Almost Famous celebrates its 20th anniversary: the scenes of Cameron Crowe’s unforgettable film

“[It was] his story, it’s his life. I had to do the right thing. And he did. “

Kate Hudson on Cameron Crowe

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“They had to have an artistic production for albums that were to be accessories on set,” Crudup recalls (above, with John Fedevich as Ed Vallencourt, Lee as singer Jeff Bebe and Larry Fellows of Mark Kozelek) remembers that foreground of Stillwater. “We didn’t know what the band was. We were still in our practice phase, seeking to perceive the dynamics among all of us. It’s a wonderful review of how other people start a business. seeking to perceive what Stillwater was. “

Crowe adds about the promotional photo. ” Most of the time, they remind me of the Eagles. This is Jason’s face Lee. Et John Fedevich, silent Ed, knowing there’s going to be trouble. Russell’s torturing Bebe. Et, I think he’s hitting a little on Bebe’s back just to fuck him.

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Stillwater actors went through what is known as the “School of Rock,” where they worked with real rockers Peter Frampton and Nancy Wilson to convincingly play musicians and consolidate the band as a band. “For several weeks, the band rehearsed to play, “Lee remembers,” and all the time I let my hair grow and become longer and longer. “

Eventually, Crowe brought in more people to give them an audience. “Cameron looked for Kate Hudson and the women to come and watch us play,” Lee adds. “We were making a set so everyone could start getting an idea of what the band was becoming. That’s when it all started to fit into place. “

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Jimmy Fallon, another star cast member of the film, played Dennis Hope, who becomes Stillwater’s manager once the band’s profile begins to rise. “Jimmy had a musical presence on [Saturday Night Live],” Crowe recalls. He was impressed that we brought him in because I was already a fan; it was fantastic He thoroughly cultivated the cut look on Irving Azoff’s bowl in the early 1970s and we left. (As for whether he had ever heard Mick Jagger talk about one of Hope’s most memorable phrases, when the character declares, “If you think Mick Jagger will still be out there with the appearance of being a rock star at 50, unfortunately you’re deceived,” Crowe replies, “No, I didn’t. “I think I could, but I didn’t). “).

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Hudson’s Penny Lane functionality is iconic, a descriptor that can also be applied to the character’s famous coat, however, the actress was first selected to play Anita, William’s older sister (who is portrayed in the film by via Deschanel) After Brad Pitt and Sarah Polley left the role of Russell and Penny, Hudson and the role she was destined for were reunited . . . Finally. “I turned down two important roles at the time to paint with Cameron. I didn’t care what I was doing, I was just looking to be in a Cameron Crowe movie,” he says. “I asked him if I could audition for Penny Lane and he was undecided, then despite everything, she said, okay, okay, back and forth, and despite everything, Gail [Levin], the casting director, said to Cameron, “Okay, enough, we’re not auditioning anymore Kate, rent her! “And he rented me. “

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Blue was on a demo shelf. ” Data-reactid – “135” – McDormand, as William’s mother, Elaine (seen here with Michael Angarano, representing a young William), is located along Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, San Diego. The scene includes non-public Easter eggs for Crowe. “This is the Strand Theater where I first watched the Carnal Knowledge and Mike Nichols films; it’s a dress my mother wore when she was that age,” says the principal. The two women hunting out the window, it was a record store where I went, they had a large window open where they would release the last wonderful album that had arrived. I went there once and Joni Mitchell’s Blue was on a demo shelf. . “

As for Angarano, Fugit is still inspired by what the 10-year-old actor has completed in such a short time on screen. “He had a very strong Staten Island accent; part of [Michael’s] paintings sought simply to love the West Coast his herbal speaking. It was amazing,” Fugit recalls, “when he got on set, Cameron was making us all pass because we’re essentially 3 versions of the same person. Michael was chasing me and picking up things I was doing, and that’s what Cameron wanted. “

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“Someday calm down”) to his younger brother. “I’m not forgetting that it was a very important line,” says Deschanel. “We have done it a few times, I don’t know, maybe 40 times. Cameron likes to have a lot of functions in the editing room. So we did it 40 times, then [later] he said, “So yeah, you know how they gave me to do that line, 40 times?” Guess which one I used. “I said, ‘The first one?” And he said, ‘Yes, I’m using the first one. “” “Data-reactid =” 155 “> Deschanel (here with cinematographer John Toll), seen filming the moment when Anita leaves space, but not before giving parting gifts (records) and words of wisdom (“One day be great”) to his younger brother. “I don’t forget that that was a very important line,” says Deschanel. “We’ve done this many times, I don’t know, maybe 40 times. Cameron likes to have a lot of functions in the editing room. So we did it 40 times and then [later] he said, “So yeah, you know how I tell you. Has this line been done like 40 times? Guess which one I used. ” I’m like, “The first one?” And he was like, “Yeah, I use the first one. ” “

