Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
coming into focus to be aligned to allow something to be seen clearly and sharply  /  to perceive or understand clearly
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
contents
Introduction: Coming Into Focus Film Festival
06
Venue: Seattle, Washington
08
Lodging, Dining, Attractions
10
Schedule
12
Director: Cameron Crowe
16
Films: Synopsis and Reviews Say Anything
22
Singles
28
Jerry Maguire
34
Almost Famous
44
Vanilla Sky
50
Interview
58
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
introduction
Coming Into Focus: Self discovery in Life & Love The very first annual Coming Into Focus: A Self-discovery in Life and Love Film Festival is a three day event compiled of screenings of a select number of the director’s films, along with live performances from influential music artists to both the director and his movies. The festival aims to create a nostalgia for the coming of age experience and truly figuring out the person one wants to be. It celebrates youth, love, and life—highlighting the importance of cherishing the small things and really living in the moment, for the moment. August 10–12, 2012 Seattle Center Seattle, Washington Featured Films Say Anything Singles Jerry Maguire Almost Famous Vanilla Sky Featured Music, Live Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam Elton John Radiohead
Featured Exhibition The Soundtrack of Cameron Crowe
Introduction // 06
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
07
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Venue // 08
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
venue
“Great music is its own movie, already. The challenge is to keep the song as powerful as it wants to be without —Cameron Crowe tampering it somehow.”
Seattle Center Seattle, Washington Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The 74-acre campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. First built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the 74 acre Seattle Center campus is located just north of downtown Seattle, and offers everyone a fairground, park, and arts and entertainment center all year round. Journey skyward for a 360 degree view of Puget Sound from the Space Needle, hop on the Monorail for an elevated glide to downtown Seattle, or cavort in the shooting waters of the International Fountain. Enjoy science and culture at the Pacific Science Center, sports and concerts at KeyArena, ballet and opera at McCaw Hall, world and classic film at SIFF Cinema, and exciting plays and events at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Other attractions include the shops and restaurants of the Center House, The Children’s Museum, the Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum, and the Intiman Playhouse. Seattle Center hosts hundreds of festivals each year, including the music festival Bumbershoot, the Northwest Folklife Festival, holiday Winterfest activities, the Seattle Pride Festival, and dozens of Festal events celebrating world cultures.
09
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
lodging, dining, attractions Lodging
Dining
Pan Pacific Seattle
Le Pichet
(206)264-8111
$$ French Food
PanPacific.com
1933 1st Ave
Alexis Seattle
Pike Place Chowder
(206)624-4844
$ Seafood, Soups
AlexisHotel.com
1530 Post Alley
Grand Hyatt Seattle
Rock Bottom Restaurant
(206)774-1234
$$ American, Pub Food
GrandSeattle.Hyatt.com
1333 5th Ave
Crowne Plaza Downtown Seattle
Pink Door
(206)464-1980
$$$ Italian Food
CPHotelSeattle.com
1919 Post Alley
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel
Elliott’s Oyster House
(206) 621-1700
$$$ Seafood
Fairmont.com/Seattle
1201 Alaskan Way Pier 56
Views of the City Columbia Tower Observation Deck 73rd floor 701 Fifth Avenue Smith Tower Observation Deck Downtown waterfront 506 Second Avenue Space Needle Observation Deck Seattle Center 400 Broad St.
