Hey folks, Harry here... you know my feelings on this film... well, Cameron Crowe did a big nationwide College screening tonight, where he was tele-interviewed by many.... This first piece by Cru Jones... details the results of those questions... and here we have others' thoughts on the film...
Harry, NYU spy Cru Jones here. I just saw a NET screening of Almost Famous here at NYU. (this is not a review however, im sure you have enough of those) Afterwards, Cameron Crowe himself was there and we broadcast to the entire nation. He talked about how the film was 97% true, how he DID get that 3some, how he called Penny Lane during the shooting of his movie and she still hadnt changed (this relates to your amazing second review). She said that he could right about her and the men she was with as long as he stressed that they were good people and there about the MUSIC. The same thing she says in her first scene.
Most importantly to me however was the question about the title of the movie. Crowe confirmed that the title that he intended all the while was UNTITLED, just like the 4th Led Zepplin album. Unfortunately, Dreamworks didnt like it and so we have ALMOST FAMOUS, a title that he is happy with but it was not his first choice. He also confirmed that UNTITLED and ALMOST FAMOUS are the only 2 titles the film EVER HAD. He then went on to say that though this is his cut of the film, when the DVD comes out, he will release the movie as UNTITLED with extra footage cause he likes "bootlegs and extra tracks" as much as the next guy. This is coming straight from his mouth!! I cant wait for that DVD to come out.
On a side note, the movie is fantastic, moving and just a brilliant script. Phil Hoffman's line about how the only real currency is the truths you tell between uncool people is so fuckin brilliant. Anyway, thought you might be interested in that DVD/Penny Lane information. Hope i could be of assistance.
CRU JONES
Next we have... QUINT... Now here's the Cameron Crowe association reviewer... I first found Quint as a freshman at High School.... He started writing for the site shortly thereafter.... Now he's going around interviewing folks like ya wouldn't believe.... and here's his review of ALMOST FAMOUS
Ahoy there, you little sea squirts. The old dirty seaman here once more, this time with a little look at Almost Famous. I know, I know... there have been a plethora of reviews from us here at AICN the last few days. That only goes to show you how amazing this film is.
Much like the Big Man, this film hit personal chords with me. I started out doing interviews for my school paper. A kid with a tape recorder talking to the likes of George Carlin, Mike Judge and David Prowse.
I saw myself in Patrick Fugit's shoes. I WAS the young kid walking around wide eyed, not at concerts, but at film festivals, sneaks, press screenings and even the occational premiere. I WAS the kid frustrated at being stopped by the doorman when hunting down an interview or trying to sneak onto some set. That character up on the screen is me. I know that mixture of unconfidence, shyness and determination all too well. It suits me. Has since before I can remember.
This film was almost a splash on my face. It reminded me of ME when all this was new. I have been writing steadily for this site for 2 years now. I have visited sets, by both invitation and sneaking around, I have been to countless film festivals and conventions of every sort, met countless celebrities at every level of stardom, talked to directors, made a few solid friendships. I had just about forgotten what it was like when it was all new to me, where everything was a mystery waiting to be explored and solved. Almost Famous made me remember that time, forced me to remember it.
Will this movie work the same for you? Most likely not, but then again isn't that the beauty of film? Each individual brings something to each film they see. They bring their experiences, their temperment, their sense of humor, their memories. As a result, each individual will see this movie in a different way. One scene will remind someone of a pleasant time and place, while that same scene can trigger an unpleasant memory in someone else.
This movie works on so many levels, I'm willing to bet just about anyone can relate to it. Everyone has been a fan of something in their life. Everyone has had that one special love, be it returned or not. Everyone has experienced something in this film. If you think you are the exception, then this film is also a great piece of entertainment. The characters are all interesting. The dialogue is real and touching and often hilarious.
