What really happened to Almost Famous?

Cameron Crowe is responsible for some of the most memorable moments in cinema over the last 40 years. Phoebe Cates and Judge Reinhold at the pool in I think I’m standing in the forest. Jerry Maguire and Rod Tidwell shout “Show Me the Money”. Lloyd Dobler heats up Peter Gabriel in Say somethingBut before he won an Oscar or befriended Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, Crowe led a very different life as a precocious rock-and-roll journalist for Rolling Stone magazine. Barely ready for life outside of his home, the young writer suddenly found himself with rock gods and sexy groupies—privy to more hedonism than most of us can dream of before turning 18. Of course, that sounds like the stuff of a gripping movie, and although he had long been planning a film based on his younger years, it wasn’t until Almost famoushis love letter to music, family and the early 70s. You probably know some of the details, but we’re here to enlighten you on what really happened Almost famous.

Let’s start with Cameron Crowe’s avatar in the film, the young William Miller. Played by Patrick Fugit, Miller is a music lover who dreams of hanging out with his favorite bands; not only is he driven by music, he’s also a gifted writer. Eager to pursue a career in music journalism, Crowe called Lester Bangs, the editor of a popular music magazine called Creem, and pitched him stories, using a fake voice to hide his young age. As seen in the film, Bangs eventually became Crowe’s mentor, and by all appearances, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s portrayal captured the spirit of Bangs almost exactly. In a sad irony, both eventually died of drug overdoses.

Crowe eventually made it to Rolling Stone magazine, although the magazine also did not realize how young he was until much later. The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Ben Fong-Torres, actually met Crowe in person for the first time at a concert and not on the phone, as in Almost famousbut in both cases he was unaware that Crowe was only 16. The clunky recording device that Fugit carries throughout the film is an exact replica of the one Crowe used as a teenager.

Crowe toured with some of the most popular rock bands of the time. There was actually a group called Stillwater in the ’70s, but the band in the film is not based on them, although Crowe asked them for permission to use their name and was allowed to use it for a small payment. Stillwater in the film is an amalgamation of several bands, notably the Allman Brothers, Lynard Skynard, and The Eagles. Their album covers even resemble those of the Allman Brothers.

A major departure from the actual situation is the absence of Neal Preston, the photographer who accompanied Crowe on most of the tours. Preston was supposedly present at most, if not all, of the crazy events that Crowe experienced, but he is not in the film as Crowe was focusing on the journalist character. Ironically, Preston was the still photographer on set for Almost famous.

The band’s charismatic lead guitarist Russell Hammond, played by Billy Crudup, is also a composite of several real-life rock stars, including Gregg Allman, Glenn Fry of the Eagles, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. While touring with the Allman Brothers, Crowe was never able to persuade Gregg Allman to do a real interview until Allman opened up to the young author on the very last day and poured his heart out to him, not unlike the film. Allman sometimes accused Crowe of being a narcotics agent or an FBI agent, had frequent paranoid fits, and once confiscated Crowe’s tapes for a while before returning them. Allman also wouldn’t confirm Crowe’s reporting for Rolling Stone’s fact-checkers, just as Russell does toward the end of the film before changing his mind.

Meanwhile, Glenn Fry once told Crowe to “just make us look cool,” one of Russell’s most memorable lines.

Russell’s famous line, “I’m a golden god,” was inspired by a moment when Zeppelin singer Robert Plant shouted the same thing, but not before attempting to jump into a pool. The line might have made even more sense if the original actor who was supposed to play Russell – Brad Pitt – had taken on the role, but he eventually dropped out.

Kate Hudson’s lovable groupie – but don’t call her that – Penny Laine is also a combination of several famous faces from the ’70s. One of them was Pennie Trumbull, then known as Penny Lane, the founder of a group of rock-obsessed groupies known as The Flying Garter Girls, who were also loosely based in Almost famousLane was so impressed with the final product that she wrote a letter to Crowe, saying, “If I die tomorrow, I know there’s something out there that explains who I was…” Similar to Pitt and the Russell character, Sarah Polley was set to play Penny, but had to leave the film due to scheduling issues. Hudson, who was originally set to play William’s sister, then landed the role of Penny.

Other notorious groupies who inspired Penny were Pamela Des Barres and Bebe Buell, Liv Tyler’s mother. Crowe paid a small tribute to Bebe by naming Stillerwater’s lead singer Jeff Bebe. Incidentally, Bebe was partly inspired by Bad Company lead singer Paul Rodgers.

Record executive Dennis Hope, played in Jimmy Fallon’s first feature film, is said to be inspired by legendary music executive Irving Azofff, best known for his time with the Eagles. Fallon’s beard and glasses closely resemble images of Azoff from the 1970s.

Williams’ mother is of course inspired by Crowe’s real mother, who was not exactly thrilled with her son’s love of rock’n’roll and was constantly afraid that he would take drugs. She often called him when he was out and about to make sure he was safe. In the film, Williams’ father has been dead for several years, but in reality Crowe’s father died in 1989, shortly after Say something came out. Nevertheless, his death caused great waves in his family and led to a great rift between his mother and his sister, which was only healed years later thanks to the publication of Almost famous.

One of the film’s most memorable scenes takes place during a turbulent flight when the weather becomes so bad that for a moment it looks like the plane is going to crash. The characters begin to confess very private things to each other, particularly infidelities to each other’s spouses. Legend has it that this was inspired by a similar event that happened to rocker Alice Cooper and his band, where the plane’s passengers, due to a perceived impending doom, began to reveal deep, dark secrets to each other before the pilot abruptly announced that everything was going to be OK.

Another scene inspired by a true event is the one in which Russell is accidentally electrocuted on stage. This actually happened to Ace Frehley of KISS, who was electrocuted by 10,000 volts at a 1976 concert. Ace was able to finish the show after an understandable delay. Although Crudup did not electrocute himself for his art, he and the other actors who played Stillwater reportedly practiced playing music after each day of filming, sometimes for up to four or five hours, in order to credibly resemble a real rock and roll band.

Almost famous won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, although of course it could just as easily have been adapted. Although it is not exactly a biopic, it is quite clear Almost famous was a very personal project for Cameron Crowe, who was able to take his time as a naive but dedicated journalist and turn it into a funny, thoughtful and moving look back into the past. I think he would agree that it’s pretty rock’n’roll.