American Whiskey Bar

{{Infobox television | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = | genre = Drama | creator = | writer = [[Michael Turner (musician)|Michael Turner]] [[Noel S. Baker]] | director = [[Bruce McDonald (director)|Bruce McDonald]] | starring = [[James Allodi]] Kelly Harms Leila Johnson [[Daniel Kash]] [[Chris Leavins]] [[Stephen McHattie]] [[Joe Pingue]] | theme_music_composer = [[Bob Wiseman]] | country = Canada | language = English | producer = Carolynne Bell | editor = | cinematography = | runtime = 90 minutes | company = Shadow Shows Bellwood Stories | budget = | network = [[Citytv]] | released = {{Start date|1998|09|19}} }}

'''''American Whiskey Bar''''' is a Canadian television film, which was broadcast by [[Citytv]] in 1998.<ref>Mitch Potter, "Tightrope TV". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', September 19, 1998.</ref> The film was directed by [[Bruce McDonald (director)|Bruce McDonald]] as an adaptation of the novel by [[Michael Turner (musician)|Michael Turner]].

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.<ref>Chris Dafoe, "Novelist finds inspiration in filmmaking". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', October 24, 1997.</ref> For the film, McDonald presented it as a "pirate" production of the screenplay in support of the fictional Turner's campaign to publicize it.<ref name=atherton>Tony Atherton, "Live teleplay prompts plenty of directorial jitters". ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', September 17, 1998.</ref>

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 [[299 Queen Street West|CHUM-City Building]], so that passers-by on the street could watch the production unfold through the windows,<ref name=atherton/> and was intentionally scheduled to take place during the [[1998 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name=atherton/> 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.<ref>John Goddard, "Teledrama goes live at Citytv studio". ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'', September 19, 1998.</ref>

It was also later rebroadcast on [[Bravo (Canadian TV channel)|Bravo]].

==Critical response== [[Kate Taylor (Canadian writer)|Kate 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 (director)|David Wellington]]'s 1996 film adaptation of ''[[Long Day's Journey into Night (1996 film)|Long Day's Journey into Night]]'', which was essentially a filmed version of a stage production.<ref>[[Kate Taylor (Canadian writer)|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.</ref>

==Awards== McHattie received a [[Gemini Award]] nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries at the [[14th Gemini Awards]] in 1999.<ref>John McKay, "Canada's TV awards have special clout, Gordon Pinsent says". ''[[Waterloo Region Record]]'', November 6, 1999.</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|0225062}}

[[Category:1998 films]] [[Category:1998 television films]] [[Category:1998 LGBTQ-related films]] [[Category:Canadian drama television films]] [[Category:Canadian LGBTQ-related television films]] [[Category:English-language Canadian films]] [[Category:1998 English-language films]] [[Category:Films based on Canadian novels]] [[Category:Films directed by Bruce McDonald]] [[Category:1990s LGBTQ-related drama films]] [[Category:1998 Canadian films]] [[Category:Citytv television dramas]]