ALMOST FAMOUS Appreciation Thread

124

Comments

  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    Newch91 wrote:
    Nice. I had the regular version on DVD and picked up the blu-ray last year. Love that version. The bonus features are also really cool.

    Bonus features are great. The deleted scene with "Stairway to Heaven" is awesome. Wish they could have included that in the movie.
    Would have been great to have that scene in but Zeppelin wouldn't let Cameron. Why are they so stingy about their music in movies?
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,723
    Newch91 wrote:
    Would have been great to have that scene in but Zeppelin wouldn't let Cameron. Why are they so stingy about their music in movies?


    They have always been like that. The thing that makes no sense is that they let him use some other Zeppelin songs in the movie, but not Stairway.
  • JK_LivinJK_Livin South Jersey Posts: 7,364
    I haven't seen any of the bonus items or special editions, so I have to check them out. What's the difference between the bootleg version and regular?
    Alright, alright, alright!
    Tom O.
    "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
    -The Writer
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,723
    JK_Livin wrote:
    I haven't seen any of the bonus items or special editions, so I have to check them out. What's the difference between the bootleg version and regular?


    Bootleg version is around 30 mins longer than the original version. There's a ton of great extras on there too.
  • Mamasan23Mamasan23 Posts: 16,380
    Newch91 wrote:
    Would have been great to have that scene in but Zeppelin wouldn't let Cameron. Why are they so stingy about their music in movies?


    They have always been like that. The thing that makes no sense is that they let him use some other Zeppelin songs in the movie, but not Stairway.

    Yeah and then I remember they did that Cadillac commercial, I was so pissed. That Stairway scene was meant to be a part of that movie!
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  • Mamasan23 wrote:
    Yeah and then I remember they did that Cadillac commercial, I was so pissed. That Stairway scene was meant to be a part of that movie!
    So true, it would have fit quite well. I've watched that scene a few times over the years and have thought it makes perfect sense for the film. Aw well, nothing we can do about it now.
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    JK_Livin wrote:
    I haven't seen any of the bonus items or special editions, so I have to check them out. What's the difference between the bootleg version and regular?


    Bootleg version is around 30 mins longer than the original version. There's a ton of great extras on there too.
    Yep. It's the version Cameron wanted to release, along with the title, "Untitled."
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • jimbojones1138jimbojones1138 Posts: 3,640
    ***i also posted this in the other almost famous thread, but i thought it would be cool to post it here too***


    if you look close, certain shots in the film were lifted directly from some classic rock album covers. cameron crowe did his homework.

    for example when we see stillwater take the stage for the very first time when opening for black sabbath, cameron seemed to use neil young's "time fades away" album cover in tribute!

    time-fades-away-almost-famous-film.jpg

    Although i can't put my finger on ther others at this moment, i do remember seeing other album covers popping up to inspire shots in the movie

    its just these little things that really make the movie awesome, and shows cameron crowe really is a music fan
    it's largely due to eddie that i liked to jump off of things as a child...
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    ***i also posted this in the other almost famous thread, but i thought it would be cool to post it here too***


    if you look close, certain shots in the film were lifted directly from some classic rock album covers. cameron crowe did his homework.

    for example when we see stillwater take the stage for the very first time when opening for black sabbath, cameron seemed to use neil young's "time fades away" album cover in tribute!

    time-fades-away-almost-famous-film.jpg

    Although i can't put my finger on ther others at this moment, i do remember seeing other album covers popping up to inspire shots in the movie

    its just these little things that really make the movie awesome, and shows cameron crowe really is a music fan
    That's awesome!
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • jimbojones1138jimbojones1138 Posts: 3,640
    and i was at best buy this afternoon to pick up wreck it ralph... the almost famous blu ray i think was on sale for either $10 or $12. now im going back first thing tomorrow to pick it up
    it's largely due to eddie that i liked to jump off of things as a child...
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    and i was at best buy this afternoon to pick up wreck it ralph... the almost famous blu ray i think was on sale for either $10 or $12. now im going back first thing tomorrow to pick it up
    Do it! It's worth every penny.

    I need to watch this first night of spring break. Be a great way to kick off my break.
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • jimbojones1138jimbojones1138 Posts: 3,640
    i also wanna sit down and try to find all of the album cover inspired shots in this film. the neil young one hit me like a tons of bricks when i first realized, so to me that is the one i can always think of. i cant remember what some of the other ones were
    it's largely due to eddie that i liked to jump off of things as a child...
  • JK_LivinJK_Livin South Jersey Posts: 7,364
    I bought my wife the bluray bootleg cut for xmas. Unfortunately we haven't watched it yet. Maybe this weekend. This movie has fallen into the "can't turn it off once you come across it on tv" catagory.
    Alright, alright, alright!
    Tom O.
    "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
    -The Writer
  • Green CircleGreen Circle Posts: 5,191
    Saw it playing on Cinemax so I DVR'd it Have never seen the movie all the way through....Yet :)
    "...And I fight back in my mind. Never lets me be right.
    I got memories. I got shit so much it don't show."
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,723
    Saw it playing on Cinemax so I DVR'd it Have never seen the movie all the way through....Yet :)


