Scotty Mullen spoke to students at school about his career on Oct. 9 after being in town for his 25-year-reunion.

“I am a casting director, and I’m a screen writer,” Mullen said. “I work with a lot of different people, but I mostly work with The Asylum that makes “Sharknado” and “Z Nation” and we also do 24 movies a year.”

After graduating, Mullen moved to Los Angeles in 2005, and his first movie was produced in 2014.

“My main thing is screen writing,” Mullen said. “I’ve had eight produced movies. My eighth movie will come out next month. It’s called “Nazi Overlord” that stars Tom Sizemore.”

While talking to attendees in the school, Mullen spoke about the need to be completely committed to the career, to save money before moving and the need to be strong when facing rejection.

“I was always writing, but my break didn’t come until I made my decision that I was going to pursue it 150 percent and really make the sacrifices of getting up every morning even when I didn’t want to and writing for about one to two hours,” Mullen said.

Instructor Codi Fenwick attended with some of her Drama students who wanted to learn more about a potential career path.

“My Drama class is on a gold day, so it made it impossible for him just to come speak to my class,” Fenwick said. “I also thought perhaps Forensic students or kids not in Drama would be interested in coming. Brenda Meder from the Hays Arts Council sent an e-mail out and then Mr. Underwood directed it towards me. The Hays Arts Council held a reception for him on Sunday.”

Mullen said he enjoys his job and appreciates the teachers he had while in high school.

“I’m very grateful for Hays High because I had a lot of people here who believed in me,” Mullen said. “The teachers you have out here, they came out to Hays because they love teaching and love the students. That’s the biggest takeaway. I’m very, very grateful for my time at Hays High.”

19ibraun@usd489.com