Category Archives: acting

Robert Stark interviews Montgomery Markland about his movie Malibu Road

1960's, 1970's, 1990's, acting, aesthetics, Aldous Huxley, Alfred Hitchcock, Alice in Wonderland, American Culture, Ancient Greece, Architecture, Art, Banking, Beatniks, Beverly Hills, Buddhism, California, capitalism, Carl Jung, censorship, Cinema, conformity, Conservatives, Conspiracy Theories, Consumerism, coronavirus, Corporations, counterculture, Culture, David Lynch, Despair, dreams, Drugs, Economics, Enter The Void, Film, Film Noire, Gaspar Noe, Hinduism, History, Hollywood, horror films, Hunter S. Thompson , Literature, Los Angeles, Malibu, Malibu Road, Matthew Pegas, Media, Mid-Century Modern, Montgomery Markland, Mulholland Drive, Mythology, Philip K. Dick, Philosophy, Photography, Political Correctness, Politics, Prostitution, Psychology, relationships, Religion, Sexuality, spirituality, Surrealism, Terence Mckenna, Texas, Tiki, Timothy Leary, Travel, Twin Peaks, Vice, Video Games, William S. Burroughs, Zoomers

Robert Stark and Matt Pegas speak with filmmaker, Montgomery Markland, about his film Malibu Road, which he both directed and starred in. Malibu Road is available to watch for free on Tubi, and for purchase on Apple TV and Amazon. While the pandemic delayed Malibu Road’s theatrical release, Montgomery has further plans for multipicture deals.

“Fast living Los Angelenos are targeted by the Central Intelligence Agency during Operation Midnight Climax, part of MKUltra. The experience takes a turn for the deadly during New Year’s Eve 1960 and now a professor, a starlet and the workers at a hotel with a questionable reputation must rediscover reality or be trapped in an endless cycle of sex, drugs and murder in ‘paradise.'”

–Malibu Road (2021) IMDb 

Montgomery Markland has an idiosyncratic resume. Originally from Dallas, Montgomery was a state and local reporter in Austin, worked in the Texas state legislature on policy, was  then a producer, president, and CCO at a number of video game companies, before working in Hollywood. Follow Montgomery on Twitter.

Topics:

Applying videogame design principles to Cinema
The Meisner acting technique
MKUltra connections to university professors and Hollywood (eg. Irvin Keshner)
Timothy Leary’s prediction that video games had the potential to recreate psychedelic trips
The History of the Albatross Hotel in Malibu and connections to Old Hollywood
Cinemaphotographic techniques used to capture the psychedelic aesthetic
Distorting reality in stories as representations of dreams (eg. traumnovelle), and influences from David Lynch
Influence from soap operas, telenovelas, and 90s Cinemax
The set design, recreating the aesthetics of the 60s and 70s
Influences from Jungian archetypes, as well as Ancient Greek, Hindu, and Buddhist mythology (eg. Timothy Leary on the Tibetan Book of the Dead)
Hunter S. Thompson
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo
Malibu Road’s filming locations, including Malibu State Park and Will Rogers State Historic Park
The politicization of entertainment, and why overtly political conservative media fails
Reasons to be optimistic about opportunities in entertainment via niche markets
The Banking crisis, Economic Death Spiral, and narratives of collapse

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark talks to Kevin Kautzman about his Play Moderation

2020 Riots, acting, Art, censorship, Cinema, comedy, Conspiracy Theories, coronavirus, Corporations, Crime, Culture, Despair, Economics, Feminism, Film, Gender, Hollywood, humor, Incels, Joker, Kevin Kautzman, Literature, Memes, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Silicon Valley, Social Media, Stanley Kubrick, technology, Theatre, Vaporfornia

Robert Stark talks to St. Paul based playwright Kevin Kautzman about his new play MODERATION. Moderation is a dark comedy about social media content moderators loosing their minds at work. RSVP at MODERATION to view the play online for free until Dec. 19th.  Moderation will premier live in March of 2022 at St. Paul’s Waldman’s Brewery, as the first in a series produced by Kevin’s Mad Mouth Theater company.  Check out Kevin’s podcast Art of Darkness, web series Money Shot Show, and follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

