Center Stage with Mark Gordon

Today, we're traveling back to 1997 for a conversation with one of the most distinctive and rebellious filmmakers of the indie film scene—Greg Araki. By the time Nowhere hit theaters in ‘97, Araki had already made a name for himself with his bold, surreal, and unapologetically queer storytelling. As the final entry in his “Teen Apocalypse Trilogy,” Nowhere pushed boundaries with its wild mix of sex, drugs, existential dread, and alien abductions—all wrapped in the signature Araki aesthetic.

In 1978, Christina Crawford published Mommie Dearest, a groundbreaking memoir that exposed the dark side of her life with legendary actress Joan Crawford. The book became an instant bestseller, sparking controversy, debate, and even a cult-classic film adaptation. Back in 1998, I had the privilege of sitting down with Christina Crawford to discuss the impact of her book two decades later. Stay tuned as we revisit that conversation—a candid, revealing look at one of Hollywood's most infamous stories.

Filmmaker John Kastner joined Mark Gordon on Center Stage to discuss his powerful documentary "Life with Murder." The story follows the mysterious death of 18-year-old Jennifer Jenkins, which shocked the small community of Chatham, Ontario. Shot five times, her lifeless body is discovered by her parents, Brian and Leslie, in the basement of their home. Jennifer's brother Mason is nowhere to be found. As the Jenkins struggle with their grief. Police quickly zeroed in on the most likely suspect, Mason. He is soon arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted of the first-degree murder of his sister. However, Mason adamantly claims he is innocent, and his parents face an agonizing dilemma. "Life with Murder" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Life-with-Murder/0KN8ZIH6JJEIXKQ97SWMQ9QZ59

Mark H. Rapaport and Kimball Farley share stories about their new film "Hippo," a quirky, funny, and disturbing portrayal of an American family.Join filmmakers Mark H. Rapaport and Kimball Farley as they share the fascinating journey behind their new film "Hippo." Dive into the quirky, funny, and at times disturbing exploration of an American family, and hear the stories that shaped this unique project. Tune in for an insightful conversation about creativity, challenges, and the art of storytelling!

In HITCHCOCK'S BLONDES, bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer offers an intimate journey into the lives of eight legendary actresses whose stories helped chart the course of the troubled, talented director's career—from his early days in the British film industry, to his triumphant American debut, to his Hollywood heyday and beyond. Through the stories of June Howard-Tripp, Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedren—who starred in fourteen of Hitchcock's most notable films and who bore the brunt of his fondness and sometimes fixation—we can finally start to see the enigmatic man himself. After all, “his” blondes (as he thought of them) knew the truths of his art, his obsessions and desires, as well as anyone. As with his previous book, Capote's Women, Leamer's empathetic retelling acknowledges their complex stories and allows their biographies to take priority. Alfred Hitchcock was fixated—not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blond actresses who starred in many of his iconic movies. The director of “North by Northwest,” “Rear Window,” and other classic films didn't much care if they wore wigs, got their hair coloring out of a bottle, or were the rarest human specimen—a natural blonde—as long as they shone with a golden veneer on camera. The lengths he went to in order to showcase (and often manipulate) these women would become the stuff of movie legend. But the women themselves have rarely been at the center of the story, until now. Biographies have been written about Alfred Hitchcock, but never has there been an account of his life and work told through the lens of the actresses who helped launch his career. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Laurence Leamer is a leading biographer of the rich and powerful, including Capote's Women, Madness Under the Royal Palms and The Kennedy Women, among many other books. Leamer's last book, 2021's CAPOTE'S WOMEN was an acclaimed national bestseller and will serve as the source material for the second season of Feud, Ryan Murphy's F/X anthology series. It has a jaw-dropping cast of stars attached including Naomi Watts, Molly Ringwald, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, and Chloe Sevigny, with Gus Van Sant directing. He lives in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida.

Lee Roy Kunz & Cru Ennis talk about their horror film Deliver Us. When a nun in a remote convent claims immaculate conception, the Vatican sends a team of priests to investigate, concerned about an ancient prophecy that a woman will give birth to twin boys: one the Messiah, the other the Anti-Christ. DELIVER US is available On Demand and Digital

Max Erlenwein talks about his suspense-filled thriller, THE DIVE. THE DIVE is now available everywhere you rent movies.

