Telling Lies in America
“Just don't get caught.”
Synopsis
A 17-year-old boy becomes friends with Billy Magic, the radio DJ he idolizes, and eventually slips into the payola and corruption of the entertainment world.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 261+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Jill SavittShot by Reynaldo VillalobosScored by Nicholas PikeDesigned by James A GelardenSound by Carmen BakerCostumes by Heather Priest
Box Office
1997 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.1× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$319K
Opening week (7-day): $17K
Peak 2 theaters
Also known as
- American Dreamer – Charmante Lügnerde
- (DVD Title)Mentir na América
- (Bosnian)Ta lazna Amerika
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- JapanAug 2, 1997
- CanadaSep 10, 1997
- United StatesOct 9, 1997
- PortugalJan 15, 1998
Production & Distribution
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Cast & Crew
261 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Tony Devon
as Danny Hogan
Kevin Bacon
as Billy Magic
Brad Renfro
as Karchy 'Chucky' Jonas
Maximilian Schell
as Dr. Istvan Jonas
Calista Flockhart
as Diney Majeski
Paul Dooley
as Father Norton
Luke Wilson
as Henry
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
as Kevin Boyle
Jerry Swindall
as Andy 'Croak' Stas
Damen Fletcher
as Amos 'Blood Smith'
K K Dodds
as Justine
James Kisicki
as Cecil Simms
Supporting cast
40J J Horna
as The Blind Kid
Ben Saypol
as Timmy Morelli
Rohn Thomas
as Sgt. Disapri
Joe Baka
as Det. Carpenter
Tuesday Knight
as WHK Receptionist
Dave Buckel
as WHK Newscaster
Matt Miller
as Asst. District Attorney
Jack Skelly
as Immigration Judge John J. Donnelly
Jane Jean Miller
as Groupie #1
Wendy Waltz
as Groupie #2
Angelique Osborne
as Giggly girl
Abdullah Bey
as Old man
Kevin Willigham
as Driver
Patrick White
as School Kid
Matt Bunner
as Member of Kevin Boyle's Gang
Tom Nagel
as Member of Kevin Boyle's Gang, Sock Hop Dancer
Tom Palmieri
as Member of Kevin Boyle's Gang, Sock Hop Dancer
John Sloan
as Member of Kevin Boyle's Gang
John Woyton
as Member of Kevin Boyle's Gang
Mike Ross
as Member of Kevin Boyle's Gang
Courtne Benson
as Sock Hop Dancer
Dottie Dixon
as Sock Hop Dancer
Ben Harvey
as Sock Hop Dancer
Lucas Haugh
as Sock Hop Dancer
Tjader France
as Sock Hop Dancer
Stacey Woodson
as Sock Hop Dancer
Monica Reed
as Sock Hop Dancer
Renzy Parnell
as Sock Hop Dancer
Brendon Berns
as Sock Hop Dancer
Matt Mcbride
as Sock Hop Dancer
Melanie Rademaker
as Sock Hop Dancer
Maureen Winston
as Sock Hop Dancer
Brooke Devereaux
as Sock Hop Dancer
Sunny Jenkins
as Sock Hop Dancer
Jennifer Nicolino
as Sock Hop Dancer
Molly Mcdougal
as Good Looking Girl at Diner
Jessica Galinas
as Sock Hop Dancer
Maggie Gibbons
as Girl in classroom
Brad Hoss
as Schoolboy
Corey Landis
as Farmers Market Vegetable Salesperson
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
7Other crew
205Michele Perrone
adr editor
Doc Kane
adr mixer
Mike Boudry
adr recordist
Rebecca Russell
alteration supervisor
Andrew Loschin
apprentice editor
Karen Usher
art department coordinator
Laura Bauer
as Laura Cunningham, (as Laura Cunningham)
Mariann Grossman
assistant accountant
Richmond Riedel
assistant adr editor
Brian Brown
assistant chef
Heather Priest
assistant costume designer
Alain J Romi
assistant editor
Parents Guide
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