Crowe says this scene played a genuine moment with his sister. “I have this [genuine] picture of her with her first serious genuine boyfriend, she’s leaving the space and can’t wait to say she’s going with curls in her hair. “Says. For the photo itself, he adds, “the camera is connected to the car and the car will start, look back and we were betting music at the time. I think we were betting “America”[simon and Garfunkel] on set and it’s like a marriage made in paradise. His face, this song and this photo, and it’s John Toll casually knowing your dreams as a DP teacher.

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“It’s the Hyatt House scene,” Crowe said, “We were filming a lot of things and it was a long script, so this thing in my hand is just a collection of the scenes we do that day. That’s when the boy [William] starts to see what’s going on: “You were his excuse to come here. ‘What Kate does, because I don’t forget that mannerism she had, when she bites a finger while I speak for her, is, ‘I hear what you’re saying, but in the end, I’m just going to throw it. That’s Kate’s magic. (Taken from Hudson: “This image of Cameron and I as Cameron and I”).

Your collaboration, Hudson says, has been “one of the wonderful career relationships of my life. He taught me a lot when I was young, and I think Cameron and I were a smart team. I feel like they gave it to me, and he figured out exactly how to address me and get exactly what I needed. And we respect each other very much. “

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High was resolved] when Sean Penn said, You, “)Data-reactid – “195” “I think Patrick is very William Miller off camera here,” Crowe says, about — put the breakup with Fugit. “That’s when you know you’re on the right track, other people get into their characters and the characters come together in the script, and it also works in life. “Behind them is Kelly Curtis, manager of Pearl Jam and an old friend of Crowe’s (the filmmaker considers Curtis a lucky charm: “He was [on the set of Fast Times at Ridgemont High] when Sean Penn said, ‘You idiot. ‘).

Although he had already enjoyed good fortune as a director, with Almost Famous, Crowe felt he was betting a role. “I think we’ve all gotten into our characters,” he says. “My character is this distraught guy looking to make a decent movie from my childhood. Completely stressful, but what pleased me a lot, and I still do, is to show Patrick how fun it is to make a movie. “

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Hoffman (left) gave one of his most memorable performances as Lester Bangs, impressive, given that he had the flu when he filmed his scenes. “He was completely exhausted, dehydrated and visibly nauseous and had to walk away just to vomit the catch. Fugit said. ” I was sweating in silence and crushing scene after scene. “The two actors also chatted between takes, and although Hoffman was friendly with Fugit as a teenager, he could also be a little rough. paintings a long time to get a role like this, so it would be better to play,” Fugit recalls. “But in a very concerned way. “

Scenes with Hoffman as Bangs are also of particular importance to Crowe, who met the real Bangs when the director was still an aspiring Rolling Stone reporter. “That’s what Lester was wearing when I met him,” Crowe says of the Hoffman Guess Who T-shirt.

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In the film, William meets Bangs in the same position (above), a teenager Crowe first met the prominent rock journalist. “There’s Patrick settling in William, holding on to the bag for life,” Crowe says. I’m a little nervous because Philip is wonderful and listens to Lester at the headphones every single time I don’t communicate with him. I crossed the street and looked at the scene. I heard in my helmet as he communicated with the boy, and he looked like Lester. I had a chill. He channels the guy just around the corner where I met him. “

Jerry Maguire brought you there. I have to go and he hung up. “Data-reactid — “236”- Crowe was so excited after filming the original Lester Bangs scene that he made the decision to call the president of DreamWorks, David Geffen, to thank you for allowing the film Crowe to remember: “I just called him and said, ‘I’m actually satisfied that we’re shooting this movie, and I don’t know what brought me to this day when I can film Lester Bangs as Philip Seymour Hoffman and David Geffen says : “Jerry Maguire brought you there. I have to go” and he hung up. “

