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Join us on Movies We Like as we explore the movies we all like with the people who make them. And Steven, our people will call your people. Let's make this happen bobby. Subscribe today. What's up most excellent friends? It's Chrissy and Nathan for the most excellent 80s movies podcast. It's a podcast where a filmmaker and a comedian and their most excellent guests adventure their way through the 80s movies we think we love or might have missed with our grown up eyes to see how they hold up. Join us for a delightful discussion. Rolicking recaps. Ratings and deep cut recommendations. Plus members get some extra fun chit chat with the hosts after the show. Download the most excellent 80s movies podcast today at truestory.fm. Or find it wherever the finest podcast are stored. And do remember to keep the most excellent 80s movies podcast motto in mind. Be excellent to each other and... Cardión, dudes. I'm Pete Wright and I'm Andy Nelson. Welcome to the next reel when the movie ends. Our conversation begins. Chameleon Street is over. You pickle your bodies in gallons of tanning lotion. You broil your pale flesh brown in the tanning spas at great expense. And all the while maintaining such a marvelous contempt for black people. You wily cuck-cations. Some people call me Mr. Wonderful. Other people call me William Douglas Street Jr. Born in a log cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky, young Douglas soon elevated himself from your hand to tiger, from tiger to reporter, from reporter to doctor, from doctor to co-ed, from co-ed to attorney, from attorney to congressman. When I meet somebody, I know in the first two minutes who they want me to be. I need some money. Chameleon Street Andy, you wily cuck-cajon. We're talking about Chameleon Street. We hadn't had you seen it? I had not seen it before. Oh my God. This movie. I'm just going to say it. I love this movie. I had such a blast with this movie. It has all of the things that I rightfully should complain about and I have nothing to complain about. It's a fascinating film and for a filmmaker who clearly has an understanding of how to put together a film, how to play with the tools that he has in order to make the film, crafted quite an incredible story about this con artist, this true story, true-ish story. We can certainly talk about that, but about this Detroit con artist, William Douglas Street Jr., makes a story that just was an experience when you're watching. This was a film that I'm like, "Wow, this is a film. This is a person who is making a movie and I was excited from start to finish with this one." What made you excited about the experience with the movie? Harris Jr. clearly was tapping into a very energetic and in-your-face production style with from the voiceover that he has running throughout of this con artist, talking to us in all sorts of ways throughout the course of the story, to the camera work, the camera angles, the intercutting, the editing, the style in some of the production, and just in the way that he's crafting the story, everything about it was interesting and exciting. It made for a film that I was just felt was like, I felt energized after watching it. This is how you make a movie. It's a thrill to watch something like this. It is. I think what's interesting about it, because what are the other identity-swapping or identity-changing con movies? Catch me if you can. What else is in that category? That's the big one. I'm not sure how many others I've seen that follow that same pattern. This one, I think, adds an extra layer, which is the layer of race. The fact that it came out in 1989, and it's a black man doing all of these things, and he has lines like that, the one that I read up front, which is directly targeted, a targeting other white, I actually, now I can't remember, is that the attorneys are the doctors. He's at a table eating with a group of white people, and he is just openly, subversively insulting them, because he's in that club. I think one of the interesting messages and the enduring legacy of the movie is that from his perspective, this is a natural next step. Taking on these roles becomes the masking, the satirical masking he has to do to get by in the world, and I think that makes the message of this movie just fascinating. The fact that it's also propulsive, it just moves from gambit to gambit, and goes from him working his way into to be a student at an Ivy League college, to doing his directories is extraordinary. It's just great. It's just great. It wasn't what I was expecting, and that was such a thrill, especially on our list. This is part of our one and done series. You can kind of understand why somebody like Dalton Trumbo or Bruce Lee doesn't turn around and make more movies. I shouldn't throw Bruce Lee on the list, because sadly, it didn't live too long afterward. But somebody like Dalton Trumbo, who's largely a writer, and continued writing. This was just kind of an opportunity to direct a film based on his book. You can understand why he didn't necessarily fully make a shift and just start directing, because he has writing already. He could do that. When you look at a film like this by Wendell B. Harris Jr., this is somebody who should have had opportunities to make more films after this. What was Hollywood thinking? Not giving this person a chance, because he deserved it. It's just amazing