Exit, screen west QBID WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT
Bobby goes to Hollywood
BY MARK GRIFFIN
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'BOB POIRIER, OCTOBER 15, 2002,' by Don Bachardy, acrylic on paper, photograph by Brian Forrest, courtesy of David Koslow, artist's agent.
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Just overlook the year-old capers fermenting in filmmaker Bob Poirier’s refrigerator. The man has been busy. Since vacating his favorite stool at Blackstone’s a year ago, Portland’s amiable auteur moved to California to help launch America’s first gay television network. All those production meetings coupled with Poirier’s plans to pitch Hollywood his directorial projects has left little time for domestic maintenance — and the poor dear hasn’t been to a decent white party in weeks.
" It’s an incredibly exciting time, " Poirier enthuses, " being on the forefront of gay television feels like a huge milestone in our pink history books. As a community, it’s like staking our claim in the broadcast arena. "
After his Portland-produced short Traditional Family Vampires wowed cinephiles on the festival circuit, Poirier was lured to Los Angeles by his own ambition to create queer-themed features in a style best described as Orson Welles on ecstasy.
" I was 32 before I could convince myself to leave Portland, " Poirier divulges, " When you grow up in an environment that is essentially the antithesis of the media capital of the world, you tend to underestimate your skills. I just had to come out here and try to swim in this pool. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t test these waters. "
True to form, Poirier dove right in and swam into the arms of Triangle Television Network (TTN), a sort of lavender-lined MGM, located in the Coachella Valley. In association with Time Warner Cable, TTN plans to produce an ambitious array of original programming aimed at gay and lesbian viewers.
According to TTN’s Chief Financial Officer, Rene Schenk, Poirier was the perfect choice to serve as the network’s own dishy answer to Diane Sawyer. " Triangle hired Bob 14 months ago as on-air talent for Buzz, a show similar to ABC’s Good Morning, America, " Schenk says. " The show went through several generations of trials and it became evident that the talents that Bob possessed were not only his on-camera presence but also his technical and artistic abilities. "
Schenk cites " a myriad of technical difficulties as well as a certain hesitancy by the local management " as the reasons why TTN’s long-anticipated launch and Poirier’s small-screen debut have been delayed. " As a start-up company, TTN has had its share of ups and downs, " Schenk concedes, " but we are thrilled to go forward as we feel that we are addressing an underserved market that is anxiously awaiting our product. Bob is obviously an integral part of our success and we hope that you can soon report that he has become the icon of GLBT television. "
Recently, that future icon of the airwaves got another shot at immortality while standing on line at his bank. Approached by a man claiming to represent an internationally renowned artist, Poirier was asked if he would be willing to pose au naturel. Ordinarily, such a proposal results in the photogenic young man being rechristened " Buck Manley, " strapped to the nearest pool table, and featured in a Falcon video titled How to Lube a Guy in 10 Days.
In Poirier’s case, however, this improbable Cinderella scenario produced a glass slipper. The artist turned out to be none other than Don Bachardy, an illustrious figure in art-world circles and longtime companion of the late, legendary writer Christopher Isherwood, who’s Berlin Diaries ultimately became the musical Cabaret.
" I didn’t know who Don Bachardy was at the time, " Poirier admits, " though he’s world famous and he’s done portraits of everyone from Bette Davis to Jack Nicholson . . . I questioned him a lot about his life with Christopher and their partnership. What I found most fascinating was the mentoring involved as Christopher was a good deal older than Don. It was all about learning to trust yourself creatively and facing your fears about working your craft. I can certainly relate. I’m a filmmaker and an actor, but writing has always been difficult for me. "
When Poirier (who was raised Roman Catholic) prayed for a screenwriter, one not only materialized in the form of Steven Rowley, but in a plot development that’s pure Tinseltown, the talented scribe turned out to be from . . . Portland.
" We had an instant connection, " says Rowley of his initial meetings with Poirier. " Our rapport came in part because we were both Maine boys and we’re both gay. Also, we’ve both struggled with families that did not quite understand what ‘studying film’ meant. Mine thought I had a future developing pictures at the old Konica on Route One. "
Of the coincidences that resulted in his collaboration with Rowley, Poirier says, " It’s strange to go all the way across the country to really make a connection with someone. Steve is a fantastic writer and we share the same quirky sense of humor . . . We’re working on an idea I had for a short about a mother who gives helpful hints on the intricacies of man-on-man sex when she discovers her son is gay. "
With Poirier’s comic-strip visual style and Rowley’s keen sense of camp, their first project, tentatively titled Mother Knows Best, is shaping up as an irresistible satire of 1950s Donna Reed–style conventions. " One of the goals for this next short is to solidify myself as a director who can make commercial films, " Poirier notes. " Even though some of my stuff is really kooky and pushes some buttons with sexuality, I want to move into the more commercial end of independent fare. "
As the gay community awaits Poirier’s complete multi-media metamorphosis, the director is prepared to set a good example. First on his agenda is cleaning out the refrigerator, though those ancient capers might make for one riveting thriller.
Mark Griffin was recently elected as an Associate Member of the Dramatists Guild. He can be reached at markgriffin@mpbc.org
Issue Date: June 20 - 26, 2003
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