Almost Famous

:Almost Famous is also the name of R&B singer Lumidee's album.

Related Topics:
Almost Famous - R&B - Singer - Lumidee - Album

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Almost Famous is a semi-autobiographical film, written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and released in 2000. The film is a fictionalized account of Crowe as a teen-aged journalist for Rolling Stone, particularly inspired by his experiences accompanying the Allman Brothers Band on the road, which led to his first cover story for the magazine.

Related Topics:
Film - Cameron Crowe - 2000 - Rolling Stone - Allman Brothers Band

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The film's award-winning soundtrack featured an eclectic mix of period rock, other period genres, and songs written by Crowe's wife, Nancy Wilson expressly for the movie. Soundtrack highlights include Simon & Garfunkel's "America" and Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", and Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air."

Related Topics:
Nancy Wilson - Simon & Garfunkel - America - Elton John - Tiny Dancer - Thunderclap Newman

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The film stars:

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• Patrick Fugit as Crowe's alter ego, William Miller
• Billy Crudup, Jason Lee and Noah Taylor, as lead guitar player, lead singer and band manager respectively, of the fictitious band Stillwater, an amalgamation of several bands that Crowe wrote about
• Frances McDormand and Zooey Deschanel, as William's mother and sister, respectively
• Kate Hudson, Fairuza Balk, Anna Paquin, and Bijou Phillips, as groupies known as the "Band Aids" (Hudson's character Penny Lane was based on several women Crowe knew, but primarily on "rock star muse" Bebe Buell)
• Jimmy Fallon as the band's new manager Dennis Hope
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, as real-life journalism mentor Lester Bangs.

Despite very good reviews the film was not a box office success.

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The film received four Oscar nominations, one of which led to an award to Crowe for his screenplay. It was also awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Related Topics:
Oscar nominations - His screenplay - 2001 - Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media

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The movie remains a masterful piece for those that were raised in the 1970's and provides a valuable insight into the mind of Cameron Crowe and through his adept storytelling, presents a rare look inside rock and roll.

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Fugit, born 10 years after the movie takes place was given a collection of records to listen and learn from in order to help understand the period. While specific albums were not mentioned, one can imagine what they were based on the collection given to his character William by his sister in the seminal turning point of the story.

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These albums help describe and lay the ground work for the rest of the movie and can be seen as a primer for anyone interested in learning more about the period.

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They are :

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• Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
• Cream: Wheels of Fire
• Crosby, Stills & Nash: Crosby, Stills & Nash
• Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
• Bob Dylan: Blonde on blonde
• Jimi Hendrix:
• Jethro Tull: Stand Up
• Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin II
• Joni Mitchell: Blue
• The Mothers of Invention: We're Only In It For The Money
• Rolling Stones: Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!
• Santana: Abraxas
• Neil Young: I'm Happy That Y'all Came Down
• The Who: Tommy
 
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