to watch somebody like this crafting a story like this. It's so disappointing to see that the system did not work for him. Well, and reportedly, he was also an insistent director. Like after this project, he wanted more creative control than the studios were willing to give him. He wanted final edit. He wanted all kinds of things in the creative process, which are his right to ask for. It also led to these projects collapsing out from under him. Reportedly, a collaboration with Spike Lee was in the mix. Those things never came to pass, which leaves him in this sadly Sundance Film Festival dramatic grand jury prize winner Wendell B. Harris Jr., making just one film. As far as what he's doing here, he's coming into the story as the writer, the director, the star of the film, and then he also edits the film himself. That's wearing a lot of hats, and I also wonder if some of the issues that he ran into Hollywood was because he wore so many hats, felt he had such a position of understanding and control of the project that he had in his hand and wanted to have that same sense of control with the projects. I think that's a tricky line because Hollywood, you can do that independently. Spike Lee certainly did it independently for a while to a point where he did it enough where he was able to get some of those asks when he was working with the studio. Wendell made a fantastic independent film, and maybe the problem, as you said, was that he was pushing to have the same rights that some of those other people who had worked in the Hollywood system more ended up getting, and maybe that's what he needed is to just suck it up, do a few things for them, and then use that to navigate into a place where he was getting more on his own. Well, it also says what his perceived value of the Sundance Award didn't carry as much weight for a second film. It falls into what have you done for me lately, Trope? It's not even so much the Sundance win, but it's like the struggle with distribution afterward. The win, if that had carried into a successful distribution plan that ended up getting it great play across the country, then it would have been fine, but that Sundance Award alone wasn't enough to get it, the distribution that it needed, and we'll talk about that a little later as far as how it ended up getting distributed, but it was pretty weak, like nobody in Hollywood wanted to distribute the film because they were torn. A lot of people were like, "Well, it's too black for white audiences, and it's too white for black audiences," and they put it into this hole that made it a place where no studio felt comfortable taking it on because they didn't know who to market it to. Well, and we're, of course, not mentioning the fact that as he says himself, part of it is getting those deals while being black in Hollywood at that time in history, order of magnitude more complicated. Right, exactly, yeah. This is based on sort of real story. Yeah, it's funny because I keep confusing them because both of their names are first name W, it's either Wendell or William, then there's a middle name. Wendell goes just by B, otherwise it's Douglas, Harris Jr. or Street Jr. And so, yeah, I was just like, "Wait, which is which?" I was about to just totally mess it up just now. I had to stop and just say nothing. Yeah, right. William Douglas Street Jr. is the con artist. Correct. Okay. What do we know about his life and how closely knit it is to the movie? Well, it is interesting. I mean, Harris Jr. and Street Jr. are pretty close in age. So, I think Harris probably grew up hearing some of the stories about Street and some of the different, the things that he had been getting himself into. He had been doing this. I mean, it kind of, the film depicts a lot of it. Like, early on, 1971, he first was arrested extorting the wife of Willie Horton for, I can't remember how much money it was, but a big chunk of money. That was like $50,000. Right. Exactly. And according to the film, had signed it, the whole letter. And so, it was very easy for them to find him. And that kind of got him into this circle of media, media attention. The media attention turned into something that seemed to peak his curiosity and was able to then leverage that to impersonate. I believe in the film, it's a, he does not, the film doesn't portray him impersonating a football player, but that is something else that he did. He did. He was an Euler's player. Right. Right. But, but I know it's great. And in the film, though, I think the next thing that we see is he's impersonating a journalist for time and to interview this tennis player and using it as an opportunity to kind of basically hit on her and pick her up with some pretty bold and brazen questions, right? Which was interesting. But I don't know. I guess he did do that. I guess Street did do that, actually. Yeah. I think he did. I think what's funny about it, you skipped a point that I think is really important. And I think it's something that the movie does well. After he does, like during the whole Willie Horton thing, as it comes out, he becomes a bit of a media star, right? And, and is totally open about the stuff that he's doing, right? He's like, I mean it for the money. Why did you do it? Well, for the money, dummy, like, that's why I did it. And I think that is extraordinary. So by the time he tries to con his way into a job as a journalist for time, he writes that letter and