THERE’S A MAXIM in Hollywood that films are not made, but are forced into existence. “Back on Book,” a comedy screenplay about the car dealership business written by Ryan Katzenbach, has all the back-story to prove the maxim true. And it culminated in last week’s successful “One Night Only” staged reading starring Ed Asner at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank owned by veteran director/producer Garry Marshall (“Pretty Woman” and “Happy Days”). Why a staged reading? You have to know a little about the modest Katzenbach, a self-described Hollywood “rookie,” to understand.

A transplant from Ohio, Katzenbach worked at many auto dealers in California for over 18 years in a creative capacity. He had the opportunity to meet and work with many types of auto dealership people, from the stereotypical salespeople to those with hearts of gold and a savvy business mind. From his firsthand experience, he shared, “I had a cast of very delicious characters even before I had plot to put them in. I began stitching together personal experiences, real stories I had been told, and so forth, to create the fabric.”

After the first draft was completed in 2003, he met veteran actor Ed Asner who became the project’s “godfather.” Katzenbach attributes much of the project’s momentum to Asner. “Ed’s made a lot of phone calls, sent a lot of emails, and done a lot of work to help the project along, and I am just in awe of Ed's loyalty and friendship.” In fact, if it hadn’t been for the Facebook campaign that landed a “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig for Betty White (Asner’s “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” co-star), the comedienne would have been reunited at the Falcon with her pal. Casting was an ongoing, up-to-the-last minute process. Asner’s efforts helped fill the cast with John Heard (“Home Alone”), Ross Benjamin via his father Richard and Alex Martin (Dean Martin’s grandson) via Ross Benjamin.

Katzenbach, who also directed this reading with a stellar cast including “Seinfeld’s” infamous “Soup Nazi” (Larry Thomas), admits to being intimidated early on by Asner, “a guy who’s won 5 Golden Globes, 7 Emmys. He found that challenge lessened because “Ed is an actor's actor… a true artist. Directing Ed was a breeze because Ed comes in knowing his character, and bringing things to the table that I never even thought of…directing Ed and John on stage was a surreal moment for me.”

Even with Asner’s commitment, the process left Katzenbach with a fair share of obstacles. “I think people, especially people new to the business, think that they write a script, send it to Paramount Pictures and receive checks in the mail and fame overnight. It's a difficult process, and only people who are stupid, like myself, stick around for the abuse and rejection year after year. So you have to force it. You have to SHOW them. With a staged reading, it gives you the opportunity to show Hollywood and convince them WHY this is a great potential movie, and why it deserves to be made. The best way to do that is to hold an industry event and let these people see, firsthand, how an audience can connect. It's a very slow and frustrating process, and my story is certainly no different from 100 or 100,000 others like it.”

For Katzenbach, “The event was terrific.” He was thrilled to see actors Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss supporting their son Ross. “There were also a lot of casting agents, managers, directors and producers in the audience, too.” He added that it’s “full steam ahead. Lainie Kazan has signed on with a letter of intent for one of the lead parts…and we're just going to continue to push, cheerlead and promote until this film gets made. I'm looking at financing this as an indie project. I am not going to give-up. “BoB” is going to get made.”

In the meantime, Katzenbach and his producing partner, Diana Maiocco, are finishing up a docudrama “Shattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders” and anticipate a fall 20.