Let's take a dip into some of the characters, starting with Patrick Fugit as William Miller. Moriarty and Harry have both praised his work here and they are both right on. He is perfect. The only other work of his I can think of is the glimpse you can catch of him in Weird Al Yankovich's Amish Paradise music video. He is the local boy that kicked Weird Al in the butt and was seen later burning in hell, if I remember correctly.
His performance is mostly subtle, which suits the character. His acting is understated, done mostly with his eyes. Now, Moriarty already brought this up, so I won't repeat what he said, but I just wanted to praise Patrick for his amazing performance in this film. I love the fact he doesn't dazzle you with snappy line readings or quick wit. Instead, he flies below the radar and socks you in the gut at the right moments. I can't wait for his follow up to this film. When Lord of the Rings hits and everybody is extatic and thirsty for more, I think New Line has their Bilbo for The Hobbit prequel.
Kate Hudson as Penny Lane... Beautiful. She is absolutely gorgeous. I was amazed at how much of her mother showed through when she smiled. Even better, her performance was on par with her looks. In a word: Perfect. She will remind every heterosexual male of that one perfect girl. Every guy has one. The one that got away in most cases. She's that kind of character.
Billy Crudup is, as usual, terrific. He's absolutely believable as a '70s rock star that has let fame go to his head a little bit. His character works well with Jeff Bebe, Jason Lee's character. They work off each other terrifically. There is an amazing scene in the movie that happens after a squabble between the two. I'll just say look out for the Tiny Dancer scene.
Jason Lee outdoes himself. He retains a good amount of his Brody character from Mallrats, but I think that's more him than his previous character. In other words, he is Brody. He has to bring a small amount of that to every character he plays. It's him! The only way to take that out is to not cast him in the film. The thing is, up to this point, he has always been himself in films. I love him and I love watching his films. It was just great to see him stretch his wings a little bit and prove he can construct a character that is totally believable.
There are just so many great performances in this movie... Anna Paquin is beautiful as always, just not given much to do. What little her character entails is made the most of, though. Fairuza Balk, who I have had a crush on since my early adolecent viewings of Return to Oz, is given a secondary character with some meat. She's really funny in the movie. I give her many props.
I am deliberatly avoiding specifics on this film. If you've seen the trailer, then you've seen enough. I want the movie to be a surprise to you like it was to me. I hope you all enjoy it just as much as I did.
Keep your eyes starboard, squirts. I got a few interviews coming up on the horizon that I think you'll get a kick out of. Until then, farewell and adieu.
-Quint
aicnquint@aol.com or quint@aintitcoolmail.com
Zubalove is up next...
What is up Headgeek? First time / long time, ya dig? Just got back from a screening of Almost Famous at the University of Rochester where I saw what could be an Oscar Nominating performance for local boy Phillip Seymor Hoffman. Let me tell you something about this flick. It jams. Severely. Cameron Crowe has got one over again and this time its a game winning, grand slam at the bottom of the ninth.
What completely mesmerizes me about this movie is its dedication to detail. Its not merely a "salute" to 70's rock as I've heard people claim but a recreation of it in order to tell a much more important and poignant story. The heart of this story is William Miller and Crowe crafts the film with a firm hand in the beginning in order to convey exactly what kind of a person Miller is. The young intelligent kid stands in stark contrast to the world he is about to be thrust into. Fugit plays Miller to the hilt, mailing in one of the strongest and most authentic "coming of age' performances I've ever seen. (And I've seen every John Hughes movie) Somebody rack that kid. I won't even touch the deflowering scene because I fear that its already being overplayed and the movie isn't even in wide release. Through and through, Miller embodies real ideals in a world that suddenly becomes much more fantastic than he ever believed.
Crudup and Lee both do good work. I wasn't too happy with the amount we got out of The Man Who Should Be Fletch, but you know what? That's just one of my hang ups. I like Jason Lee and I want to see him succeed. Sue me. Kate Hudson did a marvelous job with a character that could very easily have been played as an archetypal groupie. She carefully walked a line between the strong resilient female in a dangerous world and crestfallen, jaded love interest for Cudrup. Overall, Pugit and Hudson carry this thing and make it real. The others characters are played smartly, but they remain peripheral to what is happening within the two young leads.