misspells the horn right as a journalist. And it takes a long time for that to come to light at a very auspicious time. But the fact is that he has these extraordinary impersonation skills and is missing some pretty important, like, building blocks in, let's just say, proofreading that, you know, would help. I think that makes a really interesting character. So from that first exchange, I'm really in it with this guy. Like, I really want to see how far he can get. He goes much further than I would ever have expected. Well, and it also speaks to how far you can go with just enough information, right? Like he skirts by on information when he's working at the hospital to the point where the way that he survives these things is he dashes off to the bathroom and scans the medical journal to look up any words he doesn't know so that he has some semblance of how to actually portray these characters and to the point where he fakes that hysterectomy. And apparently, it worked, at least according to the film, which is shocking. And then the the head of the hospital is just like I've never seen it done like that, like just praising him until, of course, he ends up getting arrested. And then, you know, he's playing a student at university. And then, of course, at the end of the film, he ends up portraying a lawyer, but all of these things, like he says, it's like, yeah, there are stories about me in the press, but, but people just don't think about her, they don't look, they don't put two and two together with any of these things. And they just see somebody who looks the part come into their space, who has the resume, who has the, the right certifications. And it just seems like, Oh, okay, great, you're our new intern. Well, we'll put you to work. It's, it's fascinating to watch how he would grift these people into buying whatever it was he was pitching. That's totally true. Two points on that. One, he, the movie shows him as a surgeon at a Chicago, at a hospital, I think it's in Chicago. The real one was in Chicago under a Zoom name and, and performed in real life, 36 hysterectomies reportedly, 36 surgeries. In the movie, we only get the one. Like talk about underplaying reality. Like that's, that's extraordinary. The other piece that I think is so interesting is just how far he could get because of the time this movie was made and the story took place. The things that he is able to do crafting his own resume, crafting his own identity, I, I like to think he may not have been able to do today, right? Like it would have taken no time for a reference check on, on some of his claims to check out and have him, you know, ousted from some of these places. Like the doctors look at his resume and they're like, this is amazing. I don't believe it. And then don't do anything else. And had a chief of surgery seen a resume like that today, maybe there would have been some vetting that could have happened more quickly. Don't you think like, I think this movie is a treasure of the time. You say that, but at the same time, there are stories in the Detroit Free Press of William Douglas Street, Jr. being convicted still in 2015, in 2016, for continuing to try doing these things. So this is a person who, never really stopped and kind of kept going. And you could argue, I mean, I don't know how easy it was to catch him these years versus in the 80s or the 70s, but it's entirely possible it was easier with with the modern technologies and everything. But it didn't stop it. And I think that's the interesting element. He's 73 years old. Yeah. He's still doing it at 63, 64 years old. That is a commitment to the bit. That's what that is. Yeah, he ended up in 2016. He got three years in prison. The article said he had racked up 17 criminal convictions and six arrests before pulling off this latest stunt, stealing the identity of a defense contractor who had graduated from Duke University and the US Military Academy. Wow. Defense contractor. I just like, what was he trying to get into? Yeah. That's the first thing I thought of when I heard that he was just still alive after watching this movie was, my God, I want to see this movie again. I want to see a part two. I want it remade. I want it caught up with all of the other crazy stuff that he's done since the movie came out because I think this is a hell of a story and clearly a hell of a character. Yeah. It's wild. At least as portrayed by Harris. And that's another element that I think is interesting. When you're taking a story like this about a con artist and you're adapting it for the screen, it does make me wonder like are there elements in here where Harris is conning us and playing with this idea of a con artist and using the idea to craft a story about a person that is conning people, but in a way where we're also buying into stuff that may or may not be true, just by the fear, the pure fact that it's a movie and we're looking at it up on the on the screen there, you know? Yeah, totally. I mean, is, did you feel taken advantage of kind of intellectually while you were watching this movie? Did it feel like it stretched credulity a bit too far? I don't think so, but there were times where I was thinking about that, like when he was performing his direct to me and those sorts of elements. And perhaps some of it is also in how not so much the acts of what he was doing, but in how the voiceover spoke to us about how he saw the world. And sometimes