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When Crudup and Crowe first met about Almost Famous, the actor said Russell was “a mysterious man. “”He didn’t say much, and I can’t really perceive what [Crowe] expected from the character in the script. . . so at first I was a little shy about how I was going to interpret this guy effectively, as I didn’t really know who he was,” Crudup recalls. And Cameron actually spent that time saying, ‘I don’t know who he is or, though maybe we can locate him together. Wouldn’t that be great?” His portrait then came running with the director and reading the downtime like this. (Crowe’s note: “I love this picture because it’s Billy. It’Russell. Es not Billy Crudup at work. “)

The scene they were filming here is when Russell asks William to “just make us look good,” a time when Crowe was supposedly “tedious. “He tried to correct the ambiguity, whether or not Russell deserved William. , or William authorized Russell, “Crudup. Si all that Lester Bangs taught William is true, so we see him develop. We see William fall in love with those guys, and we’ll see how Russell understands that William is vulnerable in this way. And it exploits it, however, leaves us full of resentment and understanding, hateful and enchanted, which is one of Cameron’s wonderful gifts. “

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“I feel like this scene is cut off; it may be just in the protracted version, but I feel like it’s the scene where Kate and I were talking about what Russell and Penny never talked about, that is, their relationship,” Crudup says. married and his wife named Leslie, and Leslie the hot word for both of us obviously, so Leslie never came.

“It’s not hard to fall in love with Billy Crudup. No we had to paint on him,” Hudson said of his partner. “What I liked about our quotes in this movie is that my personality and Billy’s are very different. take this very seriously. And I say, yes, but let’s laugh while we do [laughs] – we’re going to laugh while we take it very seriously. And that made me concentrate. I’m 20 years old making this movie, [and] it brought me a lot of concentration and delight because he’s 10, 11 years older than me. I think I gave him a sense of lightness, that I can just dance and make him joke, and Cameron provided that area so we can get to know each other like this.

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Jeff Bebe might have focused on the benefits and risks of celebrity music (you never need to be one of the blurry guys on a band’s T-shirt), but Lee says his expression here is about the “special” power of the ensemble. Looking back now, he says, “Honestly, I think it’s bittersweet because it’s one of the maximum ordinary reports I’ve had. I wonder if the movie was filmed now, if between shots, other people would be on their iPhones scrolling via Instagram. We didn’t have mobile phones, we didn’t have Instagram, we didn’t have social media. Everyone hung out and played guitar, told jokes and lived life. We were living the movie, and it was so special. moment. “

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the speech the film is about. You are the only user who can do it the way it is done, who will suffer from love for music. And she said, ‘All right, all right. ‘” Data-reactid – “314” – Fairuza Balk, who plays Sapphire Dressing, has a small but very important role in the film, anything Crowe had to make the actress perceive before filming. “He called me over the weekend just as we were starting film,” he says. She was worried; she said, “Where am I on this set?”I think I was looking to figure out where to pin and how to interpret it. I said, ‘Well, you’re the soul of this movie,’ and she said, ‘What are you talking about, am I the soul of the movie?I thought, ‘You’re the life and soul of this movie. You have the speech on what the movie is all about. You are the only user who can do it the way it is done, who will suffer from love for music. “And she said, “All right, all right. “

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William would possibly have spent the film crying after Penny Lane, but Fugit notes that it was Paquin’s Polexia in which his character deserved to have put his heart. “Cameron would put it that way,” Fugit recalls, “Polexia is the one That William will eventually be with in 15 years and with whom he will have a long and deep relationship. “So it has been a facet of William’s lack of wisdom and also of Polexia’s overall tiredness. It gives me the impression through Anna’s functionality that Polexia was following it all the time, as William and I could finish doing something, but he’s not yet in a position. “

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Jay Baruchel, pictured here in his homemade “Stairway to Heaven” blouse. “Baby Baruchel,” Crowe recalls, was so young but a genuine energized cord. He’s absolutely the brains of the genuine guy, Ric Munoz. [Jay] retrained me from Jimmy Fallon. Every time they were in the same place, I thought, “Come on, guys. What’s our friend’s movie?” They look at me like other people look at you, “Why do you think we look the same?” We don’t look the same. Stop it. “” Data-reactid – “352” – For the role of an enthusiastic Zeppelin teenager, Crowe released a then unknown Baruchel jay, photographed here in his home blouse “Stairway to Heaven”. “Baby Baruchel” remembers Crowe. ” He was so young, but quite a live thread. It’s absolutely the brains of the genuine guy, Ric Munoz. [Jay] retrained me to Jimmy Fallon. Every time they were in the same place, I was like, ‘Come on, guys. What’s our friends movie?” They look at me this way that other people look at you: “Why do you think we look the same?We don’t look the same. That’s enough. “

