American Whiskey Bar

Last updated
American Whiskey Bar
GenreDrama
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 originCanada
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerCarolynne Bell
Running time90 minutes
Production companiesShadow Shows
Bellwood Stories
Original release
Network Citytv
ReleaseSeptember 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)

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.

Contents

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

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's 1996 film adaptation of Long Day's Journey into Night , which was essentially a filmed version of a stage production. [5]

Awards

McHattie received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries at the 14th Gemini Awards in 1999. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citytv</span> Canadian television network owned by Rogers Communications

Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consists of six owned-and-operated (O&O) television stations located in the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, a cable-only service that serves the province of Saskatchewan, and three independently owned affiliates serving smaller cities in Alberta and British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Znaimer</span> Canadian media executive

Moses Znaimer is a Tajik-born Canadian media executive of Jewish descent. He is the co-founder and former head of Citytv, the first independent television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the current head of ZoomerMedia.

<i>Made in Canada</i> (TV series) Television series

Made in Canada is a Canadian television comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer starred as Richard Strong, an ambitious and amoral television producer working for a company which makes bad television shows. A dark satire about the Canadian television industry, the programme shifted into an episodic situation comedy format after its first season.

The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978) known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor Sorel Etrog, who designed its statuette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHUM Limited</span> Defunct Canadian media company

CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHUM had expanded to and owned 33 radio stations across Canada under its CHUM Radio Network division and also owned other radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce McDonald (director)</span> Canadian film director, film producer and film editor

Bruce McDonald is a Canadian film and television director, writer, and producer. Born in Kingston, Ontario, he rose to prominence in the 1980s as part of the loosely-affiliated Toronto New Wave.

Michael Turner is a Canadian musician, and writer of poetry, prose and opera librettos. His writing is noted for including detailed and purposeful examination of ordinary things.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHUM (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Toronto

CHUM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 1050 kHz. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough, with its transmitter array located in the Clarkson neighbourhood of Mississauga. TSN 1050 is simulcast on Bell Satellite TV channel 989, and on Shaw Direct channel 867. The station is also carried on the 3rd HD digital subchannel of CKFM-FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speakers Corner (TV series)</span> Television segments airing on Citytv

Speakers Corner is a brand owned by Rogers Media that is used for its television segments airing on Citytv in Canada. The namesake television series aired weekly on CHUM Limited's television stations Citytv and A stations in Canada from 1990 to 2008, featuring numerous short segments on a variety of topics as recorded by members of the general public in the form of rants, big-ups, shoutouts, jokes, music performances, etc. After the video was complete, it was edited for television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don McKellar</span> Canadian actor, screenwriter and film director

Don McKellar is a Canadian actor, writer, playwright, and filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave.

The John Drainie Award was an award given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to broadcasting in Canada. Although meant to be presented annually, there have been years where it was not presented.

SexTV was an award-winning, internationally-syndicated Canadian documentary television series that explored all facets of human sexuality and gender in a thought-provoking and cutting-edge way. Founded by the Canadian media executive Moses Znaimer, the show premiered on national broadcast television in 1999 on Citytv and ran for ten seasons (1999-2008). Citytv was a trailblazing, local TV station in Toronto with independent origins and ground-breaking content. The station was home to other well-known shows at the time including Much, FashionTelevision, the Space Channel and Bravo's 'Arts and Minds'. CityTV was the first independent television station in Toronto and the producers of these shows worked in the iconic and heritage building 299 Queen Street West in the city's downtown core.

<i>Less Than Kind</i> Canadian television comedy-drama series

Less Than Kind is a 2008–2013 Canadian television comedy-drama series that stars Jesse Camacho as Sheldon Blecher, a teenager growing up in a loving but dysfunctional Jewish family in Winnipeg. The show's cast also includes Maury Chaykin and Wendel Meldrum as Sheldon's parents, Benjamin Arthur as his older brother Josh, and Nancy Sorel as his aunt Clara. The Blechers struggle to operate a driving school out of their home in Winnipeg's fading North End. Less Than Kind made its debut October 13, 2008, on Citytv, and moved to HBO Canada in February 2010.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role is an annual Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best leading performance by an actor in a Canadian television series. Previously presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role is an annual Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television to the best leading performance by an actress in a Canadian television series. Previously presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

The Donald Brittain Award is a Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to honour the year's best television documentary on a social or political topic. Formerly presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards. The award may be presented to either a standalone broadcast of a documentary film, or to an individual full-length episode of a news or documentary series; documentary films which originally premiered theatrically, but were not already submitted for consideration in a CSA film category before being broadcast on television, are also considered television films for the purposes of the award.

The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess is a Canadian drama film, directed by Bruce McDonald and released in 2004. The film is loosely based on the real-life story of Gillian Guess, who was convicted of obstruction of justice in 1998 after she became romantically involved with an accused murderer while serving as a juror at his trial, although McDonald himself freely admitted that the film takes "kooky" diversions into animated and musical sequences rather than attempting to literally depict the true story; in the adaptation, Guess is recounting her version of the story as a guest on a fictional television show hosted by tabloid talk show host Bobby Tomahawk.

Heaven on Earth is a British and Canadian dramatic television film, directed by Allan Kroeker and released in 1987. A coproduction of the BBC and CBC Television, the film centres on a group of orphaned children from the United Kingdom who are sent to Canada as Home Children in the 1910s.

The following is a list of events affecting Canadian television in 2023. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings.

References

  1. Mitch Potter, "Tightrope TV". Toronto Star , September 19, 1998.
  2. Chris Dafoe, "Novelist finds inspiration in filmmaking". The Globe and Mail , October 24, 1997.
  3. 1 2 3 Tony Atherton, "Live teleplay prompts plenty of directorial jitters". Ottawa Citizen , September 17, 1998.
  4. John Goddard, "Teledrama goes live at Citytv studio". Montreal Gazette , September 19, 1998.
  5. 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.
  6. John McKay, "Canada's TV awards have special clout, Gordon Pinsent says". Waterloo Region Record , November 6, 1999.