Lodging, Dining, Attractions // 10
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
Local Attractions
The International Fountain: located in the middle of the campus, the fountain operates all year round. Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the fountain was built as a modernist water sculpture. With over 20 spouts, the fountain goes through programmed cycles of shooting water patterns, accompanied by recorded world music. The music is changed every month, and chosen to coordinate with the water patterns. The Space Needle, an official city landmark Seattle Center Monorail terminus Center House (formerly known as the Food Circus). This includes the Center House Theater, home to Seattle Shakespeare Company and Book-It Repertory Theatre, as well as the Children’s Museum and The Center High School. Before the World’s Fair, the building was an armory. Center House is an official city landmark. The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame The Kobe Bell, an official city landmark The outdoor Mural Amphitheater, featuring a mosaic mural by Paul Horiuchi, an official city landmark The Northwest Rooms, a conference center The Pacific Science Center, home of the Boeing IMAX Theater, Eames IMAX Theater, and Seattle Laser Dome The Seattle Center Pavilion Seattle Center Skate Park aka Sea Sk8 Park Future of Flight Boeing Factory Tour and Gallery
11
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
schedule
Friday 8/10 film screenings
Say Anything, 1989 Genre: Romantic Comedy/ Drama Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 100 minutes Featuring: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor Ione Skye plays Diane Court, high-school valedictorian on the verge of heading to England on a prestigious scholarship. This is especially thrilling to Diane’s divorced father, James (John Mahoney), who has always shared a special relationship with the girl, less father/daughter than friend/friend. When Diane begins dating irresponsible army brat Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), her father despairs at her choice of an “underachiever.” Pressured by her dad to break off the relationship, Diane spends the rest of the summer being pursued by the lovestruck Lloyd, who does everything he can to win her back. Diane finally realizes there’s more to life than perfection when her sainted father comes under the scrutiny of the irs. time and location
6:00 p.m. JBL Theatre, EMP Museum
film screenings
Singles, 1992 Genre: Romantic Comedy/ Drama Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 100 minutes Featuring: Bridget Fonda, Scott Campbell, Matt Dillon, Kyra Sedgwick, Sheila Kelly Set amidst the burgeoning Seattle alternative music scene of the early ‘90s, Singles follows a group of twenty-somethings as they try to find love and try to come to terms with their passage into adulthood. Arranged as an episodic comedy, the film follows a group of friends who live in the same apartment building and hang out at the same coffee shop. Singles follows the tumultuous relationship between Steve and Linda and their friendship with Janet Livermore (Bridget Fonda), who is trying to win the affection of grunge-rocker Cliff Poncier (Matt Dillon). The film also has cameos, including actors Eric Stoltz, Tom Skerritt, Peter Horton, and Cameron Crowe, himself. From the musical side of the fence, Singles features appearances by musicians Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), Pat DiNizio (Smithereens), Tad (Tad), and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, and Stone Gossard, who play Dillon’s backing band, Citizen Dick. time and location
9:00 p.m. JBL Theatre, EMP Museum
Schedule // 12
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
Saturday 8/11 music and one- on - one
Eddie Vedder, live in concert Vedder is a singer and song writer and has contributed solo material to several sound tracks and compilations. He is featured on a numerous number of albums as part of collaborations. Experience his amazing ukulele performances, as well as a one-on-one intimate conversation with Vedder on his 30+ year music career. time and location
12:00 p.m. Outdoor Plaza, EMP Museum
film screenings
Almost Famous, 2000 Genre: Romantic Comedy/ Drama Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 95 minutes Featuring: Billy Crudup, Francis McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit When his love of music lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview the up-and-coming band Stillwater fronted by lead guitar Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee)-William embarks on an eye-opening journey with the band’s tour, despite the objections of his protective mother (Frances McDormand). With the help of the lovely “band aid” Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), William finds himself drawn into the band’s inner circle. But as he becomes less an observer and more a participant in the band’s dynamics, the fledgling reporter loses the objectivity to tell his story honestly, and learns a life-changing lesson about the importance of family-the ones we inherit, and the ones we create. time and location
3:00 p.m. JBL Theatre, EMP Museum
music exhibition
Soundtrack of Cameron Crowe time and location
6:00 p.m. Northwest Passage, EMP Museum
music
Elton John, live in concert time and location
9:00 p.m. Outdoor Plaza, EMP Museum
13
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Sunday 8/12 Jerry Maguire, 1996 Genre: Romantic Comedy/ Drama Rated: R Runtime: 99 minutes Featuring: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell Jerry Maguire is an agent with a major sports management firm. He’s enthusiastic, successful, a great negotiator and people like him. But it begins to dawn on Jerry that there’s something wrong with what he’s doing, and not long after a troubling encounter with the son of an injured athlete he represents, Jerry has a serious crisis of conscience. In the midst of a sleepless night, Jerry writes a memo calling on himself and his colleagues to think more about the long-term welfare of the clients they represent and less about immediate profits. The film depicts Jerry’s struggle for true success in his life.