Here is a track I created to help you regain a sense of calm and relaxation.

Film Producer Michael Pollack comes Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about FIELDS OF GOLD, a documentary about the life of agribusiness pioneer and industry giant A. E. Staley, whose company rose to great wealth with his innovations in corn and soybean processing at the turn of the 20th century. His love of sports led him to be the founder and original owner of the football team that eventually became the Chicago Bears.

Award-winning filmmaker, Yuval Adler comes Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about his latest film "Sympathy for the Devil." After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is at it seems. Starring Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman, "Sympathy for the Devil" is scheduled to release on July 28, 2023.

Franklin Ritch talks about his latest film THE ARTIFICE GIRL. THE ARTIFICE GIRL is now available On Demand and Digital.

Stephen Wooley is an award-winning producer of many films including "The Crying Game" and "Interview with the Vampire." In 2005 we met to talk about his latest film, Stoned, which follows the life and mysterious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones.

Josh Stolberg has made a name for himself in horror films with the screenplays Sorority Row, Piranha 3D, Jigsaw, and most recently, Spiral. In 2011, he spoke with me on Center Stage about his film Conception, a romantic comedy that follows nine couples on the night they conceive. This heartfelt film explores the various human emotions and feelings that arise when a couple faces the prospect of a child. Some wish for a baby, while others are shocked and confused. If you would like more information about Josh Stolberg, visit www.joshstolberg.com

In 2010 Joe Cross joined me Center Stage to talk about his inspiring documentary "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead," a film that follows his journey from chronic illness to vibrant health. Armed with a video camera and a juicer, Cross traveled into the heart of America to share his life-changing story and fresh juice with all who would listen. For more information, visit https://www.rebootwithjoe.com/joes-films/

Harry Shearer is an Emmy-winning actor, writer, musician, and political satirist. He is best known for his work on The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, and films such as This is Spinal Tap. In 2002, he joined me in the studio to discuss making the film Teddy Bears Picnic. Stay tuned as we go Center Stage with Harry Shearer, the man of a thousand voices.

Mel Stuart talks about Gene Wilder, making Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and casting Richard Pryor in Wattstax.

Welcome to Center Stage. My name is Mark Gordon. In The Houses October Built, five friends travel across America searching for the scariest haunted house, a trip leading them into the ultimate terror. Stay tuned as we go Center Stage with Zack Andrews and Bobby Roe the creative people behind The Houses October built. The Houses October Built is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Until next time, this is Mark Gordon, and I'll see you Center Stage.

In 1996, I met Hope Davis. She was doing press for her film The Daytrippers. When I first met Hope Davis, her beauty took my breath away. She was charming and fun, and I was smitten. During the interview, she talked about the restaurant jobs she had before becoming a working actor. Since The Daytrippers, she has not stopped working, appearing in numerous movies and television shows. Most recently, she was featured in Your Honor with Bryan Cranston and on the HOB series Perry Mason. Coming up later in 2022, Hope Davis will be featured with an all-star cast in Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. Stay to as we go back to the early days of Center Stage with Hope Davis.

Doug Hemphill has been making movies sound sweet since he worked with Walter Merch as Mix Recordist on Apocalypse Now. He discusses working on The Life of Pi and other films in the podcast. The interview was recorded live in 2013, a few days before the 85th Academy Awards, where he had been nominated for Best Sound Mixing. For a complete list of Doug Hemphill's work, visit IMDB.com.

Raghu Markus talks about his travels to India and meeting K.C. Tewari, a High Yogi, who had the ability to go into altered states of trance, known as Samadhi.  Years later the story comes to life in the documentary Brilliant Disguise.

Jim Bernfield talks about making the documentary Me To Play which follows Dan Moran and Chris Jones, New York actors who live with Parkinson's disease — a disease that affects all the elements essential to their craft. They get together to do a one-night performance of Samuel Beckett's Endgame, which may be the performance of a lifetime.

Jared Drake and Steven Siig talk about their powerful documentary BURIED: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche. The film chronicles the harrowing and life-affirming events that took place on March 31, 1982, when a massive avalanche with millions of pounds of snow fell on the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, killing seven people.

Leslee Udwin talks about her powerful documentary chronicling a brutal gang rape and murder that shocked a nation.

Alex Gibney talks about his powerful documentary which exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.

