Almost Famous

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Almost Famous
Image:Almost famous poster.jpg Almost Famous movie poster
Directed by	Cameron Crowe
Produced by	Ian Bryce Cameron Crowe
Written by	Cameron Crowe
Starring	Patrick Fugit Billy Crudup Kate Hudson Jason Lee Frances McDormand Philip Seymour Hoffman Noah Taylor Zooey Deschanel Jimmy Fallon
Music by	Cameron Crowe
Cinematography	John Toll
Editing by	Joe Hutshing Saar Klein
Distributed by	- USA - DreamWorks - non-USA - Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	September 13, 2000
Running time	122 min.
Language	English
Budget	60 million dollars
IMDb profile

Almost Famous is a film, written and directed by Cameron Crowe and released in 2000. It tells the story of a teenaged journalist initially writing for Creem magazine and then later for Rolling Stone covering the fictional rock band Stillwater, and his efforts to get his first cover story published. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.

Despite very good reviews the film was not a box office success. The film received four Oscar nominations, one of which led to an award to Crowe for his screenplay. It was also awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

The tagline for Almost Famous is "Experience It. Enjoy It. Just Don't Fall For It."

1 Credits
2 Musical background
3 The Bootleg Cut
- 3.1 Changes to the film
4 Trivia
5 DVD release date
6 External links

[edit] Credits

The film stars:

Patrick Fugit as Crowe's alter ego, William Miller
Billy Crudup, Jason Lee, and Noah Taylor as lead guitarist, lead singer, and band manager respectively, of the fictional band Stillwater, an amalgamation of The Allman Brothers Band and several other bands that Crowe wrote about
Frances McDormand and Zooey Deschanel as William's mother and sister, respectively
Kate Hudson, Fairuza Balk, Anna Paquin, and Bijou Phillips as groupies known as "Band Aids" (Hudson's character Penny Lane was based on several women Crowe knew, including "rock star muse" Bebe Buell, but primarily one Penny Trumbull, as he specifically states in the DVD commentary to the long "Director's Cut" of the film. He says Penny Trumbull is still alive and living in Oregon.)
Jimmy Fallon (in his first feature film role) as the band's new manager Dennis Hope.
Philip Seymour Hoffman as real-life journalist Lester Bangs.

The film's award-winning soundtrack featured an eclectic mix of period rock, other period genres, and songs written by Crowe's wife, Nancy Wilson, expressly for the movie. Highlights include Simon & Garfunkel's "America", Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", and Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air".

Lisa Catalasan, credited as Lisa Buchanani, who played Housekeeper #2, is a also notable as a fashion assistant in many hit shows and movies, such as The Dukes of Hazzard, The Parent Trap and The Office.

[edit] Musical background

The movie remains a masterful piece for those who were raised in the 1970s and provides a valuable insight into the mind of Cameron Crowe. Through his adept storytelling, this movie presents a rare look inside rock and roll.

Fugit, who was born 10 years after the movie takes place, was given a collection of records to listen to and learn from to help him understand the period.

When William and Penny are in the car together, there is a reflection on the car windscreen of the front cover of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"

It is mentioned in the film that Stillwater is from Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Many Metro Detroiters know that there is irony in this. Troy, Michigan is known as one of the more wealthy communities of the area and is home to a large concentration of Yuppies.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details about the alternate version of Almost Famous follow.

[edit] The Bootleg Cut

Along with the standard DVD version, Crowe compiled an alternate version entitled "Untitled," which was a compilation of both released footage, and his favorite deleted scenes. Running for over a half hour longer than the theatrical release, "Untitled" was subtitled 'The Bootleg Cut', with its packaging resembling a cheap Seventies bootleg. The set is apparently out-of-print at the current time. (Incidentally, a variant of the Bootleg Cut is the basis of the network television version of "Almost Famous.")

[edit] Changes to the film

The hand in the opening titles writes "Untitled" instead of "Almost Famous". (Untitled was the title that Cameron Crowe originally wanted for the Cinematic release of the film)
Elaine berates a man for painting "Merry Xmas" on a storefront, saying "Xmas" is not a real word.
Young William is mocked in the school shower for his lack of pubic hair.
Additional albums are glimpsed in the scene in which young William finds the record bag under his bed.
William arrives at school to see that his classmates have changed the marquee on the school's sign to read "William Miller is too young to drive or fuck".
Bangs talks in more detail about The Guess Who and mentions a live version of "American Woman" from the band's Live at the Paramount.
Before cutting to the restaurant scene with Bangs, William and Lester stand on a street corner in silence, as Lester waits for a bus.
Before the first concert, Russell tells William how the littlest details in songs are the ones that people remember the most, citing a vocal sound in Marvin Gaye's "What's Happening, Brother?" as an example
Anita's boyfriend climbs through the window of her bedroom and reminisces to William about the sex that they had there
Before he leaves for the Hyatt House, William is given a wad of 'gas money' by his mother
Penny and William's arrival at the Hyatt House is heavily extended, featuring a longer section with Peter Frampton, as well as William being told to "blow me!" by a comedian he recognizes
Before having sex in the ice room, Penny and Russell have a conversation about their failing relationship
Stillwater attends a radio interview, hosted by a stoned DJ (Kyle Gass) who falls asleep mid-conversation
An extra scene before Russell's electric shock shows William attempting to interview Stillwater's dimwitted bassist in the pouring rain
The backstage fight over the blurry t-shirt includes an added exchange in which Russell asks Jeff if he's on cocaine
A couple of lines were added to the scene in Aaron's bedroom, in which Russell gives his belt to a young admirer
The scene after Russell jumps into the swimming pool is extended to imply that there was some concern over whether or not he would resurface before everyone else jumps in
The band holds a birthday party for Penny Lane, where she first learns that she is not welcome on the airplane
After Penny Lane's recovery from her Quaalude overdose, she and William walk by the lake in Central Park. She proceeds to tell him her real name, and in the extended cut, says: "Keith Richards looked at me, pulled me on stage, he took me backstage, and gave me a Coke with ice and a lemon. And I never went home."

[edit] Trivia

Kate Hudson's biological father, Bill Hudson, of the Hudson Brothers's fame, was a famous rocker of his time.
The part of Russell Hammond, played by Billy Crudup, was originially offered to Brad Pitt.
The initial concert scene was set at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, CA
One of the early school scenes was shot at the University of San Diego High School
Sarah Polley was cast in the role of Penny Lane but dropped out of the project to return to Canada for the low-budget The Law of Enclosures so Kate Hudson got the role.