it did make me wonder like how are we meant to be buying all of these different the ways that he's conning everybody and just like the way he sees the world? Yeah, that's an interesting, interesting point, like this whole idea of who that voiceover is representing at the time. Is that representing an authentic portrayal of William Street at the time telling us the true story of his endeavors, like a, like a, you know, a documentarian? Or is it a fairy tale? Is it to your using your words? Like, is he conning us at the same time? It's interesting the choices they make. I think to that point exactly, if you go to the hysterectomies, the fact that they didn't show us all the hysterectomies, I think is an interesting comment on that. He is sort of conning us by only showing one. That's a con by only showing one, which is an odd one because you'd think that they would want to shift it the other way and con us and make us realize how grandiose or how far Street Jr. had gone. Only insofar as you want to remain believable. I mean, it could represent a lesson learned. Like, if he's trying to build this identity around himself for a future con, then we can't be met with 36 hysterectomies that would I have to imagine be completely unbelievable. If I didn't read it elsewhere, if I had just seen it in the film, I would not have believed it. It would have gone too far. But it actually builds the case for this guy's character, for me as an audience member, that I find a greater affinity for him. And it's one of those movies where I have an affinity for the bad guy. Yeah, right. I mean, he's not a good person at all. It's such an interesting, I mean, you often hear about films where you have this idea of the unreliable narrator. And can I be trusting the person that is telling this story? And I think that's definitely an element here where we're watching this character over the course of the story. And we're like, you know, what is this element of the commentary, especially because of the voiceover, where it's putting us into his head. How is he shaping my perception by the way that he's talking, he's self-aware, he's critiquing what's going on. And am I buying into his reasonings, his logic for doing all of this sort of stuff? Is he being honest in the voiceover? And am I listening to an honest depiction of this character in and gaining insight into who he is? Or is that also part of the con? And perhaps the idea is where, like the Joker in The Dark Knight, we're never meant to fully have a sense of who this person really is because everything he's doing is conning us. And is there some irony perhaps in the way that Wendell is telling the story? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. There has to be, right? The fact that he's leaning so heavily into his own meta narrative. I think that's a great point. Because it's like in the scope of voiceover narration, like this is one that works in ways like I just, it excited me to hear a voiceover operating on this level. Because it was so, it was challenging. It was commenting on the things that were happening, right? And it was performative. That was another element that I'm like, okay, the voiceover is very performative. Like he's giving us a performance through the voiceover while we're watching this character. And even when we're looking at his relationships with his wife or his girlfriend or his daughter or people that he's working with, like, is there even a sense of real connection with these people? Like when he falls for the co-ed, is he really falling for her? Or is that also just a performance? Well, yeah. Well, who is performing, is falling for her, right? Like that ends up being a big question. Which one is his sort of base identity? And you do kind of get that sense in this movie, not that he's, you know, has DID or anything like that, but the fact that he, like he does seem to have a lack of home base, right? I never get a sense of who he is, except maybe in a sort of perforated experience when he talks about what he's doing with his on that wife or girlfriend. I can't remember who he's who he's sitting with and smoking and she gets upset with him. I think that's his wife. Yeah, I think that's his wife. And gets a moment to talk about what he's up to. But what we get in the movie is so consistently different from scene to scene that it's hard to figure out who he is really by the end. Who was the guy who got arrested at the end? Was it a character? Was it just another one of his marks? I think that's a provocative question. Well, and also like in each of these different situations, you know, we see his home life, we see him in a hospital setting, we see him in a legal setting, we see him in a college setting. And there's this sense of how a black person, that's the other interesting element, because he's African American, how they see him, how he sees them, and how he plays them. Like he has that narration early in the film where he's talking about how, how, actually, I think it's when he's being interviewed by the counselor and he's talking about how easy it is to tap into what somebody is expecting of him and use that to his advantage to give them exactly what they want so that he can get whatever he needs out of them. Yeah, right. Right. And I think like when you see like the marriage, he's got he is married for part of the film and his girlfriend has, you know, she's always complaining about him not