10:00 a.m. JBL Theatre, EMP Museum
Vanilla Sky, 2001 Genre: Mystery/ Romance/ Sci-Fi Rated: R Runtime: 135 minutes Featuring: Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee In this thriller, Tom Cruise stars as David Ames, a womanizing playboy who finds romantic redemption when he falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend Sofia, Penelope Cruz. Before that relationship can begin, however, David is coaxed into a car driven by an ex-lover, Julie (Cameron Diaz), who turns out to be suicidal. Driving her car off a bridge, Julie kills herself and horribly disfigures David. Reconstructive surgery and the loving support of Sofia seem to reverse David’s luck, but eerie incidents are soon making him question the reality of his existence and his control over his life. Vanilla Sky has the Crowe trademark, a focus on recent pop culture and particularly rock music.
1:00 p.m. JBL Theatre, EMP Museum
Radiohead, live in concert
5:00 p.m. Outdoor Plaza, EMP Museum
14
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
map
August Wilson Way
Fountain Lawn Memorial Stadium
5th Ave N Parking Garage
International Fountain
Harrison St.
South Fountain Lawn
Center Square EMP Museum
Center House Seattle Center Monorail
Mural Amphitheatre
Boeing IMAX
PSC Garage
Space Needle
John St.
Pacific Science Center
15
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
director
Filmography 1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High
2000 Almost Famous
1983 Change of Heart
2001 Vanilla Sky
1984 The Wild Life
2005 Elizabethtown
1989 Say Anything
2009 The Fixer
1992 Singles
2011 The Union
1992 Dyslexic Heart
2011 Pearl Jam Twenty
1996 Jerry Maguire
2011 We Bought a Zoo
Director // 16
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
music journalist and writer turned film director Biography Cameron Crowe was born in 1957 in Palm Springs, CA. His family
When Rolling Stone moved their offices from the West coast to New
moved around often but spent a lot of time in the desert town Indio,
York Crowe decided to stay behind, feeling his career was beginning
and finally ended up residing in San Diego, CA. Crowe’s mother was
to fizzle out. He tried some acting but returned to his writing and
a teacher and recognized he was extremely intelligent from a young
continued to freelance for Rolling Stone. He turned most of his atten-
age. He skipped kindergarten and two grades in elementary school,
tion to his book that would later become the sleeper hit film The Fast
causing him to be much younger than the rest of the kids in high
Times at ridgemont High, launching many of the main cast’s
school. To compensate for being a bit of an outcast he started writing
acting careers.
for the school newspaper. He graduated high school at the age of 16, and was writing for the Rolling Stones magazine. He went on the road
At the age of 22 he decided to go undercover at a high school and expe-
with bands to write articles, which later became the influence in
rience the senior year he never had. His experiences became a book,
many of his movies including Singles, about the 90’s Seattle grunge
The Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and was released as a hit movie in
scene, and Almost Famous, which is an autobiography of his experi-
1982. With this success he wrote the screen play for the pseudo-sequel
ences touring with bands.
to Fast Times, The Wild Life in 1984. The director of this film, James Brooks, took to Crowe’s original voice and wanted to work with him.
Crowe first began writing for his school newspaper and by the time
Brooks executive produced his first directing shot, Say Anything,
he was 13. He was a contributing writer for The San Diego Door, and
released in 1989. Singles was his next film, released in 1992. This film
underground publication. Lester Bangs had left the Door to become an
explored the Seattle music scene and the tribulations of dating with
editor at Creem, a national rock magazine. Crowe began submitting
the characters in their twenties, and successfully rode on the heels of
articles to both Creem and Circus. After graduating high school at the
Seattle’s grunge music boom.
age of 16 Crowe went on the study journalism at the University of San Diego. On a trip to Los Angeles he met the editor of Rolling Stone
Heading in a new direction, Crowe’s next film was Jerry Maguire,
magazine, Ben Fong-Torres, who hired him to write for the maga-
released in 1996. This film was the first to get the director’s name out
zine. He also joined the Rolling Stone staff as a Contributing Editor
there with the film being nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay,
and then became the Associate Editor. Crowe was Rolling Stone’s
Best Editing, and Best Actor. In 2000, Crowe tapped his rock-writer
youngest-ever contributor. During this time he interviewed Bob
roots to write and direct Almost Famous, about the experiences of a
Dylan, David Bowie, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana,
teenage music journalist who goes on the road with an emerging band
and the members of Led Zeppelin.
in the early 1970s. In 2001, Crowe directed the psychological thriller Vanilla Sky.
