To snap out of their creative burnout, they spent three weeks writing a movie about a screenwriter with writer’s block. The Coen Brothers wrote Barton Fink while struggling with the script for 1990’s Miller’s Crossing. Two of the film’s central themes – the writing process and the culture of Hollywood – are a nod to the nature of the work.
Pesky mosquitos bite at his skin, there are strange noises all over the hotel and slime oozes from the walls. Charlie (John Goodman), a neighbour tries to give Barton inspiration and good company, but everything becomes a whole lot more sinister. It’s as if his creativity is being sucked up by his surroundings. The dreaded writer’s block has taken over and his world becomes a personal hell. Inside, Barton tries to rattle out the new movie he’s been commisioned to write, but he can’t get his creative juices flowing. It’s like stepping foot into someplace haunted, with its ghostly corridors and chilling atmosphere. In other words, he’s likely to have to sell his soul to the industry.īarton ends up in a run-down Hollywood suite called Hotel Earle, but it’s not your everyday hotel. For Barton, this is huge news because he’s always dreamed of hitting the big-time, yet he’s resistant at first, knowing he may have to sacrifice art for the promise of regular wages. One day Barton’s agent tells him he received a call from Hollywood Capitol Pictures want to sign him to a screenwriting contract. He’s idealistic, longs for more success, even though his plays have done him proud in New York’s theatres. Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a 1940s playwright, with a self-absorbed and awkward manner.
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