having enough money. So a lot of this seems like, okay, this is the story of a struggling lower income African American family as there, as she's pregnant and he's trying to get money and try to figure out how to, how to survive. And this is a way I can do it. I can just, you know, create these cons. Is that also a con or is that like the real street that we're kind of seeing at this, at this base starting place, right? But, but it's also like, is it a con about like the idea of marriage and everything and how we're playing into that and totally. Yeah. And that's what is so fascinating is like each of these, it's a different element of society, right, with his wife or any of these other situations that ends up kind of commenting on life as a poor black man in these different places or just as a black man, by the time we get to like him in the law office or doctor's office and how, how that fits into what people are expecting. Like, you know, the black intern at the, you know, the new black intern that we have, but he's not a black intern. He's the Harvard man. And it's like, the way that he sells himself ends up being such a part of all of that. What was the line? Forgive me, but I thought it was great. It was the line where the doctors talking about the Harvard man, you know what they say about Harvard medical, the Harvard doctors, something like they never make incisions. They just stare at the tissue and extend it hearts for them. I love that line so much. The interesting thing about that is he starts to, they play a trick. He plays a trick on us in one sequence that I thought was really powerful and and illustrative of where he was, that he, he sits down with a fake knife with his daughter. And while mom is not in the room, he cuts himself twice and it starts bleeding. He cuts his daughter and she says it tickles it tickles. She cuts his, he cuts her throat and it starts bleeding. And that scene is perilously close to, I'll speak for myself, perilously close to making me think he's coming unhinged, right? The fact that he was cutting his arm with his daughter on his lap. Right. And we were watching him unraveling in front of us that it was just too much. The meta narrative was too much. Having all of these characters was just too much. He couldn't do it. And so he, he dissolves. But the fact that that was another joke, that was a bit where he's playing with his daughter and clearly his daughter was in on it right at some level and also seemed like kind of tired of it. I thought was, was a really interesting take that, that he was constantly in a mode, in a performative mode, even with his young daughter who likely just wants her dad and didn't really care about all of these different characters. Well, and two elements of that that made it stand out is you mentioned it's a fake knife. We don't know it's a fake knife. We think it's like real. And that's what was so shocking about that, because I was right there with you. I was totally conned into thinking this guy has broken. He is, is cracked. The other element is that he's, he has found this weird little mask in their house and he is taped it onto his face. It is this creepy little mask that's fall far too small. So it's this little tiny mask right in front of his facial features. And it is incredibly off putting as he then goes through the process of cutting his arm in front of his daughter and then cutting her throat. And I thought that he had snapped and that this was a place where he was really little, really broken and had lost himself in his own identities and his own, his own game really. And then to see that it was just another con and that his wife comes in and his daughter's upset because all of this stuff is all over her and her clothes and his wife's mad because now she's always making a mess. And now she's got to do all this extra laundry. It was a surprise to me that that was the shift that this was just something that clearly has happened a number of times in this house. Yeah, really fascinating way to play that where we're not in on it. It was just great. It was a great, a great trick. And he is so good at playing all over the map. And I'm surprised that he only had one film that he directed as I am that he frankly didn't have more sort of character acting work. Yeah, he's really an impressive performer. I mean, carrying this film off, not just again, first film that he's also written and directed, but also starring in and carrying the film on his back through his performance. I mean, it is, it is a very impressive feat that he's accomplished here. And, and he's just stunning to watch. I mean, he's, he's Juilliard trained and interlocking trained filmmaker. And there is this sense about about him that feels very educated, you know, just in the way that that he's performing. But again, I don't know how much of that is actually Wendell B. Harris, Jr. versus how much he's putting into the performance of William Douglas Street, Jr. in the film. Regardless, he was just mesmerizing to watch on screen. My wife didn't end up watching the film with me, but she popped into the room periodically. And she's like, that guy is so charismatic. And that's exactly it. Like it was just like, he is a screen presence. And it's just, yeah, I would love to. I mean, he's been in a couple other films in bit parts, but I would love to have seen him just brought into something as an actor. For sure. He was in out after