    Enjoy. It's a classic.
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,723
    ***i also posted this in the other almost famous thread, but i thought it would be cool to post it here too***


    if you look close, certain shots in the film were lifted directly from some classic rock album covers. cameron crowe did his homework.

    for example when we see stillwater take the stage for the very first time when opening for black sabbath, cameron seemed to use neil young's "time fades away" album cover in tribute!

    time-fades-away-almost-famous-film.jpg

    Although i can't put my finger on ther others at this moment, i do remember seeing other album covers popping up to inspire shots in the movie

    its just these little things that really make the movie awesome, and shows cameron crowe really is a music fan


    Wow, I never realized that. That is awesome. I always really liked that shot, but never realized it was that album cover.
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    I was thinking this morning about that audience shot: wasn't there a shot like that in "The Song Remains the Same"?
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • JonnyPistachioJonnyPistachio Florida Posts: 10,211
    ***i also posted this in the other almost famous thread, but i thought it would be cool to post it here too***


    if you look close, certain shots in the film were lifted directly from some classic rock album covers. cameron crowe did his homework.

    for example when we see stillwater take the stage for the very first time when opening for black sabbath, cameron seemed to use neil young's "time fades away" album cover in tribute!

    time-fades-away-almost-famous-film.jpg

    Although i can't put my finger on ther others at this moment, i do remember seeing other album covers popping up to inspire shots in the movie

    its just these little things that really make the movie awesome, and shows cameron crowe really is a music fan


    Wow, I never realized that. That is awesome. I always really liked that shot, but never realized it was that album cover.

    That's awesome, god I love that movie. :mrgreen:
    Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    http://www.theuncool.com/2013/12/17/alm ... revisited/

    Almost Famous Revisited

    In celebration of a recent screening of Almost Famous at the Alamo Drafthouse, Cameron spoke to Todd Gilchrist of Bad Ass Digest about the film. Here’s the interview:


    There are few films that capture the experience of being a fan better than Almost Famous. There are also few films that capture the experience of being a journalist better than Almost Famous. A chronicle of writer-director Cameron Crowe’s fledgling days as a music lover and reporter disguised as a fictional coming of age story, the 2000 opus rests at a crossroads between personal passion and professional obligation, sympathetic complicity and trenchant objectivity. And particularly in an age when social media allows fans to interact with their favorite artists, and the media examines every aspect of their lives, the film’s underlying message about that tenuous relationship seems more relevant than ever: “Be honest, and unmerciful,” as Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) succinctly puts it.

    Crowe, who’s currently working on a romantic comedy about a defense contractor who falls for an Air Force pilot, generously spoke to Birth.Movies.Death. via email to answer a handful of questions about Almost Famous. Having carved out a career for himself as a director to whom soundtracks are at least as important as the movies they accompany, Crowe spoke to the film’s authenticity as a portrait of rock journalism in the 1970s, as well as its unvarnished honesty in documenting his own transition from fan to reporter — and perhaps most importantly, where the lines between those roles continue to blur.

    The film is obviously a loving tribute to your experiences — one which every journalist wishes he or she could have gone through. When was the moment for you when you went from being a fan to being a journalist? Was there a moment, even in retrospect, where you felt you made that transition?

    There are a couple. One was the first cover story assignment on the Allman Brothers Band, which became the basis for much of ALMOST FAMOUS. On the eve of leaving the tour with a ton of interview tapes and research, Gregg Allman asked for my tapes back, believing that I was actually an undercover cop sent to spy on the band. The band had been burned by a ROLLING STONE reporter before, and he had become worried that this too would be a doomed endeavor. I was incredibly disillusioned, and expected to be banned from writing for ROLLING STONE over the incident. Luckily, Gregg returned the tapes a couple days later, and blamed it on exhaustion and personal confusion. I was grateful, but the lesson was learned — each assignment would be different, with a different mix of personalities and a standing duty to deliver the story. With the help of Ben Fong-Torres, we put the article in shape, developed a clear-eyed perspective on the band, and I’ve never looked back. Also, at 19, I wrote a story called “How I Learned About Sex,” which was hampered by writer’s block until I just gave up and wrote it as if I was writing a letter to a friend. That was another breakthrough. It felt like I had found a writing voice that might stretch beyond rock journalism. The tone of that article is the same tone as the movies I’ve made.

    There are so many great conversations between William and Russell where Russell could just as easily be manipulating William as being honest with him. Even if they didn’t realize it at the time, was there ever a moment when you were aware they were using maybe an uncharacteristic “honesty” to try to manipulate you into “making them look cool?”

