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Directed by – Cameron Crowe

Starring – Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Length – 123 minutes

Cert – 15 / R

"I look for the one guy that isn't getting off," says Stillwater's lead singer Jeff (played by Jason Lee), "and I make him get off." And there you have the reason why Cameron Crowe received the Oscar for best original screenplay, for his somewhat semi-autobiographical story from the heart, when he used to write for Rolling Stone magazine.

Because Almost Famous was a well-reviewed film about rock 'n' roll, few people went to go see it. Not even I felt the need to watch a film centred on '60s and '70s music, thinking I'd be alienated. Distributed by DreamWorks, the studio held sneak previews before its release. Opening on just 131 screens in September 2000, it amazingly crept into the top ten, placing at number eight with a gross of $2.3 million on its opening weekend. With a result like that, DreamWorks decided to go all out, pushing the film in over 1,100 screens the following week. It charted higher at number three, earning $6.9 million. For the following three weeks they kept building the venue count, hoping that viewers would come, but unfortunately atendence dwindled.

Set when vinyl ruled the world (the 1970s kids), 15-year-old student William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is trying to make it as a rock journalist, writing the odd article for underground music magazines. When legendary music journalist Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) arrives in William's hometown of San Diego, the teenager takes up the opportunity to meet him. The two get talking and Bangs eventually sets William an assignment, paying him up to $35 to write about a Black Sabbath concert. A paid assignment is a great break, but one that's difficult to accomplish since William doesn't actually have a ticket to see Black Sabbath! As he tries to talk his way into the venue he meets up with groupies who hate the term groupies. Led by Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) they call themselves the "Band-Aids", because they "inspire the music." He soon runs into opening act Stillwater, who let William backstage after he introduces himself to them as a genuine fan of their work. The guys in Stillwater like him so much they even invite him to join them at the Hyatt Hotel the following week.

Things start to get crazy when William receives a call from the editor of Rolling Stone magazine. Having read his work in the San Diego Door, they offer him $1,000 to write a piece for them. William convinces the editor to let him write a feature on Stillwater. This dismays William's mother Elaine (Frances McDormand), because this means her son has to skip school and follow Stillwater on tour. William wants to interview each member of the band, starting - but never quite getting anywhere - with guitarist Russell (Billy Crudup).

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