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Almost Famous
In 1973, a precocious 15-year-old aspiring rock journalist lands a dream assignment from Rolling Stone to tour with a rising rock band, embarking on a coming-of-age journey as he discovers the exhilarating and heartbreaking realities behind rock stardom.
2000 · Directed by Cameron Crowe · 124 min · Drama · Music · Screenplay in the scene database · 54 frames
Tagline
Experience it. Enjoy it. Just don't fall for it.
Plot
In 1969 San Diego, child prodigy William Miller struggles to fit in with his peers. His mother Elaine, a widowed college professor, further complicates his life by starting him early in school and leading him to believe he is 13 years old, when he is in fact 11. Furthermore, Elaine's strict ban on rock music and her fear of pop culture have a lasting effect on her two children, finally driving William's 18-year-old sister Anita to move to San Francisco and become a flight attendant.
In 1973, William, now 15 and influenced by Anita's secret cache of rock albums, aspires to be a rock journalist, writing freelance articles for underground music magazines. Impressed by William's writing, rock journalist Lester Bangs gives him a $35 writing assignment to interview Black Sabbath at a concert. William is barred from the backstage until the opening band Stillwater arrives and William flatters his way in. Lead guitarist Russell Hammond takes a liking to William, as does Penny Lane, the leader of a groupie-like collective called "Band-Aids", a term she coined to describe female fans who follow bands to support the music, not just for sex.
After reading some of William's articles in a San Diego underground paper, Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres hires him to write an article about Stillwater and sends him on the road with the band. William interviews the other band members, but guitarist Russell Hammond avoids a formal sit-down interview. Tensions mount between Hammond and lead singer Jeff Bebe, as the former becomes the more prominent member. The band jokingly refers to journalist William as "the enemy", but he eventually integrates into their inner circle.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Cameron Crowe
- Cinematography: John Toll
- Edited by: Joe Hutshing, Saar Klein
- Music: Nancy Wilson
- Produced by: Ian Bryce, Cameron Crowe, Scott M. Martin, Lisa Stewart
Cast
- Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond
- Frances McDormand as Elaine Miller
- Kate Hudson as Penny Lane
- Jason Lee as Jeff Bebe
- Patrick Fugit as William Miller
- Zooey Deschanel as Anita Miller
- Michael Angarano as Young William
- Anna Paquin as Polexia Aphrodisia
- Fairuza Balk as Sapphire
- Noah Taylor as Dick Roswell
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: DreamWorks Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Vinyl Films
- Budget: $60,000,000
- Box office: $47,386,287
- Themes: concert, rock 'n' roll, drug addiction, groupie, music journalist, based on true story, coming of age, promiscuity, on the road, rock band
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