At Rolling Stone magazine, Crowe’s first cover story was on The Allman Brothers Band. At the age of 18, he went on the road with the
Crowe’s next film, Elizabethtown, was released in 2005 and received
band interviewing the entire band as well as the road crew. Because
mixed reviews. We Bought A Zoo, based on a memoir is Crowe’s latest
Crowe was a fan of the 70’s hard rock bands that the older writers
feature film, released in 2011. He has also directed a few music
did not like he had the opportunity to do major interviews with
videos: Tom Petty a nd t he Hea r tbrea kers 1983, Cha nge of Hea r t;
several bands. Crowe was charming and truly loved the bands he
Dyslexic Heart by Paul Westerberg was filmed in 1992 and was part
was interviewing. He often covered the bands that hated Rolling
of the Singles soundtrack. The Union and Pearl Jam Twenty are both
Stone because he was so likeable.
documentaries Crowe directed in 2011.
17
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
18
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
“An interview with Neil Young was the holy grail in 1975. It’s still a rare occasion 25 years later. I was nervous as hell.” —Crowe
The Rebellious Neil Young by Cameron Crowe Rolling Stone Magazine, 1975 Nearing 30, Neil Young is the most enigmatic of all the superstars to
through my head. I’m excited. I think everything I’ve done is valid or
emerge from Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
else I wouldn’t have released it, but I do realize the last three albums
His often cryptic studies of lonely desperation and shaky-voiced
have been a certain way. I know I’ve gotten a lot of bad publicity for
antiheroics have led many to brand him a loner and a recluse. Harvest
them. Somehow I feel like I’ve surfaced out of some kind of murk.
was the last time that he struck the delicate balance between critical
And the proof will be in my next album. Tonight’s the Night, I would
and commercial acceptance, and his subsequent albums have grown
say, is the final chapter of a period I went through.
increasingly inaccessible to a mass audience. Why the murky period? Young’s first comprehensive interview comes at a seeming turning point in his life and career. After an amicable breakup with actress
Oh, I don’t know. Danny’s death probably tripped it off. Danny
Carrie Snodgrass, he’s moved from his Northern California ranch to
Whitten [leader of Crazy Horse and Young’s rhythm guitarist/second
the relative hustle and bustle of Malibu. In the words of a close friend,
vocalist]. It happened right before the Time Fades Away tour. He was
he seems “frisky...in an incredible mood.” Young has unwound to the
supposed to be in the group. We [Ben Keith, steel guitar; Jack Nitzche,
point where he can approach a story about his career as potentially
piano; Tim Drummond, bass; Kenny Buttrey, drums; and Young] were
“a lot of fun.”
rehearsing with him and he just couldn’t cut it. He couldn’t remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go
The interview was held while cruising down Sunset Boulevard in
back to L.A. “It’s not happening, man. You’re not together enough.” He
a rented red Mercedes and on the back porch of his Malibu beach
just said, “I’ve got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my
house. Cooperative throughout, Young only made a single request:
friends?” And he split. That night the coroner called me from L.A. and
“Just keep one thing in mind,” he said as soon as the tape recorder
told me he’d ODed. That blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind.
had been turned off for the last time. “I may remember it all differ-
I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out
ently tomorrow.”
on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and...insecure.
Why is it that you’ve finally decided to talk now? For the past five
Why, then, did you release a live album?
years journalists requesting Neil Young interviews were told you had nothing to say.