The only flaw in this diamond is its ending. I walked out knowing something wasn't quite right and perhaps that 40 minutes of trimmed material had something to do with it but I'm not too sure. I think its the short time span in which the resolution occurs. An ending with too many edits of short scenes to illustrate everyone has had closure and then a cut to the credits. Somehow, it just didn't seem to fit in with a movie that had such a wide scope. Too much immediacy in a movie that had taken its time in development.
You know what? I'm splitting hairs here. Bottom line: if you liked Say Anything or Singles, I got some news for you, you are going to like Almost Famous. If you didn't like those movies, go see something ya do like. If you liked Jerry Maguire.... well, you're a freakin' yutz and
I'm done with ya.
Zubalove OUT.
we move on to Alvy Singer
I'm sure you're getting a ton of these right now, but I just saw a campus (LSU) sneak of Almost Famous and I walk out with one of those jazzed-up buzzes that the best comedies can give you. People are going to emphasize the poignant and sad moments of the movie, but it is decidedly and purposely optimistic in the most realistic of ways. Crowe doesn't want us to take time pondering the brutal buzzsaw of reality, yet at the same time he makes sure we see it's there. I think movie critics are going to mistake his ability to show people struggling to small triumphs into something Capraesque and contrived. I've read some reviews (ok, AO Scott in the NYtimes) who damn it with the most ass-backwards praise, saying the sex and drugs weren't seedy enough. I hope that the movie gets all the acclaim and awards possible, because in a lot of ways it proves that great art can survive both the loose, light form of comedy and the clucking disapproval of critics who refuse to accept any thing that isn't at least a little Bergmanesque.
ALVY SINGER
Next up is a view from I AM SPARTACUS...
Hey Harry. It's my first time sending anything in to you. I love your site. Keep up the good work!
I won tickets to see an ALMOST FAMOUS advance screening Tuesday night at the AMC 30 at The Block in Orange, CA, sponsored by a local radio station. I've been waiting so long to see this flick that, knowing the time was finally near, the last couple of days have been unbearable! Anyway, I simply had to write in and say that this film surpassed ALL of my fairly lofty expectations.
There are so many things to admire about this movie that it's hard to know where to begin, but I think that the screenplay is so rich and finely thought out that Crowe's talent as a writer should be trumpeted beyond all else. He is able to introduce more ideas and themes into one film than you think are possible, and each of them are so fully realized that you can't help but smile as the story progresses to its genuinely moving, inevitable conclusion. There's so much going on here that, when asked what ALMOST FAMOUS is about, viewers could provide summaries so dissimiliar that you'd swear they didn't see the same film. It's about family. It's about your first love, it's about the shattering change from innocence to experience, it's about the trappings of fame, it's about writing for a living, it's about Rock and Roll, etc. And in the end Crowe refuses to give short shrift to any of these things. It's an amazing piece of work.
And the performances! Can you imagine when an actor reads this script and is given the opportunity to run with this material? How must that feel? It's become a cliche at this point to say that the inclusion of Brad Pitt or Meryl Streep would have tilted the movie away from the story and toward movie star personality, but it's the god honest truth; It would have. ALL of the performances are expertly drawn and underplayed. Everyone will reap huge dividends from being in this thing, but MY GOD Harry, Kate Hudson is unbelievable in this! How could anyone who has appeared in so little, at that age, give a performance like that?!?!? Jesus. It's a performance so rich and intricately created that it seems like a miracle! Normally it takes several performances for me to develop a Jones for an actor, but suffice to say that anything this girl does in the future - you can count me in. The success of this film will largely depend on the degree that SKG gets behind it marketing wise, and it will be interesting to see which performances get earmarked by Spielberg for the Oscar push. Any of them would be fine, but I hope that Hudson is the one, as it would be too much to bear if this level of work is overlooked.