Neil LaBute talks about his latest film, "House of Darkness," a creepy, sexy, and sinister tale about meeting a random stranger at a bar and going home with them. House of Darkness opens in select theaters on September 9 and then streams on your favorite digital platform on September 13.

Bernardo Ruiz talks about his film KINGDOM OF SHADOWS which offers an unflinching look at the human cost of the U.S.-Mexico drug war.

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski talk about making their film "Big Eyes."

Justin Dyck & Keith Cooper came Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about their latest film Anything for Jackson, a family drama with a terrifying twist.

Ryan Spindell talks about his smartly-crafted horror anthology THE MORTUARY COLLECTION. Set in the phantasmagorical town of Raven's End, THE MORTUARY COLLECTION, follows a misguided young girl who takes refuge in a decrepit old mortuary. There she meets Montgomery Dark, an eccentric undertaker with more than a few skeletons in his closet. Montgomery chronicles the strange history of the town through a series of twisted tales, each more terrifying than the last, but the young girl's world is unhinged when she discovers that the final story...is her own. THE MORTUARY COLLECTION is currently available on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray. Written and directed by Ryan Spindell ("50 States of Fright," The Babysitter Murders), THE MORTUARY COLLECTION stars Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, Thor: Ragnarok), Caitlin Custer ("Teen Wolf," "Swingtown"), Christine Kilmer ("Hollywood," "Shameless"), and Jacob Elordi (The Kissing Booth franchise, "Euphoria").

Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna came Center Stage to talk bout their latest documentary THE PEOPLE VS AGENT ORANGE The Agent Orange catastrophe did not end with the Vietnam War. Today, the world over, a primary chemical of the toxic defoliant controls weeds in farming, forestry, parks, playgrounds… It wreaks havoc on the human genome, causing deformed births and deadly cancers. After decades of struggle and tragic personal losses, two heroic women are leading a worldwide movement to end the plague and hold the manufacturers accountable. In France, Tran To Nga is suing the American chemical industry for poisoning her in Vietnam. In America, Carol Van Strum exposes the continuing use of toxic herbicides. Incriminating documents disappear. Activists are threatened. A helicopter technician secretly films the contamination of reservoirs, while a massive industrial cover-up goes on.

Svetlana Cvetko and David Scott Smith came Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about the new film SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT. The film follows three twentysomethings. They form a wholehearted ménage à trois, finding joy together by joining political protests, making art, and falling deeper into their unconventional love until one must return to Italy. Their experience threatens the delicate balance of their relationship in this film that sparks with the restless energy of the French New Wave.

Ben Hozie talks about his latest film PVT CHAT on Center Stage with Mark Gordon. Hozie states, "PVT CHAT is an attempt to understand this epoch's stimulation addiction and the philosophical ramifications of this stimulation transaction economy. It is also an attempt to bring film eroticism into the 21st century ----> I wanted to film masturbation and fantasy in a way that I've never seen at the cinema: raw, honest, and un-glamorous. Sex in cinema is often just cheap titillation or a quick stop-gap in between plot. I wanted to film sex in a way that reveals something about its ordinary everyday-ness. This couldn't have been achieved without Peter Vack (Jack) and Julia Fox's (Scarlet) cinematic courage. The film was entirely funded by money I received when my mother passed away in 2017 ---> thus in some ways it is also a movie about its own making and by extension is a movie about mourning. It deals with heavy thematics but I wanted the film to also be buoyant ---> it is ultimately a romance and a salvo against cine-nihilism.

Marijnke de Jong and Robin Lutz discuss their latest documentary M.C.ESCHER: JOURNEY TO INFINITY M.C. Escher: Journey To Infinity is the story of world famous Dutch graphic artist M.C Escher (1898-1972). Equal parts history, psychology, and psychedelia, Robin Lutz’s entertaining, eye-opening portrait gives us the man through his own words and images: diary musings, excerpts from lectures, correspondence and more are voiced by British actor Stephen Fry, while Escher’s woodcuts, lithographs, and other print works appear in both original and playfully altered form. Two of his sons, George (92) and Jan (80), reminisce about their parents while musician Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash) talks about Escher’s rediscovery in the 1970s. The film looks at Escher’s legacy: one can see tributes to his work in movies, in fiction, on posters, on tattoos, and elsewhere throughout our culture; indeed, few fine artists of the 20th century can lay claim to such popular appeal.

