Barton becomes annoyed at Bill for being such a drunkard and reprimands him for taking his “gift” of for granted. Barton meets Audrey and Bill at a local park for a picnic where they eat fried chicken and talk about writing. She seems like a kind person and tells Barton that they’ll all get together at a better time. When Barton arrives, Mayhew’s personal secretary and lover Audrey ( Judy Davis) greets him at the door while Bill can be heard drunkenly ranting loudly inside. He instead invites Barton to stop by his bungelow later that afternoon for more conversation.

Barton inquires if Mayhew has worked on wrestling pictures before and Bill says he has but wants to get back to drinking. Barton happens to be a huge fan of Mayhew’s work, but didn’t expect a lush and nasty person like him to be the creator of such beautiful art.

“Bill” Mayhew ( John Mahoney) a famed novelist (patterned after William Faulkner). While in the lavatory, Barton overhears a man wretching in the stall and after burping and spitting himself awhile, the man appears and turns out to be none other than W.P. The two go out to lunch and Geisler recommends Barton seek out another writer to get his ideas flowing. He speaks at length, conveying his excitement for the kind of theater he wants to create for the average joes, focusing on the dramas of everyday life instead of fake, pretentious tales noone can relate to.įink next meets with producer Ben Geisler ( Tony Shaloub) a fast talking shyster who he seeks council from since he’s got a bad case of writers block. The two get to know each other and Charlie explains his views on life while Barton tries to bring Charlie into his world of being a writer. Charlie is a talkative, friendly soul and offers Barton a drink to break the ice. The man who knocks on his door is the rotund Charlie Meadows ( John Goodman) a salesman whose been staying at the hotel on business. After Chet calls the neighbor, Barton hears footsteps coming toward his room. Knowing he cant be creative with the irritating noise he calls Chet at the front desk and complains. Since Barton’s specialty is stories about the urban working class shmoe, Lipnick chooses a Wallace Beery wrestling picture for him to work his magic into and orders a first draft by the end of the week.īarton begins to work on the screenplay but his typing is interrupted by a loud laughing coming from the next room. Mayer and Harry Cohn) who is all fired up about having such a master of the written word penning a script for him.

The next day he meets with Jack Lipnick ( Michael Lerner) Capitol Pictures’ enthusiastic and brazen studio producer (inspired by such luminaries as Jack Warner, Louis B. Barton takes the elevator up to his room in the enormous palace and as he settles in he is transfixed by a painting of a beautiful woman on the beach looking out at the ocean. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, he checks into the Hotel Earle (their slogan is “A Day or a Lifetime”), and is greeted by Chet ( Steve Buscemi) a mousy hotel clerk who enters from below the floor and comically inquires if Barton is a “Trans or a Res” (transient or resident). Barton is reluctant about entering into this kind of format, but he sincerely wants to bring the same kind of quality to the silver screen as he does to his plays. When Capitol Pictures in Hollywood gets word of his genius, they pay for him to travel out to the West Coast to write a screenplay. In New York City, 1941 we are introduced to successful playwright Barton Fink ( John Turturro) an idealistic artist who is inspired to forge a new kind of theater by telling grand stories about “the common man”, his stock in trade.

Barton fink girl on beach