this. He did out of sight full 10 years later. And as Daniel Burden in out of sight, and he was Professor Anderson in road trip. So Andy, I don't, we didn't even know it. And we've already watched his entire catalog. It's got to be nice to check that off the list. That's right. I'll put my letterbox this together. Yeah, please do. The production style, I think, again, just is worth note. Dan Noga did the cinematography. It feels low budget 80s. It does have that kind of sense about it that feels a little low budget, though at the same time, I've got to say they obviously had some money to put into some things because there are some shots like that hysterectomy when he's pulling stuff out. I'm like, I don't know what I'm looking at, but this looks like the effects that they're doing here. It's pretty impressive. Like they did some clever, they put the money into the right places for it. But also, I think about the editing and there were some editing moments when he would just have a bunch of little quick cuts as you'd kind of like jump to something. And as he was thinking and kind of these trains of thought and you'd have a shot of just a bunch of things just real quick. Like I can't even remember what is just buildings or something that is you're kind of passing by real quick to kind of move on to something else. And like those sorts of things. And then he would also manipulate the audio, which you rarely hear in a film, but like he would manipulate his own voiceover where it gets like he does very white for a little bit. And he also just changes a number of other times where it's just creative. And I think that's the thing is like it was so creative. And clearly, even if he didn't always have the money to pull things off in Hollywood style, it still ended up playing perfectly because just the way that he crafted it. You know, sometimes it goes into this like kaleidoscopic style. And I think that is such a dynamic sort of visual approach that makes me feel a little bit like I get the meta comparison to the chameleon. Like suddenly I feel like I'm looking at the world through his eyes and his eyes do not see the world as one piece. And I think that's really interesting to me. The other piece is, you know, particularly when he's on the TV shows near the beginning, it reportedly, he told his crew, I want to, I want a lot of this to look like it's on 60 minutes. I want to avoid the overblown emotional like visual narrative. I want it to look grounded. I want it to look like it's like you might see it on a TV news show. And I think that works really, really well. The fact that it jumps between tones so effectively is again, a sort of parallel visual narrative to this character who's jumping all over the place. And I think that really, that works for me. The masquerade scene, you talk about putting money where it's where it's best used. His mask was awesome. It was amazing. Yeah, really beautiful recreation of kind of the beast mask from the French Beauty and the Beast, which was just such a beautiful film. But to see the way that that he played that with his beauty and everything was, it was a lot of fun to see. There are a couple of references to Beauty and the Beast, the film, and he talks about it. It's important to him. What's that connection? Do you think his character and his love of the story? I was wondering about that. And I was like, is that Wendell putting that in because he is fascinated with that film? I mean, you know, the story itself, I suppose you can say there is this element of this beast and kind of the external appearance versus what you are on the inside. And I think there's definitely that interplay between this person who has to take on these other external appearances for every place that he's going. And he's always putting on a different costume. And so I suppose there is that element. But because of the specific references, I was just wondering if it happened to be something that that Harris Jr. was really tapped into and wanted to include that because of that. But it ended up tying in thematically, I thought, nicely. Yeah, I think so too. Especially the, yeah, the mask in particular, that sequence where he's parading, you know, around as something that he's clearly not is just a flag, you know, or a hat on a hat in the context of his character. We already know that he doesn't need a mask to parade around as something he's not and be believable. And yet he has by far the most extravagant mask in the place. Well, and I think that's what's so interesting because I mean, he is putting on outfits is just, yeah, that one happens to be the extravagant one. But whether it's the fancy business suit that he wears as a lawyer or the doctor outfit that he ends up wearing, like, and like he'll modify himself. Like we do see him when he's working at the doctor's office, putting on the, he's darkening his brows. Yeah, and he does grow a very tiny mustache and goatee from time to time, which is, which is an interesting touch. It's amazing how far you can get looking like somebody else with just a tiny dose of facial hair. Yeah, right. That's tricks people. Yeah, that's all Valcoma really needed to do in the saint unrelated. Why haven't why haven't we done the same yet? Tom Cruise could use that with with the with the masks and you need it all. I need it's just a little mustache. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Spirit gum people, just the spirit gum. Okay. Well, it's a fascinating film and everybody should check it out because it is it's an exhilarating watch. I mean, it's just I I it was so fresh. And for a film from 1989 to just hit me the way that it did was a real surprise. I just I welcome these sorts of things to, to, you know, pop into my life when whenever they can. For sure. I loved it. All right. Well, we'll be right back. But first are credits. The next reel is a production of True Story FM Engineering by Andy Nelson music by balloon planet, Ziv Moran featuring Oren Sore, Mozart, Oriole novella, and Eli Catlin. Andy usually finds all the stats for the awards and numbers at the dash numbers.com box office mojo.com imdb.com and wikipedia.org. Find the show at true story.fm. And if your podcast app allows ratings and reviews, please consider doing that for our show. In the ever changing landscape of the natural world, there is one creature that stands out for its remarkable ability to adapt and blend in with its surroundings, the chameleon. With its unique ability to change the color and pattern of its skin, the chameleon is a true master of disguise, able to match its appearance to the leaves, branches, and even the very air around it. As we delve deeper into the world of this fascinating creature, we can't help but marvel at the intricate mechanisms that allow it to transform its appearance at will. From the microscopic crystals in its skin that reflect and refract light, to the complex network of nerves and muscles that control the movement, every aspect of the chameleon's biology is a testament to the power of adaptation. But the chameleon's abilities go beyond mere survival. In a world where standing out can mean the difference between life and death, the chameleon's mastery of disguise is a true superpower. 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So whether you're a chameleon looking to blend in with your surroundings, or a film fan looking to express your love of cinema in a bold new way, our merch store has got you covered. With a wide range of designs and styles to choose from, there's something for everyone at thenextreal.com/merch. But don't just take our word for it, head over to the store and see for yourself the incredible selection of gear we have on offer, and who knows, maybe you'll find the perfect piece to help you change your appearance and express your love of film in a whole new way. Because just like the chameleon, we believe that the key to thriving in this world is the ability to adapt, evolve, and always keep things fresh. So go ahead, embrace your inner chameleon, and join the ranks of the next wheels most stylish and adventurous fans. We'll see you at the merch store and at the movies. How did you do an award season, Andrew? Do you get any love? It did have some love, which is kind of why it got Wendell on the map, and why people were talking about him, and then of course it just never really snowballed into anything. But at the Independent Spirit Awards, the 1992 Independent Spirit Awards, Wendell B. Harris Jr. was nominated for Best First Feature, but he ended up losing to Straight Out of Brooklyn, Mattie Rich's film for that one. And of course, the big one of course is Sundance, where he did win the dramatic competition, the Grand Jury Prize, at the 1990 Sundance, so. All right, well, short, but distinguished. It is short, but yeah, exactly, exactly. All right, so let's talk, let's talk about the numbers, Andy. Let's bring out our cigars, light them up, and open up our ledger paper. How did it do at the box office? Well, for Harris Jr.'s debut film, he produced it independently and had limited distribution, so hence, hasn't really had the wherewithal to publish any financial information. I can't find anything on the budget at all. The movie premiered at the Toronto Festival of Festivals, September 13th, 1989, and then Sundance in January 1990, where, as I just said, it won the Grand Jury Prize. It had a premiere in New York City, April 24th, 1990, but then went without distribution for more than a year. Again, he struggled like nobody would pick it up and distribute it, even with it having won Sundance because they couldn't figure out how to market it, and that was the real downfall of this film, is these studios who just kind of closed themselves off to something new. So I couldn't find anything about an actual official release. I don't think it had any really. I can't find any box office. If there was any other release of any kind, it was meager. Unfortunately, that is everything I have for this film. What are you going to do? Sad. It is very sad. It's a shame that a film this creative wouldn't have found a market in some capacity, even in the Art House theatres. You would think that in 1989, 1990, they still would have found a way to find some audience for it. Yeah, right. Interesting. Well, it's a great film. I'm so glad we have it on our list, and it was just a real joy to be introduced to it this week. Yeah, it's one that I hadn't heard of, and that's the other thing. I think other than eventually kind of premiering on Criterion Channel, stuff like that, it started building an audience. Actually, I can't remember, I think he ended up releasing, doing a 4K upgrade with the film, and it's looking great right now, and I think it's been in a place right now where it's been finding audiences, and likely, it's getting screenings now, and