How Moderation’s premise was inspired by a “normie rag” article about content mods being radicalized by conspiracy theories that they were forced to monitor
The psychological components  to the play
References to meme culture
The political vs. profit motives of censorship, and Keith Woods on The Vulture Capitalist Behind The New Twitter
The Dark Comedy genre in cinema, literature, and theater
Corporate gatekeepers suppressing creativity in cinema
Kevin’s Art of Darkness episode on Stanley Kubrick
The casting and production process for Moderation
How Moderation is in the same Zeitgeist as the film Joker
Kevin’s observations on the decay of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark interviews Squid Game actor Geoffrey Giuliano

acting, American Culture, Animal Cruelty, animals, Asia, Asian Culture, Cinema, Coen Brothers, Culture, Donald Trump, Film, Geoffrey Giuliano, Hollywood, India, Korea, materialism, Media, meditation, Politics, spirituality, Squid Game, Stanley Kubrick

Robert Stark talks to actor Geoffrey Giuliano about his role as VIP 4 in Squid Game, animal rights, and other projects.  A true Renaissance Man, Geoffrey Giuliano is an American actor based in Thailand, an author best known for his biographies of the Beatles, artist,  journalist, and has acted in 28 movies, including Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula and Kate starring Woody Harrelson. Check out Geoffrey’s website, YouTube channel, Instagram, and his upcoming podcast, Geoffrey Giuliano’s Dog Fight, which will be an intelligent alternative to Joe Rogan and Howard Stern.

Topics:

The stylized acting performance of the Squid Game VIPs, the Kubrick influence, the Trump archetype of VIP 4, and Geoffrey’s response to the critics
The casting, production, and acting instructions for the VIPs
What its like for actors to play uncomfortable roles
Contrasting the portrayal of Americans in Squid Game with how Asian characters have been portrayed in American cinema
Squid Game as an allegory for the gross materialism of the modern world
Geoffrey’s animal rights documentary ‘Facist Food Confessions Of A Corporate Clown My Life As Ronald McDonald’
Geoffrey’s strangest fan mail as well as threats from those who are not able to divorce the VIP character from reality
How “if you want Squid Game to come to your town” you have to come to Geoffrey

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Instagram, and Stark Truth TV

Robert Stark interviews Kevin Kautzman

Academia, acting, aesthetics, Aleister Crowley, American Culture, Aristocratic Individualism, Art, Beatniks, BLAUERGEIST!, Blue Velvet, Camille Paglia, capitalism, Catholicism, censorship, Charles Bukowski, Christianity, Cinema, Class, College, comedy, conformity, Conspiracy Theories, Control, coronavirus, counterculture, Crime, Culture, David Lynch, Drugs, Economics, England, Film, History, Homosexuality, humor, Internet, Ireland, Kevin Kautzman, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Marquis de Sade, Mexico, Morality, New York, Nietzsche, Occultism, Oscar Wilde, Philosophy, Poetry, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, relationships, Religion, Sexuality, Social Media, social status, Socialism, Stanley Kubrick, Suburbia, Surrealism, Theatre, Travel, Twin Peaks, Wealth, William S. Burroughs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to playwright Kevin Kautzman about his play MODERATION, playwright Oscar Wilde, and author William S. Burroughs. Check out Kevin’s podcast Art of Darkness, web series Money Shot Show, and follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

The online premier of the latest iteration of MODERATION, a dark comedy about social media moderators
Kevin’s play Dream of Perfect Sleep
Oscar Wilde: The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name
Oscar Wilde’s political views and philosophy of aestheticism, his prison letter De Profundis, and notable quotes
William S. Burroughs: Liberalism with a Gun
The Beat Generation
The economic and political mechanisms of the arts
The artist’s legacy within the framework of cancel culture
Upcoming podcasts on Stanley Kubrick, Charles Bukowski, and Ernest Hemmingway

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson.

