Nowhere Near Hollywood is the fifth major instalment of the Max Zajack series. Familiar to thousands of readers in France, Belgium, Switzerland and the United Kingdom from the earlier novels, this time around Max, after years of struggle to get his writing recognised, decides impulsively — and unwisely — to try his hand at acting in order to get his career off the ground. If anything can bring him attention, he tries to convince his skeptical and long-suffering girlfriend, Gayle, it's recognition as a performer. After all, the most powerful man in the world — the President of the United States — is himself a flopped B actor. Shot through with Max's characteristic black humour, Nowhere Near Hollywood traces his long, wacky journey through the fringes of the film and theater industries in New York City, from playing a Native American pitching hot dogs, to being asked to drop his trousers at a movie audition, to his heartbreaking near-misses as a playwright and screenwriter.