Brittany Portman is a filmmaker who recently wrapped production on ‘Hooked’. We got to chat with Brittany Portman about ‘Hooked’, her best and worst dating experience, her favorite part of the production experience, and more!
upfrontY: When did you find your passion for film and television?
Brittany Portman: I found my passion for film and television when I was a teenager. I use to be an actress for musical theatre and I did some background work in film and TV. When I was a background role for movies Bratz and Robosapien: Rebooted, seeing how involved the producers were made me curious to learn more about what they actually do. I explored that curiosity in college when I majored in film studies. I took a film production class where I had to make a short film. I produced, directed, cast, and edited this short and that’s when I realized that I loved producing even more than acting.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about ‘Hooked’ and your inspiration behind it?
Brittany Portman: ‘Hooked’ is based off of true stories of my awkward dating experiences in college. The short I made for my film production class was based on my most recent encounter: I met a guy in the library and he invited me up for tea. Within ten minutes, he asked clothes on or off. By far, this was the most bizarre encounter I’ve ever had. Filming this experience and showing it to an audience was a great way to see people’s reactions. Once I saw their reactions, I knew that this was worth exploring as a bigger project.
upfrontNY: This film was written and produced by you. What was the writing process like for you?
Brittany Portman: The writing process was fun because I was writing based on my own experiences. Some of the dialogue was taken verbatim from real life. If I had written the show when these things were happening, it would’ve been more difficult because it was so fresh. Now that it’s been several years, I could write it with more humor and it was very cathartic.
upfrontNY: You decided to create a show based on your own dating life. What has been one of your best and worst dating experiences?
Brittany Portman: In terms of relating it to Hooked, the best dating experience was going to a Broadway show. That was shown in the short film. However, there were consequences, which became one of the worst dating experiences of my life. The real guy was a major player and not an honest person. Just like in the short film, the real guy also only wanted to pursue me just to have sex instead of an actual relationship. In real life as well, I immediately stopped talking to him and luckily dodged a bullet.
upfrontNY: Your short film received great feedback and won awards. You decided to take this a step further to shoot another pilot instead of releasing it online. Can you tell us about how important this step has been for you?
Brittany Portman: This step was incredibly important to me for several reasons. Five years ago or so, web series was a novelty. There were maybe a couple hundred or less web series online. Nowadays, there are thousands of web series on the internet. I didn’t want my project to get lost in the saturation of web series. That’s a big reason why it isn’t online. I decided to shoot another pilot because the story has been much more developed. The film last year was about Leah’s experiences in college with dating, mean girls, and social awkwardness. The question we always got asked was why was Leah so awkward. As a result, we decided to go back and shoot another episode, showing Leah’s background.
upfrontNY: What advice do you have for others who want to take their current projects to the next level?
Brittany Portman: My advice is to keep going! Talk about your project to others and sometimes you may meet someone who can help you out even with an introduction.
upfrontNY: You shot a new pilot with a great cast in the Catskills. What was your favorite part of this experience?
Brittany Portman: My favorite part of the experience was seeing the new cast members bring the show to life. We had such an incredible cast including Jon Lovitz, Catherine Curtin, Andy Karl, Eric Close and more! These are actors that I look up to and was always a fan of their work. Seeing them up there made me so proud and honored that they wanted to be a part of the show and putting so much passion and great work into it. On top of it, they always made me laugh.
upfrontNY: What is it like to see your writing come to life?
Brittany Portman: Seeing my writing come to life is surreal. It was exciting to see it during filming because I loved seeing the actors perform the parts in their own way and making it original. What made the process really special was when it was shown in film festivals. I was filled up with butterflies when I saw ‘Hooked’ on the screen for the first time. Hearing people laugh at the jokes and sympathizing with the main character Leah meant a lot to me. At the end of the screening, there was a Q and A and I went up along with other filmmakers to discuss ‘Hooked’. When I was up there, I was super excited and thrilled to be up there talking about doing what I love.
upfrontNY: 2020 is around the corner. What are your hopes and goals for the new year?
Brittany Portman: My goals are to keep producing more original work, educate people with my work, and hopefully inspire others to pursue their dreams. The hope for ‘Hooked’ is to soon see it on tv.
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