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208: David M. Lubin KNOWS Art, Film, Subtext, Motivation, Education, Human Nature & Sunset Boulevard

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Release Date: 10/16/2025

213: John Abendshien KNOWS Movies, Healthcare, Curiosity Gone Wild, Human Nature, Kevin McCallister & Home Alone Home Ownership show art 213: John Abendshien KNOWS Movies, Healthcare, Curiosity Gone Wild, Human Nature, Kevin McCallister & Home Alone Home Ownership

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Imagine your home suddenly transformed into a Hollywood icon.   That's precisely what happened to John Abendshien, whose real-life house became the star of "Home Alone." More than just a film set, it turned into a character of its own, filled with traps and slapstick chaos that helped make the movie a global hit.   Decades later, the house remains legendary. Tourists visit, merchandise abounds—even gingerbread replicas exist. In his new book, "Home But Alone No More," Abendshien shares the fascinating behind-the-scenes story: how the location was chosen, what filming was like, and...

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212: Mark Malkoff KNOWS Entertainment, Comedy, Late Night TV, Obsessive Behavior & Johnny Carson show art 212: Mark Malkoff KNOWS Entertainment, Comedy, Late Night TV, Obsessive Behavior & Johnny Carson

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Mark Malkoff is a comedian, writer, and podcast host. He has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, CNN, NPR's Weekend Edition, and for eight years hosted the popular podcast The Carson Podcast.   His new book, "Love Johnny Carson," is a wildly entertaining account by one of the world's most obsessed and informed fans of TV icon Johnny Carson, setting the record straight on Carson's legacy and shining a light on the personality behind the legendary comedian and talk show host.   Carson aficionado Mark Malkoff has amassed more Carson stories from original sources than anyone in...

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211: Robin Hauser KNOWS Documentaries, Egg Freezing, Human Nature & Courageous Women show art 211: Robin Hauser KNOWS Documentaries, Egg Freezing, Human Nature & Courageous Women

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Once a niche medical procedure, egg freezing is now a billion-dollar industry that promises women the ability to pause their biological clocks and extend their reproductive choices.    For some, it’s a path to empowerment; for others, it’s a costly gamble in an unregulated system with no guarantees. Through the experiences of three American women navigating the process, this documentary examines the realities behind the growing trend—who has access, who profits, and what’s at stake.    With insights from medical experts, ethicists, and industry leaders, the film...

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210: Kevin Goetz and Bob Levin KNOW Movies, Storytelling, Creative Instinct, Audience Insight & Box Office Success show art 210: Kevin Goetz and Bob Levin KNOW Movies, Storytelling, Creative Instinct, Audience Insight & Box Office Success

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Dive into the behind-the-scenes world of the movie business, where entertainment strategist Kevin Goetz reveals the pivotal intersection of creative instinct and audience insight. This is the sweet spot where the business of film meets the art of storytelling. When it comes to cinematic success, every detail matters—from early concept to the final marketing push.   "How to Score in Hollywood" is a playbook for guiding movie-making decisions at every turn. Drawing from nearly four decades of experience, Goetz shows how films can be made and marketed to turn a profit by aligning creative...

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209: B.A Crisp KNOWS Empathy, Resilience, Spirituality, Cognition & Ghost Management show art 209: B.A Crisp KNOWS Empathy, Resilience, Spirituality, Cognition & Ghost Management

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

This episode will help you start to understand how to embrace your emotional ghosts and transform them into catalysts for healing and growth.   Her third appearance with Randall Kenneth Jones, B. A. Crisp is a strategist at Crisp Concepts, Inc., in Herndon, VA. Her professional portfolio ranges from psychiatric assessment specialist to adviser with the Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate, where she collaborated on anti-human trafficking research. She also lent her expertise to Homeland Security Investigations on Illicit Finance Crimes and Gangs. ...