Add to all of this the most amazing amalgamation of music woven into a film in recent memory. More than any of the 70's flicks that have been made, the music in this film is lovingly selected. It's not the standard tracks that you'd expect to hear; Crowe's love for Zeppelin and the Who shines through, and the "one hit wonder" tracks included, like Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air" and the Rasberrie's "Go All the Way" add richly to the story's emotinal climate.
In the end, if you love the movies, you will love this movie. It commands your attention as the personal work of an artist at his peak. One last thing Harry: This movie most reminds me of the great RUSHMORE and, as others have said, MAGNOLIA. I wonder what Crowe thinks of Max Fisher and his great quest for self understanding. When you watch Penny dancing to "The Wind", I wondered if Crowe was paying homage to Wes Anderson. Either way, like those other two films, ALMOST FAMOUS is go for broke cinema, daring to work in a genre where the risk for turning into schmaltz and fake sentimentality awaits behind each new corner. Crowe stepped up to the plate trying to hit a home run, and it's time for us to rush out of the dugout and give him high five as he crosses home plate.
I AM SPARTACUS
PS: "What kind of beer?" That just killed me!
And now... that lobotomized ex-President... Ronald Reagan...
"Almost Famous" Review
"Fame is the worst drug of all"
--Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher
"Almost Famous" is the first outing by writer/director Cameron Crowe since his 1996 hit "Jerry Maguire". Although Crowe says that his latest film is semiautobiographical, his last two last films deal with the same story, of a basically decent man working in an industry of seediness and intoxicating fame, falling into the trap of the industry, and, with the help of the woman he loves, regaining his decency and staying true to the identity he always had.
The movie has the young budding writer William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit), whose considerable talent in writing for underground rock magazines is noticed by Creem magazine founder Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who, as well as William’s mother Elaine (Frances McDormand), serves as Will’s mentors in the movie. Lester philosophizes about the end of rock, and advises Will on journalism throughout the movie. "Be honest and unmerciful", he intones. Will’s mom also comes out throughout the movie, trying to keep Will from getting swallowed by the decadent rock culture she fears.
Its no sooner that his big break happens, and William is soon picked up by Rolling Stone to write on a tour of the rising band Stillwater. Its also no sooner that Will breaks one of Lester’s professional rules and becomes friends with the bands, as well as the beautiful groupie who goes by Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who with other groupies, functions as the band’s party crew.
Will loses himself in the partying, the relationships, the tours. Angry calls from his mother and the deadline wringing from the Rolling Stone offices, as well as calls to Lester, serve to break reality into the drug addled world that Will soon finds himself living in. The movie is in part the journey that he, his new found love Penny, and the band take in regaining their sense of reality from the fame that surrounded them.
The movie hardly has a dull moment, with Crowe brilliantly weaving plot twists, jokes, and character development together in a movie that could have easily have been a stereotypical coming-of-age story. Frances McDormand puts conviction and love into a role that could have easily have been a 2 dimensional Concerned Mother character. Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Lester Bangs wonderfully brings to life the mentoring "Yoda" of the story, serving in part as a mouthpiece for Crowe’s ideas on the state of rock, on journalism, and on the "uncool people" who he credits on making true art, true music. No guessing on what he thinks about the current crop of hit pop singers.
Of special note in the band Stillwater itself. At many points in the movie, the lead singer realizes their mediocrity, how they are searching for something beyond mere fame. They’re looking for "something real", as the lead singer says at one point. The whole film is haunted by the price of fame, how is seems to rob people of their own true selves. People do things they would never do otherwise. They lose focus, they become lost in this Industry that doesn’t really care for them. The film is, while also being about this one kid who came of age fast in the fast world of music, is also about fame, and how people manage to get over it and stay true to themselves. Its an optimistic movie, one that I think will touch a lot of people, and one that we may very well be seeing at Oscar season this coming March.
Send thoughts, comments, or insulting diatribes to reagan5001@yahoo.com
