Barton Fink

[Royal Tenenbaum]

The film is pretty much a homage to Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane) and George S. Kaufman (most notably of the famed Algonquin Round Table), some of the New Yorkers that headed to Hollywood to make more money. Also, Mayhew's chracter is based on William Faulkner, one of their main influences. The great thing is, Faulker wasn't a drunk, and he wrote all his stuff; this pissed off his fans a lot. To me the film is about how Hollywood and Hell are the same thing, at least to the Coens. They may have changed there minds though, since the next film they're making stars Tom Hanks.