I thought it was valid. Time Fades Away was a very nervous album. And that’s exactly where I was at on the tour. If you ever sat down
There’s a lot I have to say. I never did interviews because they always
and listened to all my records, there’d be a place for it in there. Not
got me in trouble. Always. They never came out right. I just don’t like
that you’d go there every time you wanted to enjoy some music, but
them. As a matter of fact, the more I didn’t do them the more they
if you’re on the trip it’s important. Every one of my records, to me, is
wanted them; the more I said by not saying anything. But things
like an ongoing autobiography. I can’t write the same book every time.
cha nge, you k now. I feel ver y f ree now. I don’t have a n old lady
There are artists that can. They put out three or four albums every
anymore. I relate it a lot to that. I’m back living in Southern Califor-
year and everything fucking sounds the same. That’s great.
nia. I feel more open than I have in a long while. I’m coming out and speaking to a lot of people. I feel like something new is happening in
Somebody’s trying to communicate to a lot of people and give them the
my life. I’m really turned on by the new music I’m making now, back
kind of music that they know they want to hear. That isn’t my trip. My
with Crazy Horse. Today, even as I’m talking, the songs are running
trip is to express what’s on my mind. I don’t expect people to listen to
19
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
“Music and film are inseparable. They always have been and always will be. And the same holds true for Cameron Crowe. Cameron ran away with the band when he was a teenager.
my music all the time. Sometimes it’s too intense. If you’re gonna put
something people should hear. They should hear what the artist
a record on at 11:00 in the morning, don’t put on Tonight’s the Night.
sounds like under all circumstances if they want to get a complete
Put on the Doobie Brothers.
portrait. Everybody gets fucked up, man. Everybody gets fucked up sooner or later. You’re just pretending if you don’t let your music
Time Fades Away, as the followup to Harvest, could have been a
get just as liquid as you are when you’re really high.
huge album... Is that the point of the album? If it had been commercial. No. No. That’s the means to an end. Tonight’s the Night is like an OD As it is, it’s one of your least selling solo albums. Did you realize
letter. The whole thing is about life, dope and death. When we [Nils
what you were sacrificing at the time?
Lofgren, guitars and piano, Talbot, Molina and Young] played that
I probably did. I imagine I could have come up with the perfect follow up album. A real winner. But it would have been something that everybody was expecting. And when it got there they would have thought that they understood what I was all about and that would have been it for me. I would have painted myself in the corner. The fact is I’m not that lone, laid-back figure with a guitar. I’m just not that way anymore. I don’t want to feel like people expect me to be a certain way. Nobody expected Time Fades Away and I’m not sorry I put it out. I didn’t need the money, I didn’t need the fame. You gotta keep changing. Shirts, old ladies, whatever. I’d rather keep changing and lose a lot of people along the way. If that’s the price, I’ll pay it. I don’t give a shit if my audience is a hundred or a hundred million. It doesn’t make any difference to me. I’m convinced that what sells and what I do are two completely different things. If they meet, it’s coincidence. I just appreciate the freedom to put out an album like Tonight’s the Night if I want to. You sound pretty drunk on that album. I would have to say that’s the most liquid album I’ve ever made. [Laughs] You almost need a life preserver to get through that one. We were all leaning on the ol’ cactus...and, again, I think that it’s
20
music we were all thinking of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry, two close members of our unit lost to junk overdoses. The Tonight’s the Night sessions were the first time what was left of Crazy Horse had gotten together since Danny died. It was up to us to get the strength together among us to fill the hole he left. The other OD, Bruce Berry, was CSNY’s roadie for a long time. His brother Ken runs Studio Instrument Rentals, where we recorded the album. So we had a lot of vibes going for us. There was a lot of spirit in the music we made. It’s funny, I remember the whole experience in black and white. We’d go down to S.I.R. about 5:00 in the afternoon and start getting high, drinking tequila and playing pool. About midnight, we’d start playing. And we played Bruce and Danny on their way all through the night. I’m not a junkie and I won’t even try it out to check out what it’s like...but we all got high enough, right out there on the edge where we felt wideopen to the whole mood. It was spooky. I probably feel this album more than anything else I’ve ever done. Why did you wait until now to release ‘Tonight’s the Night’? Isn’t it almost two years old? I never finished it. I only had nine songs, so I set the whole thing aside and did On the Beach instead. It took Elliot [manager Elliot Roberts]
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
The connection is there, in every frame of every film he’s ever made, from Say Anything to Almost Famous to The Union, which is about an extraordinary musical collaboration.” —Martin Scorsese
to finish Tonight’s the Night. You see, awhile back there were some
undoubtedly a few people will. That’s good for them, though. I like
people who were gonna make a Broadway show out of the story of
to see people make giant breakthroughs for themselves. It’s good for
Bruce Berry and everything. They even had a script written. We were
their psyche to get it all off their chests, [laughs] I’ve seen Tonight’s
putting together a tape for them and in the process of listening back
the Night draw a line everywhere it’s been played. People who
on the old tracks, Elliot found three even older songs that related to
thought they would never dislike anything I did fall on the other side
the trip, “Lookout Joe,” “Borrowed Tune” and “Come on Baby Let’s
of the line. Others who thought “I can’t listen to that cat. He’s just
Go Downtown,” a live track from when I played the Fillmore East with
too sad,”or whatever...”His voice is funny.” They listen another way
Crazy Horse. Danny even sings lead on that one. Elliot added those
now. I’m sure parts of Homegrown will surface on other albums of
songs to the original nine and sequenced them all into a cohesive
mine. There’s some beautiful stuff that Emmylou Harris sings har-
story. But I still had no plans whatsoever to release it. I already had
mony on. I don’t know. That record might be more what people would
another new album called Homegrown in the can. The cover was fin-
rather hear from me now, but it was just a very down album. It was the
ished and everything, [laughs] Ah, but they’ll never hear that one.