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208: David M. Lubin KNOWS Art, Film, Subtext, Motivation, Education, Human Nature & Sunset Boulevard show art 208: David M. Lubin KNOWS Art, Film, Subtext, Motivation, Education, Human Nature & Sunset Boulevard

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

This episode will help you understand how art—specifically cinema—can grow in importance over time, and our ongoing exploration of art continues to shed valuable light on the human condition. #ArtIsLife   Today, more than 70 years after it premiered, "Sunset Boulevard" remains the finest ever movie made about the pathology of fame: those who lose it, those who abuse it, and those who never attain it at all.    Great films are born of great collaborations, and "Sunset Boulevard" represents one of the most extraordinary confluences of cinematic talent in film history. Still,...

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207: Brian Edwards KNOWS Friendship, Loyalty, Entertainment, Media & Brian Edwards show art 207: Brian Edwards KNOWS Friendship, Loyalty, Entertainment, Media & Brian Edwards

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

This episode will help you KNOW more about the value of thoughtfully capturing and sharing one's legacy, accepting your past, including the highs and the lows, and giving credit where credit is due. In the mid-1980s, LGBTQ+ trailblazer Edwards carved his path alongside icons like Donna Summer and Joan Rivers. Over the decades, he built a reputation as a multi-award-winning talent executive, client relations rep, producer, writer, and occasional performer – working with some of the most recognizable names in show business: Cindy Crawford, Susan Sarandon, Melissa Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg,...

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206: Michael Seth Starr KNOWS Entertainment, Wordplay, Comedy, Exploration & Rodney Dangerfield show art 206: Michael Seth Starr KNOWS Entertainment, Wordplay, Comedy, Exploration & Rodney Dangerfield

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

This episode will help you KNOW more about the value of thoughtfully capturing and sharing one’s legacy—and giving credit where credit is due.   Michael Seth Starr covered television at the New York Post as a reporter, columnist, critic, and editor for over 28 years. He has written a filmography of Peter Sellers and biographies of Rodney Dangerfield, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Art Carney, Joey Bishop, Bobby Darin, Raymond Burr, William Shatner, Redd Foxx, and Ringo Starr. He has made frequent appearances on television, including The Today Show, Access Hollywood, Good Morning America,...

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205: Bob Burg KNOWS Lifelong Learning, Loyalty, Leadership & How to Give and Receive show art 205: Bob Burg KNOWS Lifelong Learning, Loyalty, Leadership & How to Give and Receive

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

After listening to this very personal episode, you will KNOW more about the importance of, not just finding, but understanding joy. For more than 30 years, Bob Burg has been successfully showing entrepreneurs, leaders, and sales professionals how to build relationships, communicate their value, and accelerate their business growth. Although for years he was best known for his sales classic, "Endless Referrals," it's his business parable, "The Go-Giver," co-authored with John David Mann, that has created a worldwide movement. While part of a four-book series, "The Go-Giver" itself has sold well...

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204: Tribunal Justice Judge Adam Levy KNOWS Right vs. Wrong, Accountability, Critical Thinking & Family Values show art 204: Tribunal Justice Judge Adam Levy KNOWS Right vs. Wrong, Accountability, Critical Thinking & Family Values

ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Adam Levy brings over 25 years of diverse legal experience to the bench, serving as one of three judges on Prime Video's Tribunal Justice, created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. Podcast Highlights: •    Levy talks about being part of a legal dynasty, including his mother, Judge Judy Sheindlin •    Levy discusses how the "rule of law" applied at home •    Levy shares the importance his mother's work ethic had on his professional development •    Levy shares a funny story of how his mother accepted a job on his behalf early in his career •  ...

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More Episodes
This episode will help you understand how art—specifically cinema—can grow in importance over time, and our ongoing exploration of art continues to shed valuable light on the human condition. #ArtIsLife
 
Today, more than 70 years after it premiered, "Sunset Boulevard" remains the finest ever movie made about the pathology of fame: those who lose it, those who abuse it, and those who never attain it at all. 
 
Great films are born of great collaborations, and "Sunset Boulevard" represents one of the most extraordinary confluences of cinematic talent in film history. Still, its production was surprisingly fraught, filled with unexpected twists. Why was William Holden, who had never caught fire as a leading man, hired to play Joe Gillis after the fastest-rising star in the business dropped out at the last minute? After Mae West and Mary Pickford turned down the now iconic role of Norma Desmond, how did Billy Wilder convince Gloria Swanson, who had long been absent from Hollywood at this point, to leave her low-paying job as a TV talk show host to join the cast? 
 