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Hudson and Preston took this image a break from filming. Look at the bus, Stillwater’s first mode of sightseeing, in the background. “Do you see the platform? It was so hot on that bus,” Hudson said. “We were in Sacramento, I think, and my God, it was very hot. “

According to Preston, the filming of Almost Famous “was like a rock excursion for 3 months, apart from the fact that we had call sheets. It’s the same atmosphere. You’re starting to stay away and very cloistered from the outdoor world. “

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When power starts to fail a little and everyone starts singing, it was a bittersweet and moving scene to film. “Data-reactid – “391” – Lee and Hudson aboard the bus, place one of the most memorable moments. “I think the scene that other people communicate about the maximum is the scene of “Tiny Dancer,” Lee says. It was a marvel to do because you felt that weakness on the bus after [Russell’s acidic adventure house when power starts to pass went up a little bit and everyone started singing, it was a bittersweet and moving scene to film.

“It was a time for us as a user and as a cast, which is to be a circus in combination when you’re making a movie,” Hudson says. As she says, the sensible thing about this scene got this far. in combined filming. ” [Penny’s line] ‘You’re home’ wasn’t even written, and I don’t forget if it was an improvisation of mine or if Cameron told me, but it wasn’t a line [in the script]. I think Cameron threw ‘I need to go home’ at William, and I just said ‘you’re home’ [laughs]. “

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In 2020, Almost Famous can be read as music journalism fan fiction – a green publisher on a seaside project that becomes a Rolling Stone canopy story. But Crowe wrote for publication as a teenager, and he wanted the global magazine to be fair. The director cast Terry Chen as Ben Fong-Torres (both pictured above), Rainn Wilson as RS co-founder David Felton, and Eion Bailey as editor Jann Wenner. “It was wonderful to bring Ben and David to the set,” says Crowe of Rolling Stone’s recreated offices. “Ben knows how to fix the situation. When he entered, he became the music editor for Rolling Stone. He was telling me what was right, what was wrong, what I can cut, what would feel more wonderful here. He and Terry were good at it. The wonderful thing is that Ben told me, “I never used to wear shirts like this. ” And I said, ‘You were dressed in tight paisley shirts. “He was like,” I never have. “We showed her a picture of [him in] one of our studios and he said, ‘Okay, maybe in that one.

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The film won the recommendation of rock star Peter Frampton, who served as technical adviser and taught Crudup to play guitar. Preston was able to capture Frampton a break between filming the scene of a concert at the Hollywood Palladium. “We have a preparation time where Frampton will let himself be set aside and show us yes, this very generous, gentlemanly and useful guy is really peter Frampton as well. He’s the one who makes an amazing guitar game. “

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Stillwater concerts gave actors a genuine taste of rock staring, especially this Palladium feature, filmed in front of a swarm of screaming fans/extras. “We filmed continuously, I think 3 or 4 songs in a row between each song, the microphones were hot. I’d say, “Thank you very much. The next song is, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. “Then the play was played and then we move on to the next song,” Lee says. “It was literally like filming a mini concert. The crowd was noisy and we passed through it. It was amazing that we did that and the cameras moved and covered everything. his first rehearsals. Crowe made the decision to incorporate him into the film. )

Crudup adds: “When you hear the first chords of the song we’re betting on, the lights go out and there are another 1,500 people at the Palladium. . . they’re screaming and, I mean, you immediately know why rock stars go by. Crazy, because you’re full of some kind of mania that goes straight to your center and brain that looks nothing like anything. Even in the supposed environments in which I play with someone else, I have felt the ordinary and exclusive joy of having a moment as a rock star. It gives me the creeps to think about it.

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“It’s a great scene that we filmed an outdoor game in Santa Monica [replacing San Diego], then the component in a studio in Manhattan Beach,” Deschanel says of that moment with Crowe. “It is the meeting of mom and daughter that an unlikely assembly, which pretends to be the most awkward embrace in the world. It’s a very vital moment for Cameron. ” As for the way Crowe frames his face, Deschanel says, “Either he tells me he’s going to do a close-up, or we attack the photographer and pretend to be a director who frames my face. “(From the director himself: “I was just jumping up and down on that porch even when I saw we had it, because those are the moments that are vital and also out of genuine life. “)

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William’s exploits with Stillwater forced him to lose his high school degree, much to the chagrin of his mother, who quietly bubbled through the crowd when his son did not materialize. Crowe sought to give the scene a real-world seriousness and, again, a small nod to his own life, so he filmed the series at his own high school and recruited one of his must-see actresses: his mother, Alice Marie. Crowe (seen above, in the pink hat), who has given the impression in several of the director’s films and also served as inspiration for Elaine de McDormand (another Easter egg) : alongside Alice is actor Charles Walker, who played the title role in Say Anything).