darker side to Harvest. A lot of the songs had to do with me breaking up with my old lady. It was a little too personal...it scared me. Plus,
Okay. Why not? I’ll tell you the whole story. I had a playback party for Homegrown for me and about ten friends. We were out of our minds. We all listened to the album and Tonight’s the Night happened to be on the same reel. So
I had just released On the Beach, probably one of the most depressing records I’ve ever made. I don’t want to get down to the point where I can’t even get up. I mean there’s something to going down there and looking around, but I don’t know about sticking around.
we listened to that too, just for laughs. No comparison. So you released ‘Tonight’s the Night.’ Just like that? Not because Homegrown wasn’t as good. A lot of people would probably say that it’s better. I know the first time I listened back on Tonight’s the Night it was the most out-of-tune thing I’d ever heard. Everyone’s off-key. I couldn’t hack it. But by listening to those two albums back to back at the party, I started to see the weaknesses in Homegrown. I took Tonight’s the Night because of its overall strength in performance and feeling. The theme may be a little depressing, but the general feeling is much more elevating than Homegrown. Putting this album out is almost an experiment. I fully expect some of the most determinedly worst reviews I’ve ever had. I mean if anybody really wanted to let go, they could do it on this one. And
21
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
films
Say Anything 1989
Featuring John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney and Lili Taylor Information Release date: April 1, 1989 Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 100 minutes Plot Summary It is graduation day, 1988, for a Seattle high school. Lloyd Dobler tells his girl friends Corey and DC that he is going to ask out class valedictorian Diane Court. They tell him he is crazy, because she is a “brain” and he is not. As Diane Court is getting driven to graduation by her father, she is practicing her speech. Her father is extremely supportive, telling her that it is funny and everyone is bound to love it. At graduation, Diane’s speech is a bit of a bomb. Nobody laughs and the only people in the audience who appear to be interested in it are Lloyd Dobler and Diane’s father James. Lloyd keeps telling his friends about how much he loves Diane’s eyes. In the speech, she talks about how she is fearful of the future. In the aftermath of the graduation, we see Diane receive a new car from her father as a graduation present. Meanwhile, Lloyd gets his friends to take a photograph of him as he walks behind Diane. Later that day, Lloyd gets the courage to call Diane. He invites her to come to a party, and much to his surprise she agrees, even though it is unclear if she even remembers who he is. After the phone call, she is shown looking into her yearbook, and expressing surprise when she sees Lloyd’s picture. Shortly afterwards, Diane’s father gets a letter in the mail explaining that Diane has won a fellowship, which will allow her to go to University in England. She will, therefore be leaving in 16 weeks. Apparently this fellowship is only given to one student in America, so this is a huge honor.
Say Anything // 22
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
23
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
“One question: do you need… someone, or do you need me?” —Llyod Dobler
Lloyd picks her up for the party wearing a khaki trench coat. She is
what his dreams are for the future, however, he disappoints the adults
wearing a white skirt and matching blazer with a purple flower in her
by not having any ambitious dreams. He tells them that he just wants
hair. Lloyd meets Diane’s father and is very gentlemanly and polite
to spend as much time as possible with Diane and also he is interested
when he picks her up.
in kickboxing.
