Hollywood (Bukowski novel)

Hollywood

First edition cover
Author Charles Bukowski
Country United States
Language English
Genre Autobiographical novel
Publisher Black Sparrow Press
Publication date
 1989
Media type Print
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 Chinaski's life was truly stranger than fiction.

Writing

The novel is a Roman à clef, in which Bukowski is named Henry Chinaski, and his wife Linda is named Sarah. His friend, the poet John Thomas Idlet, is named John Galt. His German translator Carl Weissner is named Karl Vossner. Photographer Michael Montfort is named Michael Huntington. The film Barfly is named The Dance of Jim Beam. Film company Cannon is named Firepower. Bukowski uses the following names as pseudonyms for the people with whom he worked on the movie.

He also references people he met in Hollywood during his time working on the movie:

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

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