent so I chose to go on that direction.

Someone once told me the shorthand way to think of it is this: Agents wear suits. Managers wear blue jeans. As Jeff notes, the responsibilities and points of focus vary from rep to rep, but generally speaking managers are more involved in the creative life of their clients, agents more about deal-making.

Tomorrow in Part 2, Jeff gives his take on Hollywood’s current obsession with nostalgia and the challenge of trying to set up original stories in this business climate.

Twitter: @Jeff_Portnoy.

For nearly 200 Go Into The Story interviews with screenwriters, filmmakers, and Hollywood insiders, go here.