First lesson of screenwriting class: It's all about business

Tim Casey cues up the opening scene of “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” with the writers’ commentary on.

“This is a screenwriting course in and of itself,” he tells his class at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

“It’s rubbish though, isn’t it?” asks Chris Worth, one of the students.

“It’s business,” Casey counters. “You want to get into it for art, God bless you.”

The 3 ½-month-old TV and movie writers strike may finally be reaching its end in Hollywood — the writers talked over a contract proposal last week and may be back to work this week.

Here in Colorado Springs, business as usual was the subject of Casey’s first film class of the semester. “The main thing I want you guys to learn is that you have to know the rules before you break the rules,” Casey said.

So, before the class covered characters arcs and action revealing character Casey covered first-day grosses, tracking boards, pay-orplay deals and minimum-business agreements.

“They all desperately want to find the next ‘Wedding Crashers,’” Casey said of studio executives, “but they’re scared to say ‘Yes.’”

Writers need to understand where execs are coming from and give them a vision they can run with.

“When you go in and you make that pitch, they’ve got to see that movie poster in their minds,” Casey said. “If they see that poster, they know they can market it.”

This approach might seem like a cynical introduction to a field famously filled with dreamers, but Casey said a screenwriter has to understand the financial realities of movie making if they ever hope to get a film made.

“If you had $50 million and somebody brought your script to you, would you spend your $50 million on it?” he asked.

Most of the 10 students in the class said they weren’t following the strike closely, and several said they were hoping to avoid ever making a Hollywood-style movie.

“It’s a cutthroat business,” Tom Kennedy said.

“I do not aspire to Hollywood, I never have,” Heather Berryman said.

Still, it never hurts to know what you’re up against.

“That’s why I’m taking this class,” Berryman said. “It’s mostly what he’s going to tell me about the business.”

Casey has been writing screenplays for 20 years and is still waiting to see his work up on the big screen, despite selling several scripts and developing many Tinseltown ties. His day job is with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, but his heart is in Hollywood.

“For lack of a better word, it’s my hobby,” he said. “Writing is what I do.”

He’s battle-hardened after years of frustration, but not a pessimist.

“The only people that fail in Hollywood are the people that give up,” Casey said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0275 or awineke@gazette.com