MAX IN FILMLAND – A smart and lively tale of misadventure in 1970s Euro-Hollywood It is Hollywood 1979 when Maxwell Rider, 26, arrives in LA from the East to break into filmmaking. Having gambled his law-firm earnings on a couple small films, Max is introduced to Alex des Prairies, an international filmmaker with more charm than credentials. Raised in wealthy homes where his mother worked as governess, and shut out of his aristo-father’s life, Max is seduced by Alex’s circle. With tough New Yorker Arnie Fain, Max launches Filmland Pictures, and agrees to produce Alex’s dubious film project. He falls for Susie Grass, an elusive heiress chasing a played-out goldmine. Max’s friends lead him down tangled paths, and he must scramble to avoid an FBI sting of Hollywood. When an actor is seriously injured on the set, Max summons all his wits and ingenuity to save the actor’s life – and forge a link to his own integrity. Evoking LA’s vibrant Euro-culture, the story draws upon the influx of Europeans to LA in the 1970s, the collapse of film financing in the 1980s and the FBI's obscure (and unsuccessful) sting of Hollywood.