Robert Stark talks to Jay Dyer about Jacob’s Ladder

1980's, 1990's, acting, aesthetics, Buddhism, Christianity, Cinema, Conspiracy Theories, Crime, Culture, David Lynch, death, dreams, Drugs, Film, Gnosticism, Hellraiser, History, Hollywood, horror, horror films, Jacob's Ladder, Jay Dyer, John Carpenter, KLF, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, New York, Occultism, Psychology, Religion, Science, Science Fiction, Southbound, Suicide, Surrealism, Twin Peaks, Vaporwave, War

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to author and TV presenter Jay Dyer about the psychological horror film Jacob’s Ladder (1990). Jay Dyer is the author of Esoteric Hollywood:: Sex, Cults and Symbols in Film and you can watch his show on YouTube. Also check out Robert’s interview with Jay on Stark Truth TV at the Paramount Movie Ranch which was damaged in a wildfire shortly after filming.

Topics:

Jacob’s Ladder’s cult following and its director Adrian Lyne
The film’s plot, layers revealed, and symbolism
The Phoenix Program and Project MKUltra
Pseudo Christian themes in the film with references to the Bible, Christian mystic Meister Eckhart, and Dante’s Purgatorio
The concept of the soul journey in Orthodox Christianity and Gnosticism
The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead by Timothy Leary
Studies on Near Death Experiences
Comparisons to other films including Flatliners, Silent Hill: Revelation, Hellraiser: Inferno, Southbound, Insidious, The Triangle, U Turn, Enter the Void, and The Void
The British electronic band The KLF
Jay’s upcoming lecture series on the history of the mafia

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson.

Robert Stark interviews Naama Kates about Incels

Academia, acting, alienation, American Culture, censorship, Cinema, Culture, demographics, Economics, Ellliot Rodger, Erik Erikson, Film, Gender, Hollywood, horror, horror films, humor, Incels, income inequality, Indy Music, Jordan Peterson, journalism, Journey to Vapor Island, materialism, Media, Memes, Mental illness, Millennials, misanthropy, missogyny, Morality, Music, Naama Kates, Narcissism, NEETs, Neuroscience, Personality Types, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, psychosocialism, Race Relations, relationships, Sexuality, social capital, Social Isolation, Social Media, social status, social trust, Spree Shootings, technology, The Black Pill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks with investigative journalist, actress, musician, and director Naama Kates about her journey deep inside the incel community. Naama Kates is the host of the podcast Incel. You can follow The Incel Project on Twitter and contact Naama at [email protected].

Topics:

Naama’s background as an actress including roles on the show NCIS and the movie Stepmom
Directing the horror film Sorceress, the documentary Dutchman Revisited, and producing Chloe
Naama’s Music Videos directed by Princeton Holt from the early 2010s’ Indy Craze
Naama’s personal and political evolution
How Naam’s fascination with incel culture started with a correspondence on Twitter
Why the media narrative about incels is wrong, harmful, and casts dispersion on a group that is already marginalized
How Naama’s journey started out as an open ended question
Misconception that incels are a political movement and have a racial orientation
Incel Lexicology and narratives
Naama’s personal interactions with incels
Disarmed by the humor of the incel forums
Guests on the podcast Incel, including a Christian pastor, a forensic psychologist, a neuro-scientist, and a psychiatrist
Incels as part of a greater trend of social atomization and inequality
#pinkystream – naama kates on hikkikimori
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
The limitations of self improvement
Are femcels a thing?
Incel as a brand
Naama’s upcoming podcast, ESC-Hate, featuring dialogue between opposing political sides

Click Here to download!Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to filmmaker Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson about his film Heartstone(Hjartasteinn)

acting, Cinema, Culture, dreams, Film, Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, Heartstone, Homosexuality, humor, Iceland, relationships, Suicide, Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Icelandic film director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson about his film Heartstone(Hjartasteinn). Check out the Facebook page for Heartstone.

