Almost Famous (2000)

A high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writer:

Cameron Crowe

Stars:

Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 52 wins & 103 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crudup	...	Russell Hammond
Frances McDormand	...	Elaine Miller
Kate Hudson	...	Penny Lane
Jason Lee	...	Jeff Bebe
Patrick Fugit	...	William Miller
Zooey Deschanel	...	Anita Miller
Michael Angarano	...	Young William
Anna Paquin	...	Polexia Aphrodisia
Fairuza Balk	...	Sapphire
Noah Taylor	...	Dick Roswell
John Fedevich	...	Ed Vallencourt
Mark Kozelek	...	Larry Fellows
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Lester Bangs
Liz Stauber	...	Leslie
Jimmy Fallon	...	Dennis Hope

Storyline

The early 1970s. William Miller is 15-years old and an aspiring rock journalist. He gets a job writing for Rolling Stone magazine. His first assignment: tour with the band Stillwater and write about the experience. Miller will get to see what goes on behind the scenes in a famous band, including the moments when things fall apart. Moreover, for him, it will be a period of new experiences and finding himself.

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Plot Keywords:

panties | sex | smoking marijuana | on the road | rock 'n' roll | 

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Taglines:

Experience it. Enjoy it. Just don't fall for it.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Vinyl Films

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 September 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Uncool

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,314,646, 17 September 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$32,534,850

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,848,839

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, Vinyl Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 162 min (director's cut) 152 min (DVD extended cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the edited version shown on United Airlines, the scene where the plane malfunctions is completely removed. When Ben Fong Torres reads the opening lines of William's story, it is re-written to omit the "...and we're all about to die" line.

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Goofs

When William drags Penny Lane across the floor as she's ODing, the soles of her bare feet are dirty. When the doctor and nurse pump her stomach in the bathroom, they're clean.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Elaine Miller: I can't believe you wanna be Atticus Finch. Oh, that makes me feel so good.
Young William: I like him.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are presented in the form of notes being hand-written on a set of notecards. The hand writing the credits is director Cameron Crowe's.

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Alternate Versions

There are 3 hidden outtakes on the Director's Edition DVD: A scene where Penny Lane is saying Russell's girlfriend's name over and over again to get over the discomfort of it. Notice in the film Penny says she can't even say her name. Crowe says it was based on Truffaut's "Stolen Kisses". The clip of the shooting of the scene on the tour bus when Penny tells William that when they go to Morocco they'll have different names. The first take of the scene with William and Lester Bangs walking up the street. Crowe explains beforehand on the audio clip that when Phillip Seymour Hoffman broke character during the take he thought he heard somebody say "cut" when in fact nobody did.

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Connections

Featured in Behind the Scenes: 'Almost Famous' - Postcards from the Road (2001)

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Soundtracks

The Wind
Written & Performed by Cat Stevens
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Great film...buy the Director's Cut DVD!

There are two things that make this film one of the best made in the last few years- characters and music. I am personally not a big fan of 70s music, but it is used very well in this film, most of my favourite scenes are made all the more memorable by the music, which includes America (Simon & Garfunkel), Tiny Dancer, Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters (both Elton John), River (Joni Mitchell) Paranoid (Black Sabbath) and Feel Flows (The Beach Boys) Most of the actors and actresses in this film give the performance of their lives, Frances McDormand being especially comical as William's mother, and many of the best moments are all hers. William himself has an endearing quality about him to the audience, and I'm surprised I haven't seen Patrick Fugit in any other films since this one. A great film, and the Directors Cut DVD is well worth the money, especially for those of you (like me) who had previously only watched the UK version.