The movie-making machinations of the title town are exposed in this thinly veiled roman a clef about a hard-drinking poet-novelist tamed screenwriter. Presumably based on his experiences writing the movie, Barfly, Bukowski lays open the absurdity and egotism of the film industry from the worms-eye view of a screenwriter. Harry Chinanski has been asked by Jon Pinchot, a The movie-making machinations of the title town are exposed in this thinly veiled roman a clef about a hard-drinking poet-novelist tamed screenwriter. Presumably based on his experiences writing the movie, Barfly, Bukowski lays open the absurdity and egotism of the film industry from the worms-eye view of a screenwriter. Harry Chinanski has been asked by Jon Pinchot, a French director, to write a screenplay. Pinchot doesnt seem to care what the story is about. Neither does Chinanski; hes more concerned about where his next drink is coming from, and when. Sarah, his wife, is amenable to all this, matching her husband drink for drink and concerned only about getting home in time to feed their five cats. The couple takes a precarious journey through the land of corrupt backers and bizarre creative types where the writer was where he belonged, in some dark corner, watching.