The Blank Generation

Poe is one of the leading figures of the No Wave Cinema movement (75-85) that grew out of the bustling East Village music and art scene. The No Wave paralleled the punk music explosion and included Jim Jarmusch, Abel Ferrara, Eric Mitchell, James Nares, Beth and Scott B, Vivienne Dick, Sara Driver, John Lurie, Richard Kern, Nick Zedd, Bette Gordon, Melvie Arslanian, Charlie Ahearn, among others – they embraced B-movie genres, the avant-garde, & the French New Wave to create a fresh, vibrant American art cinema.

Poe is considered by many (see John Pierson’s book, “Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes”, Legs McNeil’s “Please Kill Me”, or C. Patterson’s “Captured”) to be the “father” of the modern Indy American cinema. In ’75 Poe and Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group, Iggy Pop) produced, edited and shot the now classic and definitive punk film, THE BLANK GENERATION. This film chronicles the seminal performances of Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Blondie, Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, Heartbreakers, Wayne County et. al.

In ‘76, Poe wrote, produced, and directed his debut groundbreaking feature, UNMADE BEDS, an homage to Godard’s “Breathless” and the French New Wave. In ‘77, using a car loan for $5,000, Poe wrote, produced and directed his most influential film, THE FOREIGNER, starring Eric Mitchell, Patti Astor, Duncan Hannah and Debbie Harry. In ’79-’80 Poe concluded his “underground trilogy” with the bleakly beautiful SUBWAY RIDERS, the first foray in color. These bohemian films starred the downtown demimonde of artists, musicians and poets. During this era, Poe also directed the legendary weekly TV show, GLENN O’BRIEN’S TV PARTY.

In ‘83-’84, Poe co-wrote and directed ALPHABET CITY (w/ Vincent Spano, Kate Vernon & Michael Winslow), his first 35mm film, and directed numerous music videos (Run DMC, Animotion, Anthrax, Juice Newton etc.). In ‘85-’86 he wrote ROCKET GIBRALTAR (Burt Lancaster, Macauley Culkin, Kevin Spacey, Patricia Clarkson, Francis Conroy, Bill Pullman, John Glover). In the late ’80’s, Poe applied himself to writing numerous screenplays, among them – “Port of Call” (Chiesa Prod.), “The Golden Eagle” (Columbia Pictures), “Mrs. Dogg” (Island/World), “Beach House” (Weintraub Ent.), “Paint. It Black.” (Ulick/Mayo Prod.) “Caught In A Whirlwind” (Cabana Ent.) and “Pony Rider” (Fox).

Poe returned to filmmaking in ‘90 with the acclaimed TRIPLE BOGEY ON A PAR 5 HOLE (Island/World). In ’92, Poe produced Steven Starr’s JOEY BREAKER (Skouras/Paramount) starring Richard Edson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Gina Gershon and Michael Imperioli. Poe returned to scripting in ‘93-’94 with a vengeance, writing: “Tar Baby” (from Toni Morrison’s novel for Willi Ramaeu), “Kid Killer”, “La Pacifica” (released as a graphic novel by DC Comics), “The Guitar”, “The Lodz 7 ", "The Grey Nun”, “Hard On Berlin”, “The Listener” (David Brown/Paramount), “Rattle My Cage” and “Dead Weekend” (with novelist Joel Rose). In ’94 Poe directed the Ed Wood inspired sci-fi DEAD WEEKEND (starring Stephen Baldwin & Bai Ling).

In the late ’90’s Poe wrote and directed the neo-noir FROGS FOR SNAKES (starring Barbara Hershey, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Hart, Debi Mazar, Justin Theroux and Clarence Williams III). Poe continued writing screenplays, among them: “Stunning”, “To Kill An Angel”, “Underage”, “Bypass”, “The Night Witches”, as well as directed two videos for Danny Goldberg’s Artemis Records (Steve Earle’s “Transcendental Blues” and “Over Yonder”). In ‘99 Poe began teaching filmmaking at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. In 2001, Poe “Murchian engineered” Alliance-Atlantis’ 29 PALMS (starring Jeremy Davies). In ‘02-’03 Poe produced & directed STEVE EARLE: JUST AN AMERICAN BOY, a feature portrait of singer-songwriter Steve Earle. Poe continues to teach screenwriting, directing and production at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and NYU’s Florence Summer Program.

Currently, Poe’s working on several films, including the epic, EMPIRE II (a “re-make” of Warhol’s EMPIRE) and THE GUITAR (starring Saffron Burrows, Isaach de Bankole & Paz de la Huerta; directed by Amy Redford). Poe’s latest plans include www.pianospecs.com – an on-line pro-active ad platform for filmmakers, designers & artists. —amospoe.com