American Whiskey Bar

193 Pages·2004·0.673 MB·English

by  Michael Turner, William Gibson

A
merican Whiskey Bar is a remarkable faux memoir about the M
un-making of a film – a film Michael Turner was commissioned
i
c
to write. However, whether or not this film was ever «made»
h
is debatable. And only one print is said to exist. Nevertheless, American a
e
Whiskey Bar, a film seen by only a handful of people, is well on its way
l
to becoming a curious footnote to cinematic history.
T
American Whiskey Bar, the book, is an attempt to set the record u
r
straight – a story of sex, violence, lies, ambition, power, paradox,
n
dreams, and regret. Consider yourself warned. e
r
A
m
e
r
i
c
American Whiskey Bar
a
n
Michael Turner
W
Tightly packed . . . the book weaves its way in and out of various levels of
reality. . . . There’s a bright, playful mind at work here. – Toronto Star h
Turner constructs an intense, intelligent, and darkly humorous satire. . . . i
s
Too original to be nominated for awards. – Quill & Quire
k
Brilliant . . . a dazzling, dizzying multilayered blend of fact and fiction, e
of the plausible and the preposterous, of the real and the hyper-real.
It is also screamingly funny. – The Globe & Mail y

A daring reconfiguration of the fictional narrative. – Vancouver Magazine B
a
r
with a foreword by William Gibson
US$16.95 (cid:115) Cdn$19.95
ISBN 1-55152-159-8
ARSENAL
PULP PRESS
arsenalpulp.com
design by Solo (cid:115) cover photograph by Rosalee Hiebert
“A dazzling, dizzying multi-layered blend of
fact and fiction, of the plausible and the preposterous, of the real
and the hyper-real. Screamingly funny.”
– The Globe and Mail
“Too original to be nominated for awards…
[American Whiskey Bar] is about the darker side of America,
movie-making, and universal ambition…. Intelligently funny
and deliciously subversive in both
form and content.”
– Quill & Quire
A
Michael
meri
can
Turner
Whiskey
B ar
A Novel
A
Michael
meri
can
Turner
Whiskey
B ar
A Novel
arsenal pulp press
Vancouver
Copyright © 1997 by Michael Turner
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any part by any
means without the written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer, who may use brief excerpts in a review.
arsenal pulp press
211 East Georgia St
Suite 102
Vancouver, BC
Canada v6a 1z6
Design by cardigan.com
Printed and bound in Canada
canadian cataloguing in publication data
Turner, Michael, 1962-
American whiskey bar
isbn 978-1-55152-159-6
I. Title.
ps8589.u748a53 1997 c8138.54 c97-910742-3
pr9199.3.t838a53 1997
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada
Council for the Arts for its publishing program, and the
support of the Book Publishing Industry
Development Program, and
the bc Arts Council.
contents
acknowledgements vii
preface Michael Turner 1
introduction Monika Herendy 13
american whiskey bar The Original Screenplay 27
afterword Milena Jagoda 169

I would like to acknowledge the
following persons, places, and things:
Judy Radul, Monika Herendy, Milena Jagoda,
Brian Lam, Blaine Kyllo, Dean Allen, Phillip McCrum,
Deanna Ferguson, Reid Shier, Clint Burnham, Brice Canyon,
Lynn Crosbie, Bruce LaBruce, Bruce McDonald, Noel S. Baker,
Jennifer Barclay, Antonia Hirsch, Guy Bennett, my family,
Checkpoint Charlie, the Literary Press Group,
Tom’s Video, Videomatica, and
the bc Arts Council.
Thank you.
vii

American Whiskey can blend into the company of a throng
of thugs or a swarm of sophisticates. It has dog-eat-dog attitude
when need be and eloquent manners when protocol is required.
There’s only one persona that American Whiskey never
adopts – it is never, ever shy or retiring.
gary regan and mardee haidin regan
The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys
Since human beings have invented history, we have also
invented those aspects of our lives that seem most immutable, or, rather,
have invented the circumstances that determine their nature.
angela carter
The Sadean Woman: An Exercise in Cultural History
It is true: the symbol of reality
has something reality does not have:
it does not represent any meaning
and yet it adds to it – by its very
representative nature – a new meaning.
pier paolo pasolini
Theorem (translated by Stuart Hood)
My work is finished. My poet is dead.
vladimir nabokov
Pale Fire
ix