hopefully some money and everything. I'd like to think that it's going to be a film that will continue to succeed and find audiences, because it's fantastic. It's just a great film. Harris Jr. is 70 now. I don't know if he's still pushing to do any more films these days. I think that he's now, as reading about him, he's currently in post-production for a documentary, Arbiter Roswell, a 14-year project chronicling the relationship between public opinion, the media, and the military industrial complex. So, still working, still doing things that are working. But in post, so hey, this, he may not fit into, well, it's a documentary, so still, I think he'll still fit into our one and done narrative films series. Yep, I think so too. Still awesome, awesome, awesome. Glad we had a chance to talk about it. Well, we'll be right back for our ratings, but first, here's the trailer for next week's movie, Kicking Off Return to Disease Films, it's Bruce McDonald's 2008 film, Potty Poole. What you are hearing is an actual radio broadcast. It is the only recording of the event. We still do not have an official version of these events, and it's very difficult at this moment to get a fix on what has happened. They cut into our signal. Ken, his eyes are looking at me for your safety. Please avoid contact with family members and restrain from the following. All terms have endearment for greater safety. Do not translate this message. Not translate. Just listen to me. Tired of the daily grind, wishing you could bend the rules just a little. Well, stop daydreaming and enroll in Chameleon Street University. That's right, we're offering an exclusive, totally not legal advice course inspired by the Master of Disguise himself. Learn the art of persuasion, the power of observation, and the fine art of forging a mean Ivy League law degree, all from the comfort of your own home. A curriculum taught by the faculty of allegedly reformed con artists will have you charming your way into exclusive events, finessing free meals, and maybe even landing that corner office. But wait, there's more. Enroll now and you'll also receive a free pair of oversized glasses and a fake mustache. Don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to unleash your inner con artist. We're not responsible for any legal trouble you may encounter. Chameleon Street University, where the only thing real is your potential. Wait a second, this isn't your story, you're the real deal. You don't need to try your hand at an improv surgery to find your people, that's why you need to head over to truestory.fm/join and join the community supporting the next real family of film podcasts. Get bonus episodes and content, early access, and standing invitation to join the livestream chats when we record. Add free versions of our shows and access to the super secret channels in our Discord community. Mostly, you'll know you're supporting our shows and the team that keeps them coming every week, just as we've been doing since 2011. Thank you for your support, and we'll see you on campus at CSU. Letterbox, Dandy, what are you going to do? What are you going to do for your letterbox review for this move? I think I know where it's going to land for both of us, pretty sure. One star. But is it in Bizarro universe? I'm conning you. Did you buy it? That's a good idea. I'm working on it. I'm working on it. It's such an impressive film. I could find faults with it, but it was just a five-star film. It was just exciting, fascinating production. I just had such a great time. Me too, excellent. I am a five-star hard guy too. Awesome. Love it. Well, that will land it at an average of five stars in the heart over at our account on letterbox.com, which is, of course, the next reel. You can find me there at Soda Creek Film. You can find Pete there at Pete Wright. So, what did you think about Chameleon Street? We would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Hop into the show talk channel over in a Discord community where we will be talking about the movie this week. When the movie ends, our conversation begins. Letterbox, give it to Andrew. Does Letterbox always do it? What, pray tell, does Letterbox give it for you this week? I went with a five-star by Glenn who said, "Little did the frog know the scorpion actually was a Harvard grad," which is funny in and of itself. But I picked it because I wanted to just bring up the whole other thing that I loved about it, that whole ending of the film during the credits of having the cast reading little bits of the story of the scorpion and the frog, and the way that that whole thing played out and tied into the story and they integrated, they changed things in the story to fit into this. It was, again, just another piece of perfection for me. I loved that whole ending. I totally agree. Totally agree. That's the challenge with this movie. It's full of so many gems of fantastic sequences. It's hard to keep them all straight, but yeah, I absolutely agree. That was wonderful. I'm going to go with a... I'm going to say, given how I feel about the movie, I think it's exactly one-star short of the full deck. It's a four-star in a heart from our own Brian who says, "I'm going to tell my kids this is Deadpool." Fuck you, Deadpool. I'll take this topical performative speed skating and passing Horned Dog Prankster any day. You wily caucasians. Outstanding. So good. Thanks, Brian. And thank you, Letterboxed.
