“If you want to get a great production deal in Hollywood, all you have to do is be Black, male, and Not Wendell Harris.” This sentiment was used as a running joke throughout Hollywood in the early 1990s, a representation of the attitude the industry held for filmmaker Wendell B. Harris Jr. after the release of his debut film, Chameleon Street.
Unlike many who land in “director’s jail”, however, Chameleon Street wasn’t a big-budget flop or critical disaster. Winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival, it seemed like the sky was the limit for the film and Harris Jr.’s career. Instead, he struggled to find distribution, eventually getting a deal from Warner Bros. for a quarter-million dollars so that they could have the remake rights for a remake that never happened.
Chameleon Street is inspired by the real-life story of William Douglas Street Jr.
Unlike many who land in “director’s jail”, however, Chameleon Street wasn’t a big-budget flop or critical disaster. Winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival, it seemed like the sky was the limit for the film and Harris Jr.’s career. Instead, he struggled to find distribution, eventually getting a deal from Warner Bros. for a quarter-million dollars so that they could have the remake rights for a remake that never happened.
Chameleon Street is inspired by the real-life story of William Douglas Street Jr.
- 10/21/2021
- by Mitchell Beaupre
- The Film Stage
When Wendell B. Harris Jr. made his first — and, even three decades on, still only — film, “Chameleon Street,” he offered up a scrappy and brilliant debut venture. Based on the incredible true story of Black con artist William Douglas Street, Jr., a man of high intelligence but little formal education, the film follows its genius con man (played by Harris himself) as he sneaks into Yale, pretends to be a French foreign-exchange student, lands a job with “Time,” works as a lawyer, and even performs a stunning number of operations as a surgeon, before eventually being caught.
A witty and sardonic tale of a master impersonator with invigorating and humorous results, Harris served as the writer, director, sarcastic narrator, and star of “Chameleon Street.” The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 1989, where it took the Grand Jury Prize. And yet Harris’ career never followed the expected path of other lauded breakout filmmakers,...
A witty and sardonic tale of a master impersonator with invigorating and humorous results, Harris served as the writer, director, sarcastic narrator, and star of “Chameleon Street.” The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 1989, where it took the Grand Jury Prize. And yet Harris’ career never followed the expected path of other lauded breakout filmmakers,...
- 10/19/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Must-See Screening Tonight At Bam In Brooklyn, NYC Of “Chameleon Street” + Clips, Interviews , More…
Screening Tonight at 9:30Pm, as part of the ActNow New Voices In Black Cinema Film Festival, at BAMCinematek here in Brooklyn, NY, is the little-seen, must-see riveting drama, Chameleon Street, written, directed by and starring Wendell B. Harris Jr.
It’s our closing night film, as well as what you could call our throwback, retro selection. Though, as I implied, it still feels fresh, since it just hasn’t been seen as widely as I (and other fans of the film) think it should have.
Tickets are $12 and can be purchased in advance Here.
So, if you’re in the NYC area, and are free to attend tonight’s 9:30Pm screening, you’re all Strongly encouraged to do so. You won’t be disappointed!
We’ve talked about the film many times on this blog. I’m certainly a big fan, and I’ve included some of the...
It’s our closing night film, as well as what you could call our throwback, retro selection. Though, as I implied, it still feels fresh, since it just hasn’t been seen as widely as I (and other fans of the film) think it should have.
Tickets are $12 and can be purchased in advance Here.
So, if you’re in the NYC area, and are free to attend tonight’s 9:30Pm screening, you’re all Strongly encouraged to do so. You won’t be disappointed!
We’ve talked about the film many times on this blog. I’m certainly a big fan, and I’ve included some of the...
- 2/9/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
It’s Armond White day here on Shadow And Act… but this was too interesting to pass up.
A few days ago I received an email from Wendell B. Harris Jr, writer/director/star of Chameleon Street, referencing last year’s kerfuffle between White and the publicity team for Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, which we covered on this blog. In case you missed it, in a nutshell, Armond White was barred from press screenings of Greenberg, by publicist Leslee Dart, who rejected White’s invitation to a screening of the movie, thanks to Armond’s alleged bias against and hostility towards not just Baumbach’s films, but Baumbach himself, essentially suggesting a personal vendetta on White’s part.
In Armond’s review of Baumbach’s 1997 film Mr. Jealousy, some interpreted his words to mean that he wished the filmmaker’s mother had aborted him!
And who is Noah Baumbach’s mother?...
A few days ago I received an email from Wendell B. Harris Jr, writer/director/star of Chameleon Street, referencing last year’s kerfuffle between White and the publicity team for Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, which we covered on this blog. In case you missed it, in a nutshell, Armond White was barred from press screenings of Greenberg, by publicist Leslee Dart, who rejected White’s invitation to a screening of the movie, thanks to Armond’s alleged bias against and hostility towards not just Baumbach’s films, but Baumbach himself, essentially suggesting a personal vendetta on White’s part.
In Armond’s review of Baumbach’s 1997 film Mr. Jealousy, some interpreted his words to mean that he wished the filmmaker’s mother had aborted him!
And who is Noah Baumbach’s mother?...
- 1/12/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
I doubt Wendell B. Harris Jr and his film, Chameleon Street, are in need of an intro on this blog.
Here’s the press release:
Actor/Writer/Director Wendell B. Harris, Jr. continues efforts to keep his award-winning film, Chameleon Street, among the not-forgotten gems of cinematic history by kicking off 2010 with a launch of his critically-acclaimed film among new releases on iTunes. Chameleon Street is debuting in the iTunes catalog and joins an elite group of films negotiated through aggregate firm TuneCore, as it celebrates twenty years since its’ winning entry at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.
Chameleon Street is a psychological comedy that uses the real-life story of Douglas Street, an infamous Michigan-born imposter, to explore the myth of the American Dream, the paradox of African-American male identity, and the movie medium’s uncanny ability to get under the skin of American Society. It is the quintessential story of...
Here’s the press release:
Actor/Writer/Director Wendell B. Harris, Jr. continues efforts to keep his award-winning film, Chameleon Street, among the not-forgotten gems of cinematic history by kicking off 2010 with a launch of his critically-acclaimed film among new releases on iTunes. Chameleon Street is debuting in the iTunes catalog and joins an elite group of films negotiated through aggregate firm TuneCore, as it celebrates twenty years since its’ winning entry at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.
Chameleon Street is a psychological comedy that uses the real-life story of Douglas Street, an infamous Michigan-born imposter, to explore the myth of the American Dream, the paradox of African-American male identity, and the movie medium’s uncanny ability to get under the skin of American Society. It is the quintessential story of...
- 2/11/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
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