About

Portal Story Co. is a story and script consultancy from Gerald Lillywhite and Keir Wilkins. With more than 30-years of combined experience working as writers and development professionals in the Australian film industry, Portal Story Co. has emerged from what they’ve learned about the complex, multi-faceted challenges standing between an idea, a green light, and a finished product everyone can be proud of.

Offering flexible, bespoke consulting services for writers, producers, and production companies, Portal Story Co. is about asking the right questions and finding the most compelling answers to unlock every story’s unique potential.

Details are important, but having been on both sides of the story feedback development process, Gerald and Keir feel strongly that too often story feedback becomes prematurely occupied with the minutia of execution when what best outcomes demand are sharp, game-changing dramaturgical perspectives holistically balancing and moulding a story’s big-picture.

This is where Gerald and Keir excel and what they are already sought out for by professional story-makers in 2026. They can’t wait to work with you, too!

the portal way

First things first… writing is hard. That’s okay, it’s meant to be! And besides, when great effort triumphs over difficulty and is rewarded with a story that clicks and a screenplay that seriously hums, well, in our opinion, there’s little in this life that’s better.

Each new draft of a screenplay is moment of possibility, an opportunity bought with a serious investment of time, energy, and money. But as much as we would wish otherwise, development is rarely a straight shot to the finish. All too often we get lost along the way.

Here at Portal, we believe that good efficient development navigation boils down to looking at a story in the right way at the right time.

This means cutting through the noise to identify a story’s underlying issues and pursuing the holistic improvements that will most transform a draft and ensure big steps forward during every phase of the development process.

It also means embracing the beautiful complexity of story! There is no one miracle formula, which is why the Portal Way prides itself on eschewing one-size-fits-all thinking and responding to the specific needs of each story on its own merits.

Finally, the Portal Way is an approach born out of our own longtime experiences on both sides of the feedback table. In starting Portal Story Co., we wanted to offer a service that responded to the frustrations we’ve felt navigating the development process. What frustrations are they? Glad you asked.

The Frustration: The process is rushed and surface level. The consultant has no skin in the game and therefore, isn’t engaging in a meaningful way.

Our Approach: We understand that little can be gained from a cold-read of a script and a set of written notes. Our process begins with getting to know the creative team and understanding the story they are trying to tell, the goals for the next stage of the development and the marketplace considerations that need to be factored into the process. We are committed to giving each project the time, investment and deep consideration it requires to take it to the next level.

The Frustration: The people giving me notes don’t speak the same “story language” as me.

Our Approach: We believe the best skill a developer can have is listening. Every creative thinks about story differently and there’s no point talking in terminology or methodologies that don’t make sense to the people who have to execute. We begin by listening to how the creative likes to work, from what school of thought they approach story, understanding why the story matters to them, and developing a shared language we can employ throughout the process.

The Frustration: Getting the “wrong” kind of notes.

Our Approach: There’s no point receiving scene notes or cosmetic patch ups when what is needed is help diagnosing fundamental, underlying issues that are causing problems. With a focus on central dramatic argument, flow of dramatic tension, and genre conventions, we will identify what isn’t working and why. Conversely, if the bones are strong but the scenes aren’t sparkling, our detailed scene work can help to elevate good to great.

The Frustration: Do the people telling me what’s wrong with my script know what they’re talking about?

Our Approach: We bring decades of combined experience to the table as writers, development executives, script editors and script producers. We have been in the trenches , we understand both the writer and producer perspective and we know how bloody hard the process can be. That’s why we are committed to finding the right process for you and your project.

Our Team

Gerald Lillywhite

Known as an analytical story mind with an aptitude for speaking clearly and holistically to what buried core concerns are most holding a story back, Gerald has 15-years experience working in development, both as an in-house development executive and as freelancer. This experience has taught him how to recognise what a development needs when, and how to bring out the unique strengths of a writer and project. Gerald has script edited the feature films RAMS and END TO END, and has consulted on many more. Gerald has also led TV-writer’s rooms, held script producer roles, and worked as script assessor for Screen Australia and ScreenWest. Gerald is based in Los Angeles.

Keir Wilkins

With a reputation for crafting complex characters and distinctive story worlds across a range of genres, Keir is an AWGIE-nominated writer, storyliner and script producer with credits including HEARTBREAK HIGH, SURVIVING SUMMER and TOTALLY, COMPLETELY FINE. His time working as part of the development team at Fremantle Australia gave him a deep sense of understanding of the relationship between story, audience, and marketplace, and shaped his passion for interrogating the “why” of a project, helping writers to identify and refine compelling central dramatic questions that can sustain both feature films and long-running television series alike. Keir is based in Melbourne.

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