Topics:

Guðmundur’s long term dream of making the film inspired by a personal story
The importance for the film to be light and funny as well as dramatic
A difficult ending that still has hope
The theme of adolescence
Casting the actors
Heartstone’s screening at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and winning the Queer Lion at the 73rd Venice Film Festival
Inspiration from Paul Thomas Anderson’s  Magnolia and The Master, and Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me
Film locations in remote parts of Iceland
Safety guards from Game of Thrones who helped with the cliff climbing scene
Guðmundur’s film Ártún
The Icelandic Film Industry
Upcoming film project about misfit youth

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews filmmaker James Di Martino about his film The Faceless Man

acting, Art, Australia, Cartrell Payne, Cinema, comedy, Crime, Culture, David Lynch, Film, horror, horror films, humor, James Di Martino, Quentin Tarantino, The Faceless Man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Cartrell Payne talk to Australian Filmmaker James Di Martino about his film The Faceless Man, which is his first feature film.

Topics:

James’ background in film, making shorts ranging from comedies, thrillers, and a period western
James’ directing style and cinema-photographic influences
Throwbacks to Quentin Tarantino and Get Out in The Faceless Man
Challenges of working with low budgets
Playing on the contrast of horror clichés with the unpredictable
The theme of what’s real and what’s not
Elements of crime genres and light hearted humor
Inspiration from personal trauma as a cancer survivor
Australian Cinema; the horror film The Babadook
Actors including Australian icons Roger Ward and Andy McPhee
The Special effects
Design for the monster by illustrator Austen Mengler
James’ independent production company Chapter 5 Studios
James’ upcoming dark comedy coming of age drama
The film’s premier at Monster Fest in Melbourne

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews filmmaker Éva Gárdos about her film Budapest Noir

acting, aesthetics, Architecture, Art, Budapest Noir, Cinema, Culture, Éva Gárdos, Film, Film Noire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to filmmaker Éva Gárdos about her new film Budapest Noir.

Topics:

The historical setting of the film in 1936, just prior to Hungary turning fascist
The sense of what was about to happen and people not seeing what was going to happen to them
Éva’s experience as an editor
The costume and set design
The city as a character
The novel Budapest Noir and where it differs from the film
Location scouting
The set design for the Bauhaus mansion and significance of that architectural genre
The Film Noir genre and murder mystery angle
Selecting actors, and theater background of Hungarian actors
Éva’s film An American Rhapsody starring Nastassja Kinski and Scarlett Johansson
The American release for Budapest Noir planned for January of 2020

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to David Cole about The Right’s Trump Fatigue

acting, Alternative Right, American Culture, Andrew Yang, Ann Coulter, anti-semitism, Conservatives, Crime, Culture, David Cole, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Elections, Film, Immigration, income inequality, Islam, Matthew Pegas, Political Parties, Politics, Race Relations, Republican Party, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Takimag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk with David Cole about the Right’s disillusionment with Trump. David Cole writes for Takimag and is the author of Republican Party Animal.

Topics:

David’s article Twilight of the God Emperor
Ann Coulter : Trump’s Failing. Don’t Ask Me to Lie About it
Ann Coulter: Trump’s Border Wall Prototypes a Ridiculous Waste of Time’
The reasons that Trump is ignoring the concerns of his base
How the election is not Trump’s to win but Democrats’ to lose
How employment stats are like Nielsen Ratings
How it is easier for politicians to tell people they are doing poorly than defend the status quo
Never Trumpers warming up to Trump who is now basically a standard big business Republican
Robert’s Takimag article on Andrew Yang demonstrates that the Right has basically given up on stopping mass immigration
How Dystopian Science Fiction Films often deal with class but not race
The disenfranchisement of the White proletariat in South Africa
Whites exploiting their physical appearance
How Ann Coulter’s comment that immigration policy should be run like Tinder was inspired by a discussion with David on South African actresses
David’s article Stop With the Golems, Already! about congresswoman Ilhan Omar

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island