Biography

March 5, 1954 · USA

Wendell Burks Harris Jr.

[on Doug Street, the inspiration for Chameleon Street (1989)] I interviewed Doug Street on video and audiotape, and through letters and phone conversations for essentially three years, repeatedly. That's the whole point of "Chameleon Street." I didn't talk to his mother, I didn't talk to his kindergarten teacher, or his first girlfriend, or father. I only talked extensively to Doug Street. It's Doug's take on what he has done, is doing, why he did it. Whatever is in that film, I did not extrapolate anything. (...) Right before Sundance, Doug saw the final edit and he sent my mother, the executive producer, a letter which essentially said that he was extremely appalled and disappointed with the quality of filmmaking and that his only consolation was that the film was so bad he knew nobody would ever see it. Six or seven months later, whenever that Warner Bros. deal came through, he stopped by my mother's house in Flint to meet with her to get his check [from the remake sales deal] and, at that time, I don't know if he apologized, but he was extremely appreciative that it netted him this check. [2021]

[on regrets] If I could go back knowing what I know now, I would not have bothered to spend three years in Hollywood. You are talking to somebody who believes ardently in regret. I watched Johnny Carson off and on for 30 years, and oftentimes, at the end of an interview, he would ask, "Any regrets?" For 30 years, I never heard anybody ever say, "Yes, I had regrets. They always would say, "Nope, I will do it all the same way." I live in regret. I believe in it. The only thing that I would change, would be... when you actually know that the house is stacked against you, then you don't really bother going into the house, if you have any sense. [2021]