To Live & Hustle in L.A.

In one scene, there's Caland talking deal points with an Indian moneyman willing to release the film so long as he can superimpose himself into the action to show himself making necrophilic love with the titular character. In another scene, there's Caland, discussing a distribution deal with a lovely, fledgling film distributor whose wealthy Mexican boyfriend has no clue about her past as a porn queen. And when frustration gets to him, he seeks spiritual guidance from one of the town's gurus, who promises inner peace and a positive cash flow so long as he keeps chanting a mantra and kissing a mystical, luck-producing Buddha head, which he rents for $2,000 a month. Thus, the title of the project. And another little joke: Even the guru proves to be a hustler as well--in one scene, he's caught playing a Catholic priest to charm another frustrated wannabe.

What's most impressive about Caland--who shows Hollywood Buddha on the wall of his tent to Industry insiders and will self-finance screenings for four weekends this fall in L.A.'s Laemmle Sunset 5 movie theater, hoping to spark Industry interest--is that he emerges from Hollywood Buddha seeming downright sweet, spiritual and stoic in his pursuit of the big enchilada. And indeed, response from several fronts has been quite good, including a good review in Variety and a very positive response at film festivals.

"What makes somebody suddenly graduate from being a Hollywood hustler to being in the 'right' group," Caland says, "is quite often only a matter of other peoples' perception. The few people who have very strong influence can help by saying something positive or completely bury somebody by saying something negative. The only self-protection is your personal conviction that what you're doing is right."

Also doing something right is 27-year-old Brian Herzlinger. His hustle: The New Jersey-born hopeful, laboring away as a production assistant and trailer editor, got so desperate this past summer that he begged and borrowed to shoot a digital diary, My Date with Drew, all about his real-life obsession to land romantic face time with his lifelong love, Drew Barrymore. Though Herzlinger's documentary is only about 20 minutes long--and though he had to return the camera to a chain store after "buying" it on a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy--it has generated so much buzz that the aspiring moviemaker's landed meetings with top agencies and studio executives, and there's talk of turning the concept into a reality TV series. Who knows, with the way things are going, it might even land him a date with the star herself.

Finally, consider Len Wiseman. The aspiring young filmmaker toiled in the art department on movies like Stargate and Independence Day, eventually achieving some success as a director of music videos and TV commercials. When he still couldn't land a major agent to help him muscle into the features market, he and some friends orchestrated a grassroots hype campaign about how he was the new genius over whom top agencies were fighting. Jump cut to Wiseman, within weeks, getting signed by ICM, which led to his selling one script to Disney and another--a vampire-vs.-werewolves saga called Underworld--to Lakeshore Entertainment. The latter, with Wiseman directing and Kate Beckinsale starring--and with a budget of $25 million--hit multiplexes across the country in September. What's more, Wiseman and Beckinsale are now engaged.

And that, friends, is how to do the hustle, Hollywood style.

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