So we've left the Malibu theater, where a grief-crazed Mel Gibson just offed a bunch of bad guys and unraveled a dark conspiracy, and we're headed for the frozen yogurt place, when a set of headlights appears in the rear view mirror. They're big enough and bright enough to belong to a car, but the chassis they're attached to looks more like a Christmas tree ball on steroids.

It's a Mini Cooper chopped down to the size of a riding lawn mower. There's a sheet of glass that's not so much a windshield as a hood ornament, front seats pulled from a John Deere tractor, and a license plate from Canada. Turns out it belongs to Jeff Gardner (Miniguy on Facebook) who says he's making a documentary about the economic downturn.

Tough times to be an indy film maker. And sleeping in his car to save cash? Not an option.