Braden R. Duemmler came Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about his first feature film, WHAT LIES BELOW, an eerie tale of family, love, and trust. The film follows Liberty, a socially awkward 16-year-old, who returns home from two months at camp to find her mother living with John Smith, a charming and intelligent man with perfect teeth and a chiseled body. His good looks captivate Liberty, but she soon realizes a deception lurking behind the man who may be too perfect to be human.

Seth Savoy is a Cajun American film director and screenwriter from Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied filmmaking at Columbia College Chicago. There he made multiple award-winning short films that screened at more than 65 film festivals around the world. In 2015, Seth took his script “The Echo Boomers” to the Sundance Film Festival and won an independent pitch competition that caught the industry's attention. Five years later, he directed “Echo Boomers” with two academy nominees, Michael Shannon and Lesley Ann Warren, and established his niche of fun and flashy filmmaking with strong political commentary.

Jacob Chase came Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about his latest film about a boy and his scary friend Larry. Watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQwiqhdMQ7g&feature=youtu.be

Darren Lynn Bousman has been terrorizing audiences ever since he directed SAWII. His current film, DEATH OF ME, follows a couple whose beautiful island vacation turns into a nightmare when discovering a mysterious video of one of them killing the other. DEATH OF ME is currently streaming on Prime Video. WATCH THE TRAILER: https://youtu.be/mxKoOGstEmo

Malcolm Goodwin & Victor Hawks talk about their inspiring new film BE THE LIGHT, a musical/family drama about the power of love, faith, and redemption, follows a down and out girl who tries to make amends with her dying father. For more information about the film visit www.bethelightmovie.com

Mark Johnston & Mark Ryan reveal the untold story of wine in the Middle East by Mark Gordon

James Keach talks about his latest film, Turning Point, which follows a group of scientists searching for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. For more information about the film and where you can watch it visit www.turningpointmovie.com

Sherrida Woodley talks about her award-winning book Quick Fall of Light. Set during the time of a bird flu epidemic, a woman vows to protect a passenger pigeon whose secret existence will determine humankind's future. The book's inspiration came from her experience working in a pathology lab in the mid-1990s, where she saw how environmental destruction and extinction of endangered species could lead to the release of pathogens and viruses deadly to humans.

Eric Merola Talks About THE ANDORRA HUSTLE

Award-winning filmmaker, Dan Partland talks about his latest film #UNFIT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DONALD TRUMP. The film features a group of mental health professionals who have studied Trump's behavior over the last several years and present a compelling case that Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist and unfit to be President of the United States of America.

Brandon Christensen talks about his latest film, Z, which follows a family who finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.

Chris Foggin talks about making the heartwarming film Fisherman’s Friends. Based on a true story the film follows a group of singing fishermen who get discovered by a music producer and he takes them from a small Cornish village to international fame.

As an actor, Scott Wilson’s career spanned over five decades, starting in 1967 with the Oscar-winning film IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT. Later that year, he landed a co-starring role in the neo-noir crime drama IN COLD BLOOD, written, produced, and directed by Richard Brooks. Here is an interview I did with Scott Wilson in 2017.

Tony Dean Smith talks about his first feature film, the science-fiction thriller, VOLITION. It all began while he was in film school. He had developed a story about a scientist experimenting with a drug that would allow him to see 50 seconds into the future. Written as a short film, but it never got made. He wasn’t satisfied, so he put the project on hold. As the years passed, he kept coming back to that original story, reworking and re-writing the screenplay, but he couldn’t find the missing piece of the puzzle. He was stuck, trapped in a prison of fear. Would he ever finish the film? He thought about where he was and where he wanted to be. At that moment, everything became crystal clear. The one thing that he was missing was right there with him all along.

Madison Young talks about her docuseries "Submission Possible"

Tom Shepard comes Center Stage with Mark Gordon to talk about his documentary UNSETTLED: Seeking Refuge in America. The film looks at the plight of LGBTQ refugees and asylum-seekers who are forced to flee their homeland because of violence and persecution often at the hands of homophobic family members.

Adrienne Vanderocker talks about life, music, and her creative process on Center Stage with Mark Gordon.

Bruce McDonald talks about making his latest film Dreamland.