WTF is on my Mind?!
Author, Speaker, Whistleblower and award-winning Director Mark Vicente was behind the sleeper hit “What The Bleep Do We Know?!” Several books have been written about the film’s remarkable grassroots marketing campaign, which led to its unprecedented success.
Mark was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1965. Taking his first photograph at age four, he quickly discovered his passion for being behind the camera. After attending film and drama school in South Africa, he began working his way up the ranks of the camera department, from Assistant to Operator to Cinematographer. His first big break came as Director of Photography on the musical “SARAFINA,” starring Whoopi Goldberg. In 1992, he set his sights on Hollywood and relocated to Los Angeles to shoot his first studio picture for Disney; “FATHERHOOD,” starring Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry. At the age of 26, he became one of the youngest cinematographers to shoot a big-budget studio picture.
Over the next few decades, he went on to shoot an additional 14 feature films and numerous documentaries, music videos and commercials. Mark soon found there were in him, untold stories he desperately wanted to express as a Director. He was driven by the conviction that tales of greatness, nobility and introspection could be exciting and financially successful.
Perhaps because of the very obvious race and class iniquities in South Africa, he found himself propelled to question certain fundamental assumptions at a very young age. Beliefs about human behavior, cosmology, religion, existentialism and mysticism. Along the way, he stumbled into a few situations where leaders with malignant pathologies (masquerading as saintly philosophers) spoke the talk of self-improvement but did untold damage to their followers... and him.
Looking back, he can now say he has been in at least two cults. His last foray into personal growth and his defection from NXIVM was chronicled in the HBO series “The Vow”. Mark and a few plucky whistleblowers exposed the criminal activities of the organization, resulting in multiple arrests and indictments. He doesn’t consider himself a cult expert, but by his own admission, “I’m an expert in being screwed over, waking up, and knowing how to spot them.” He’s got a pretty salty approach to most things and is fascinated by the myriad patterns in the human psychodynamic that create the best and the worst in civilization.
Join Mark as he unpacks a whole range of topics to do with: Psychology, Consciousness, Morality, Narcissistic Abuse, Spirituality, Cults, Propaganda, Science, Filmmaking, and Philosophy.You never quite know what you’re going to get, as it really does depend on… WTF is on his mind?!
WTF is on my Mind?!
Corey Feldman's Angels... in HELL - Part 1
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this first part of a two-part episode, I sit down with Margot Lane and Mara Moon; two former bandmates of Corey Feldman who were part of his group, 'Corey's Angels'. Both women were subjects of the documentary film Corey Feldman vs. The World, directed by Marcie Hume, whom I interviewed in a previous episode.
Margot and Mara share how they were each drawn into Feldman's world, lured by promises of a music career, financial stability, and a fresh start, and what they found once they arrived. From body shaming and food restriction to controlled movement and psychological manipulation, their stories reveal a deeply troubling pattern that will be familiar to anyone who has studied or experienced coercive control.
I also address the apparent PR campaign working to silence those who speak out... and explain why silencing people almost always has the opposite effect.
This is Part 1. Part 2 drops next week.
Watch Corey Feldman vs. The World before listening — it will make this conversation much more meaningful.
https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/corey-feldman-vs-the-world/umc.cmc.638hs9xgsfcmdcgkyn7s7m51u
Narcissist's Playbook — watch the trailer at www.narcissistsplaybook.com
00:00 Cold Open – Mara's Warning
00:22 Introduction & Context
01:00 The PR Silencing Campaign
02:00 Does Abuse Justify Abuse? The Streisand Effect
03:34 Why This Story Matters
04:02 Who Were Margot and Mara Before?
06:43 Why They Said Yes — The Promise of Opportunity
08:18 Entering Corey's World – First Impressions
09:50 Red Flags Begin – Food, Body Shaming & Control
13:24 How It Felt to Be Targeted
15:17 Margot's Experience – Boundaries Under Fire
19:18 Patreon Cult Series Announcement
20:16 How They Were Hooked Through Their Art
22:24 Love Bombing & Flattery
23:45 The Polyamory Dynamic
25:13 Sexual Undertones & Coercion
28:32 The NDA, The Club & What Happened Next
38:02 End of Part 1 – See You Next Week
The views and opinions expressed on WTF is on my Mind?! do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast or Mark Vicente. Any content provided by guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MarkVicente
Website: www.markvicente.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@markvicente7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markvicente/
X: https://x.com/markvicente
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark_vicente
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markvicente/