Ask a Former Assistant: Katie McNicol (Marc Platt Productions)

Katie McNicol

Development Executive, Marc Platt Productions

Interviewed by: Greta Simolke, Sales Coordinator at Fortitude International

From the astonishing success of films like Legally Blonde, La La Land, and The Little Mermaid, to the highly anticipated release of Wicked, Marc Platt Productions is a company with an unmistakable stamp on the entertainment industry. At the core of this powerhouse is Katie McNicol, Development Executive. 

Discover how Katie’s journey from theater-loving student to a top creative leader at one of Hollywood's most dynamic production companies unfolded, and learn her insights on how to succeed long-term in the industry. 

Katie, thank you so much for sharing your time with me today. First off, I’d love to know more about your background—where you grew up and what led you to this business. Did young Katie always see herself working in the film industry?

So, I'm from outside of New York, originally in Westchester. I did a lot of theater growing up in high school and in college, but I didn’t know anything about entertainment. My dad was a doctor, so I didn’t know that was even a career path someone could follow or what that entailed.

It wasn’t until I was in college at Harvard that I started to see it as a possibility. There was a really good program for people interested in working in entertainment. During your January term, you could go out to LA for a couple of weeks. They would bus us around to different agencies and companies, and we’d hear from alums about how they got into the business. The stories were all very similar - you have to move to LA, work at an agency or become an assistant to someone, and be patient. But there was a track.

I even had a mini internship at a below-the-line agency in Santa Monica for a week or two. That really opened my eyes to what a career in entertainment could look like and made it seem like an actual possibility. So, when I graduated, I made a split-second decision to move out to LA with a couple of friends. Two weeks later, I was working in the Gersh mailroom.

From there, I got on a desk working for two young talent agents, and to this day, it was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had in terms of the sheer volume and amount of work. After six months, I moved on to work for Bob Gersh, and I did that for about a year. It gave me a great eagle-eyed perspective on the business.

At that point, I knew I didn’t want to be an agent; I wanted to go into development and work with writers and directors. I got a job working at Robert Zemeckis’s company for Jackie Levine. They were actually in a bungalow right next to where I am now on the Universal lot. I loved that job and working for Jackie.

Then, a position opened up here at Marc Platt Productions to be Marc's creative assistant. He had just done Into the Woods, and since I come from a theater background, it felt like a really perfect fit for me, sensibility-wise. It took three months of applying, but I finally got the job, and I’ve been here ever since!

You graduated from Harvard, which of course, has a notoriously competitive acceptance rate. Do you feel that your experience at Harvard prepared you for the competitive nature of the entertainment industry?

Harvard is a really competitive place, even when you’re there. It was honestly one of the things I liked least about it. Just being a part of clubs or groups - whether it was theater, writing for the school newspaper, or whatever it was - wasn't easy. You couldn’t just show up and say, “Hey, I want to be involved.” There was always a long process to get into these groups and be accepted. 

So yes, in that sense, I think it prepared me for Hollywood. I didn’t feel like I was entering a territory I wasn’t already used to in some respects. 

If you’re someone who is high-achieving to some extent, you know you’re going to go to an agency, you’re going to work really hard, and it’s going to be difficult. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. You can keep going for a pretty long time if you know it’s leading to something you ultimately want to do, which is a lot of what this business is about.

When did you realize that you wanted to work in development? Was there a particular moment or project that solidified that for you?

I think it was when I was working as a talent assistant. I was definitely reading a lot of scripts, and I always had thoughts about them, but it wasn't my place or my job to have those thoughts in that particular environment. Of course, I considered whether the roles were right for our clients, but I had notes. I felt like, "Oh, I know how this could be better." That instinct and the desire to want to have those conversations made me think this could be the path for me.

I also had a good number of friends who were writers, and outside of work, those were the kinds of conversations we were having. It just felt natural. I had this inkling that being able to read scripts, talk to writers, and work together to make the best possible version of a story or a movie or TV show would fulfill me. And to that extent, working with directors toward the same goal as well.

Pretty quickly into my second job, I realized I was right. I had a couple of meetings with writers, and it just clicked. I loved it. It felt natural; it didn’t feel like work. I was always happy to go home and spend more time on it. I never felt like I was working, so it became a no-brainer from there on out.

Can you walk us through a typical day for you at Marc Platt Productions? 

Writers on projects we’re already working on are always moving through different stages, so I’m often talking to them about where they are in their process. Maybe it’s a notes call with someone, maybe it’s a general meeting with a writer whose new spec I just read, or maybe it’s working on a pitch that we’re going out with two or three weeks from now. On a busy day, I might be rushing to lunch with someone and then hurrying back for a Zoom meeting with someone else.

There are only so many meetings you can fit into a day, so when I’m not in meetings, I’m reading scripts and responding to emails. You’re always kind of playing catch-up - returning calls, handling emails, and putting out whatever fire happens to pop up that day. If there’s something in production, that’s a whole other set of daily activities. You’re constantly pushing things forward while also handling the emergencies that crop up every hour on projects that are about to shoot or are already shooting.

Do you believe that starting out at an agency is essential for finding success in development?

I mean, it's definitely the most straightforward path. If you have no other place to start, that's the place to go. But for everyone who's done it, there's someone who's done something else. At my company, for example, there are two of us who started at an agency, aside from Marc. But it's certainly not mandatory to work here now. I'm sure you've seen so many job listings that say "one to two years of agency or management company experience required," and that's because it can open a lot of doors you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get through.

I also think that working in the lit department at any agency is better than working in talent, BTL, or any other department—if you want to work in development. Not to say you can't find your way through those routes, but I worked in talent, and it was a bit of a struggle to get a development job with that background. Coming from a lit desk at a larger agency or management company puts you many steps ahead. You have this vast knowledge - knowing writers, directors, their work, their scripts, what they like, what they don't. You bring so much valuable information that’s so helpful to development.

That being said, it's by no means the only way to do it. So many people have found other routes. Ultimately, your first job will help you meet the contacts that will take you to the next place. It's about finding a position where you can meet as many people as possible. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing.

Marc Platt is a legendary producer, and I know you’ve gotten the chance to work on some iconic projects. Is there one in particular that stands out as a favorite, or one that you feel especially proud of being a part of?

There is a project I probably can’t talk about just yet that we just shot, and I am super, super excited about it. But among the things that are already out in the world, La La Land is definitely a standout.

My very first day at the company was a cast read-through for that movie. I got to watch the entire process from production through post-production and award season. At the time, I was Marc’s assistant, and that experience - from watching the day-to-day evolution of the project, seeing the dailies, and watching such a special project come to life, even from a bit of a distance - was incredible. To see it all culminate in something that I loved so much was just an amazing experience.

For those starting out as assistants in the industry, what advice would you offer? How can they excel and set themselves up for long-term success?

I think it’s important to meet as many people as possible. Everyone takes different routes, and while some people might leave the business, many stay and end up doing things they never expected when they first started. 

For instance, someone who wants to be a director might end up becoming a director, or they might find themselves in a different role like a production executive at a studio. You never know where someone will be five years from now.

Every relationship you make is valuable and could lead to potential collaborations in the future. It’s all about finding people you love working with and who support you. The key is to build and maintain those connections, as people often work with those they enjoy collaborating with. So, support your network, stick with those who support you, and everyone rises together in the end.