Hollywood (Bukowski novel)
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Charles Bukowski |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiographical novel |
| Publisher | Black Sparrow Press |
Publication date | 1989 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 248 |
| Preceded by | Ham on Rye |
| Followed by | Pulp |
Hollywood is a 1989 novel by Charles Bukowski which fictionalizes his experiences of adapting his novel into the film Barfly. It is narrated in the first person.
Plot
Adopting the stylized alter-ego, Henry 'Hank' Chinaski, a character used in previous novels, this book relates his experiences of working with a director, finding financial backing, losing financial backing, writing the screenplay and finally completing the film, Barfly. The seemingly preposterous exchanges and occurrences within these pages leave the reader with the conviction that Hank Bukowski's life was truly stranger than fiction.
Writing
The novel is a Roman à clef, in which Bukowski uses the following names as pseudonyms for the people with whom he worked on the movie Barfly:
- Mickey Rourke, the lead actor in the film, is named Jack Bledsoe.
- Faye Dunaway, the lead actress in the film, is named Francine Bowers.
- Barbet Schroeder, the director of the film, is named Jon Pinchot.
He also references people he met in Hollywood during his time working on the movie:
- Jean-Luc Godard is named Jon-Luc Modard.
- Steve Baës is named Francois Racine
- Dennis Hopper is named Mack Austin
- Sean Penn is named Tom Pell
- Norman Mailer is named Victor Norman
- David Lynch is named Manz Loeb
- Isabella Rossellini is named Rosalind Bonelli
- Werner Herzog is named Wenner Zergog
- Taylor Hackford is Hector Blackford
Filming
Though officially engaged only as screenplay writer, Bukowski appeared in the background of one scene, sitting at the bar with the other "barflies." Schroeder had already filmed a series of fifty-two short interviews with Bukowski, assembled under the title, The Charles Bukowski Tapes. Footage was later used in a 2003 documentary on the author called Bukowski: Born Into This.
References
External links
- Haskell, Molly (1989-06-11). "So Much Genius! So Little Money!". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-06. (a review of the book followed by a very short interview with Bukowski)
- Ebert, Roger (1987-02-10). "Mickey Rourke Plays a Tough Barfly". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- Hollywood Quotes
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