    Sure, almost every time. But that is the dance between any reporter and his interview subject.

    The “Tiny Dancer” sequence is one of the truly wonderful sequences in cinema of the last few decades. But was there any experience that inspired it? Or even, did you ever experience a moment where a song sort of brought a band together in the way that Elton John’s did there?

    Many times. Sometimes it was a jam session, sometimes a song on the radio, and sometimes music that a band traveled with — Led Zeppelin were very enamored of Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley and the Guess Who. Much more than drugs or sex, music was always the baseline passion of the groups I covered. Which is not to say that there weren’t wild days and nights of debauchery, there were, some of which I witnessed and some of which I saw the effects of the next day… but in the years of covering and touring with artists for RS and other publications, I never ran across a single musician who wasn’t transported while talking about or playing music they loved. It was always my common ground as a reporter. I love music too. It wasn’t a job to me. It was a miracle of serendipity.

    What to you was perhaps the most painfully honest thing you included in the film about your own experiences? What is the moment where you were the least sure, or maybe now, the most sure, you wanted the world to experience through William Miller’s eyes that you went through yourself?

    Probably the relationship with Zooey [Deschanel], who plays a character based on my sister. Music was a big common thread in our family, and sometimes our best way of expressing passion and love to each other.

    The internet has become a great democratizing force for journalism and writing about art. How do you feel about the divide between journalism and fandom today? Are people closer than ever to the bands that they like? And if so, is that a good thing?

    I think Lennon said it best, paraphrasing, that music is a big rushing river and there are many tributaries that lead into that river. But the river is a constant, it never changes… music will always be a single essential language shared by everybody, and it continues to be, regardless of format, price, social networking, sex, nationality, concert tickets or technology. That’s pretty much the inner theme of ALMOST FAMOUS. And thanks to the time and the era in which we made it, we had the money to make the movie correctly. I’ll always be so proud of it.

    What ultimately was, is or would be the threshold for you telling a warts-and-all story about your experience with a band? What value do you see in reporting the peccadilloes of a band “struggling with success,” and all of their problems, versus, say, profiling them in a cleaner or perhaps more diplomatic way?

    I think you have to step back and look at the big picture. What is the mood, the feeling, the truth about the atmosphere and intention of the people you’re profiling? Of course, a twenty minute session at a hotel ballroom junket won’t get you far. You are blur to the person you’re interviewing, and they are a blur to you. You are not seeing a person, or even having a conversation, you’re essentially creating content with a mutual understanding that neither of you will ever remember [from] the encounter later that day. It’s a recipe for cynicism, unfortunately. ALMOST FAMOUS was about a time not so long ago, when people depended on each other a little bit more to explain their art and purpose. I always respected JD Salinger for walking away from publicity entirely, but I respected John Lennon more for sitting down with Jann Wenner for that first long ROLLING STONE interview. Together they brought a fuselage of truth, letting the chips fall where they might, and they created the modern confessional interview. I was lucky enough to come along in the aftermath, and ALMOST FAMOUS is about the implied contract between a reporter and his subject in the early seventies — Lennon had set the standard. So now… how truthful are you going to get? It was always a fascinating negotiation…
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 22,129
    “I love you, and I’m about to boldly go where…many men…have gone before.”
    There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.- Hemingway

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 22,129
    “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”
    There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.- Hemingway

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • pjradiopjradio Posts: 6,704
    anybody else have the directors cut dvd? Thats how I got that Stillwater CD
    aqo2t.jpg
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    pjradio wrote:
    anybody else have the directors cut dvd? Thats how I got that Stillwater CD
    I bought the bootleg cut blu-ray but it doesn't have the CD. I have the soundtrack on vinyl and the 4th side has the Stillwater stuff.
    Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • pjradio wrote:
    anybody else have the directors cut dvd? Thats how I got that Stillwater CD
    Word;
    LOVE all the extended scenes in that version.
    The interview with Kyle Gass at the radio station is awesome!
    "Feces."

    Cheers.
    'Cause you don't give blood and take it back again.
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,411
    Origins w/James Andrew Miller podcast has done a 5 episode 20 year reunion.
  • dankinddankind I am not your foot. Posts: 20,827
  • DVD arrived today by post, ordered as inspired by this thread..
  • mickeyratmickeyrat up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,412
    DVD arrived today by post, ordered as inspired by this thread..
    mine came last week. bootleg cut bluray
    _____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________

    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • dankinddankind I am not your foot. Posts: 20,827
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,723
    DewieCox said:
    Origins w/James Andrew Miller podcast has done a 5 episode 20 year reunion.

    Just started episode 1.  This is awesome.  Going to listen to all of them and then watch the bootleg cut....haven't watched that in a couple years.  Still my favorite movie of all time.
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