Rock & Roll Love Letter

As ‘Almost Famous’ turns 20, Cameron Crowe talks making the movie and why its messages about journalism and the power of music still resonate

- ANGIE MARTOCCIO

WHEN CAMERON Crowe’s 1996 film Jerry Maguire grossed more than $270 million and was nominated for five Oscars, the writer-director finally had the freedom to make his most personal film yet: a chronicle of his early-Seventies adventures as a teenage writer for ROLLING STONE, when he interviewed artists like David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, and others. “Jerry Maguire gave me a credit line,” Crowe recalls over the phone from his home in Los Angeles. “And I thought, ‘I’m going to use it, because I’ll never be able to make this movie unless it’s right now. This is one that’s achingly personal — and I’ll try not to spend a lot of money.’ ”

Almost Famous hit theaters in 2000, and despite critical acclaim and four Oscar nominations, it fizzled at the box office. “Everybody went to see this re-release of The Exorcist instead,” Crowe says. “It felt like the long arm of 1973 came back to slap us down.” Twenty years later, though, Almost Famous has transformed into not just a cult classic, but one of the most beloved movies of its era. “We were an underdog that gathered support over the years,” he says. “It’s never been as popular as it is right now.”