“My mother was actually looking for [McDormand’s] performance, even though she used to say, “I’ve never been barefoot at home. You know,” Crowe says, adding, “She’s one of my most important editors and a glorious teacher. We used to walk this track [at school] and communicate ideas, because we were big filmmakers. We communicated a lot about Almost Famous. ” When Crowe nevertheless finished the film and ended with a 4-hour break, he turned to it. “I was a little lost, ” he said. She came to the workplace and put her in a room and she looked at her 4 hours a day, and when she finished, she said, “Your most productive movie is here, so get to work. “And that’s what I did. “

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You can almost tell it’s so much about the father that he’s not there, “says Crowe. I think I’d be there if you knew what to look for. Adds Fugit, “I love filming this scene because it was informative about Cameron and his circle of relatives in a way that hadn’t happened to me before,” he says. William’s father. I didn’t even read think about it until Cameron pointed it out to me. Cameron says, “You see your mother and sister [played through Deschanel, center] synergizing again, but something is missing. I need you, in that moment, to look at the empty chair and Array . . . realize that your father is not there. “This is the power that the circle of relatives lacks. ” sad. I do not forget when he told me that he was a little impressed. “” Data-reactid = “508”> “That was the original ending of the movie, “Crowe said of that little scene. – Family lunch circle, where Elaine (McDormand, has gone) surprises her kids by betting on a Neil Young song,” On the Way Home. “(” A pirate version, very good, “says the director. ) But there is more to the series than a finish has the alternative. ” One of the secrets of Almost Famous is that it is about a father who is rarely very present, “says Crowe. I think I’d be there if you knew what to look for. Fugit adds, “I love filming this scene because it was informative about Cameron and his circle of p You burn in a way that hasn’t happened to me before, “he says. William’s father. I didn’t even read think about it until Cameron pointed it out to me. Cameron says, “You see your mother and sister [played through Deschanel, center] re-synergizing, but something is missing. I need you, at that point, to take a look at the empty chair and Array . . . realize that your father is not there. “This is the power that the circle of relatives lacks. ” sad. I do not forget when he told me that he was a little impressed. “

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“This is my favorite picture,” crowe says, from this Preston photo of Penny Lane’s boots. “It’s Kate who feels loose and goes with this character. “

The photo was taken in the scene where Penny takes an overdose of quaaludes and William comes to save her, but not before stealing a kiss from her. Hudson called the scene “magnificently innocent and sad. ” However, while William’s intentions were possibly sincere, Fugit points out the terrifying nuances of the moment. “She has an overdose, she can die too, and William will kiss her while she passes out,” she said. However, he recognizes what Crowe was looking for. do. “How do we replace the behavioral nature of this into something that is still worrying but very sweet? How is William going to express his love for this woman? Basically he said in a subtext with his eyes, with his smiles, with his discomfort around Penny Lane. The only explanation why he’s sure to speak [here] is because she probably wouldn’t forget him. He’s sure he’s a villain. “

adapted the film as musical. ” I think the lifespan of what we wanted to do in the movie with this scene has expired,” he says. What makes me most proud is that we had to rearrange this scene [for the stage] to be true to its characters. “Data-reactid “529” – Crowe eventually replaced the scene when he adapted the film as a musical. “I think the lifespan of what we were looking to do in the movie with this scene has expired,” he said. What I’m most proud of is that we were going to relive this scene [for the stage] to be true to its characters.

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“Every time I think of Almost Famous, it’s just an absolute love around me,” Hudson says, looking at the film two decades later. “Joy was like no other, we have become a circle of relatives and Cameron was inspiring, I still do not forget what he said.

“Very rarely, the videos are kept, and when your children watch them, they have fun the same way you did when you first saw them. And I see that when I show this movie to my son, it evokes the same feeling that I either had it when I saw him, or my brother. He argues – I think because you see this global through the eyes of a 15-year-old boy, he allowed love for music and this time, this innocence, toArray. I think it gives hope to other people. I think when they see it, they have life expectancy. And it’s just Cameron, when Cameron hits him, nobody’s better. When he reaches his ideal point, there’s no one like him. [This] was his story, it’s his life. I had to do the right thing. And he did. “

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