Almost Famous (2000)

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Writer and director Cameron Crowe's experiences as a teenage rock journalist -- he was a regular contributor to Rolling Stone while still in high school -- inspired this coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy hitting the road with an up-and-coming rock band in the early 1970s. Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand) is a bright, loving, but strict single parent whose distrust of rock music and fears about drug use have helped to drive a wedge between herself and her two children, Anita (Zooey Deschanel) and William (Patrick Fugit). Anita rebels by dropping out of school and becoming a stewardess, but William makes something of his love of rock & roll by writing album reviews for a local underground newspaper. William's work attracts the attention of Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), editor of renegade rock magazine Creem, who takes William under his wing and gives him his first professional writing assignment -- covering a Black Sabbath concert. While William is unable to score an interview with the headliners, the opening act, Stillwater, are more than happy to chat with a reporter, even if he's still too young to drive, and William's piece on the group in Creem gains him a new admirer in Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), an editor at Rolling Stone. Torres offers William an assignment for a 3,000-word cover story on Stillwater, and over the objections of his mother (whose parting words are "Don't use drugs!"), and after some stern advice from Bangs (who says under no circumstances should he become friends with a band he's covering), Williams joins Stillwater on tour, where he becomes friendly with guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). William also becomes enamored of Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a groupie traveling with the band who is no older than William, but is deeply involved with Russell. Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres, incidentally, were real-life rock writers Crowe worked with closely during his days as a journalist. Almost Famous' original score was composed by Nancy Wilson of Heart (who is also Crowe's wife).
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Warning:  This product is intended for mature audiences only. It may contain violence, sexual content, drug abuse and/or strong language. You must be 17 or older to purchase it. By ordering this item you are certifying that you are at least 17 years of age.

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

123 mins

Complete Cast:

Director(s):

Cameron Crowe

Writer(s):

Cameron Crowe

Producer(s):

Cameron Crowe, Ian Bryce

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

R(Drug Content, Adult Language, Adult Situations, Watch With Your Teen)

Closed Captioning:

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Subtitles:

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• 2000 - Almost Famous - American Film Institute - AFI's Top 10 Films of the Year
• 2000 - Almost Famous - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Sound
• 2000 - Almost Famous - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Original Screenplay
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Broadcast Film Critics Association - Best Supporting Actress
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Broadcast Film Critics Association - Breakthrough Performer
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Broadcast Film Critics Association - Best Original Screenplay
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Chicago Film Critics Association - Best Screenplay
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Chicago Film Critics Association - Best Picture
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Chicago Film Critics Association - Most Promising Actor
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Chicago Film Critics Association - Best Supporting Actress
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Golden Globe - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
• 2000 - Almost Famous - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Supporting Actress