American Whiskey Bar is a Canadian television film, which was broadcast by Citytv in 1998.[1] The film was directed by Bruce McDonald as an adaptation of the novel by Michael Turner.
| American Whiskey Bar | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Michael Turner Noel S. Baker |
| Directed by | Bruce McDonald |
| Starring | James Allodi Kelly Harms Leila Johnson Daniel Kash Chris Leavins Stephen McHattie Joe Pingue |
| Theme music composer | Bob Wiseman |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Carolynne Bell |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production companies | Shadow Shows Bellwood Stories |
| Original release | |
| Network | Citytv |
| Release | September 19, 1998 |
The novel is an experimental metafiction which mixes the screenplay for an imaginary film with the commentary of a film director, a film critic and a fictionalized version of Turner himself around the difficulties of getting it produced as a film; the screenplay portions depict the random interactions and conversations of various patrons in a bar, including a group of garbagemen who want to produce a film, a group of secretaries discussing their sex lives, and a gay couple.[2] For the film, McDonald presented it as a "pirate" production of the screenplay in support of the fictional Turner's campaign to publicize it.[3]
The cast included James Allodi, Kelly Harms, Leila Johnson, Daniel Kash, Chris Leavins, Stephen McHattie and Joe Pingue.
The film was broadcast live from the street-level "storefont" studio in the CHUM-City Building, so that passers-by on the street could watch the production unfold through the windows,[3] and was intentionally scheduled to take place during the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It aired in a late-night time slot due to the sensitive and adult nature of some of its dialogue, which was not censored despite being a television broadcast.[4]
It was also later rebroadcast on Bravo.
Critical response
editKate Taylor of The Globe and Mail placed the broadcast in the context of both the long-abandoned practice of staging television drama live in the early days of television, and CHUM-City's established history of "casual, relatively unmediated television". She also contrasted it with David Wellington's 1996 film adaptation of Long Day's Journey into Night, which was essentially a filmed version of a stage production.[5]
Awards
editMcHattie received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries at the 14th Gemini Awards in 1999.[6]
References
edit- ^ Mitch Potter, "Tightrope TV". Toronto Star, September 19, 1998.
- ^ Chris Dafoe, "Novelist finds inspiration in filmmaking". The Globe and Mail, October 24, 1997.
- ^ a b c Tony Atherton, "Live teleplay prompts plenty of directorial jitters". Ottawa Citizen, September 17, 1998.
- ^ John Goddard, "Teledrama goes live at Citytv studio". Montreal Gazette, September 19, 1998.
- ^ Kate Taylor, "Live theatre in a TV tube - a hazardous mixture? Bruce McDonald's live-drama experiment on CITY-TV tonight is a blend of stage and small screen that many have tried and most have failed". The Globe and Mail, September 19, 1998.
- ^ John McKay, "Canada's TV awards have special clout, Gordon Pinsent says". Waterloo Region Record, November 6, 1999.