From the writers' room during Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's final collaboration to the moment when the film won three Academy Awards, scholar and former Rolling Stone staffer 
David M. Lubin takes readers on a fascinating journey through film history that proves, once and for all, why "Sunset Boulevard" is one of the most iconic films in cinematic history. 
 
By exploring the history of "Sunset Boulevard" in time for the movie's 75th anniversary, from its inception to its making its present-day legacy, READY FOR MY CLOSEUP breathes life into a beloved masterpiece of American cinema, not only marking its influential place in film history, but also proving how prescient it really was in terms of the human costs of relentless technological change and our obsessive quest for fame, youth, and immortality.
 
As an undergraduate, David M. Lubin studied filmmaking at the USC School of Cinema while reviewing music for Rolling Stone. He earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale. Among his seven books is an in-depth study of the blockbuster film Titanic. A professor at Wake Forest University, he has been a visiting professor at Oxford and lectured throughout the United States, Europe, China, and Australia. His Shooting Kennedy: JFK and the Culture of Images won the Smithsonian Institution's Charles C. Eldredge Prize for "distinguished scholarship in American art." Lubin is a Guggenheim Fellow and an NEH Public Scholar.
 
Podcast Highlights:
 
• Randy explains that his favorite thing to do on the podcast is to challenge himself by reading a book and "putting himself on trial" by interviewing its author
 
• David explains how his young students at Wake Forest University actually inspired him to choose "Sunset Boulevard" as a topic for his book. As his students were embarking on their own careers, the "Joe Gillis" character—and his challenges—resonated with them.
 
• David and Randy discuss additional reasons that "Sunset Boulevard" holds up so well. For one, it's the first Hollywood film that explores the "sickness" of fame. The film serves as an indictment of Hollywood's view of aging, which essentially has not changed.
 
• David explains how female students are influenced by the same pressure Norma Desmond feels about her appearance and the importance of looking their best.
 
• David and Randy discuss the concept "reel life" vs. "real life"—1950 vs. today, including the concepts of "reality television" and "being famous for being famous."
 
• David and Randy discuss "Sunset Boulevard" as an exploration of exploitation on a grand scale.
 
• David and Randy discuss Billy Wilder and the character of "Joe Gillis" are both gigolos. 
 
• David and Randy discuss how "Sunset Boulevard" explores writers, the writing process, and the exploitation of writers, noting that every character is "writing" something.
 
• David and Randy discuss their concerns over AI's potential impact on true human emotion, education, and thought.
 
Best Quotes (from the book and the podcast episode):
 
• David M. Lubin, READY FOR MY CLOSEUP: "A movie about has-beens and also-rans, about failed comebacks, misguided dreams, and murderous delusions, Sunset Boulevard was made by a raft of exceptionally creative individuals, all at critical/junctures in their careers, several of them playing roles that seemed drawn from their actual lives."
 
• David M. Lubin, READY FOR MY CLOSEUP: "Comedy, crime film, horror story, Hollywood exposé, romantic melodrama, and psychological thriller, "Sunset Boulevard" is above all an unsentimental examination of our innate unwillingness to accept the inevitability of decline, decay, and death."
 
• Randall Kenneth Jones: "I don't see those of us who are beyond our youth doing much to support each other. We have so much power. We have so much knowledge. We have so much to give—and so much to learn—yet we don't do enough to elevate each other."
 
• David M. Lubin: "A lot of people think intellectuality is dry, dusty and inhuman, [but] exploring the ideas of works of art is anything but dry and dusty. If you do it the right way, it's exciting."
 
• David M. Lubin: "A good writer has to be a good reader."
 
• David M. Lubin: "The joy of life is making daily discoveries: Walking down the path and turning these corners and seeing where it takes you. So what I know with certainty is that life consists of uncertainty."
 
ON THE KNOWS is produced and edited by Kevin Randall Jones.
 
 
Randall Kenneth Jones: www.RandallKennethJones.com 
Susan Bennett: www.SusanCBennett.com
Kevin Randall Jones: www.KevinRandallJones.com