Upon arrival at the party, people are generally intrigued by the fact
Midway through the dinner, two men come to the door to inform Mr.
that Lloyd has shown up with Diane Court. It appears as if this is the
Court that he is under investigation from the IRS. He gets agitated and
first time that Diane has ever socialized with anyone. People are hap-
tells them to visit him at his office.
py that she showed up. It seems that while people generally admired her, very few people know her on a personal level at all. Lloyd is given
The film progresses with scenes showing us that Lloyd and Diane are
the task of “keymaster”, which means he has to spend the entire party
gradually getting more and more friendly with each other. At the same
holding a bag of car keys; he can only give them back to the driver, if
time, it is clear that there is a considerable stress surrounding the irs
the driver is not drunk.
investigation.
Diane and Lloyd do not spend the party next to each other, but at vari-
Diane tells Lloyd that she is just too stressed out to get into anything
ous points, Lloyd does check up on Diane, which she seems somewhat
deep with Lloyd. They agree to be “friends with potential.”
pleased by. When the party ends, there is one kid who is too drunk to drive. Diane and Lloyd drive him home, but it takes them 3 hours to find the guy’s house. Lloyd doesn’t end up delivering Diane home until dawn. The two do not kiss on this first “date”, and her father is not upset by the late return, because she had called him while at the party to let him know where she was. It is clear by this point, that Diane likes Lloyd more than anyone might have expected. They set up a second date: a dinner party with Diane’s father and some of his colleagues, from a senior citizen home, which he runs. Lloyd’s friend Corey tells him to keep his mouth shut during dinner, which he mostly seems to do. At one point, Diane and her father tell a story about when Diane tried to go on a plane once, but got so scared that her father had to tell the pilot to turn the plane around before it took off. Lloyd remarks that he is amazed by the closeness of Diane and her father: that he has nothing like that in his life. When asked
24
This status changes, while Lloyd is teaching Diane how to drive stick shift. She is barely catching on, but enjoying the process. At one point, the two get quite close and Lloyd plants a kiss on her, which she accepts. They kiss a few more times and then decide to drive off somewhere more private. Eventually, we see Diane and Lloyd parked in Lloyd’s car by the sea. The two appear to have had sex underneath some blankets in the back seat. Diane remarks how Lloyd is shaking. She thinks it is because he is cold, but he explains it is because he is so happy. On the radio is Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”. She tells him to listen to the song, because it is so nice. In the morning, Diane arrives home to a dad who is quite upset with her. Unlike the previous all-nighter, she failed to call him this time around. At this point she mentions how she feels free to “say anything” to her dad, and so tells her dad everything about her and
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
Lloyd’s relationship. She explains that she first wanted to avoid doing
She confronts her dad, and he tries to deny it. She is angry that, while
anything serious like sex with him, but in the end, she decided to go
she always told her father “anything” he is unwilling to come clean.
for it. While her father isn’t upset at her, he clearly isn’t thrilled
He breaks down and admits that he was taking their money. He tries
to be hearing this from his daughter.
to justify it by saying that it was all done for the sake of Diane.
This extra strain that develops between Diane and her father seems
While Lloyd is engaged in a kickboxing training match at the gym,
too much for her to handle. Her father suggests that she should break
Diane comes by to ask for forgiveness. She tells him that she loves
up with Lloyd, to help make her life simpler. He suggests that she
him. Meanwhile, we see two lawyers negotiate a deal. Mr. Court will
could give him something for him to remember her by, such as a pen,
be fined some money and be forced to serve about a year of prison
which he gives her.
time, starting immediately.
Next time we see Diane and Lloyd driving around, she breaks up with
We next see Lloyd meeting Mr. Court at a prison visiting paddock.
him. She is clearly upset about doing this, but goes through with it,
Diane is in the car, while Lloyd hands over a letter. It appears as if
and does give him the pen before leaving his car. Lloyd is quite upset.
Diane is about to go to England. Surprisingly, we also learn that Lloyd
He leaves 7 messages on her answering machine and in what is the
is going to go to England with her.
iconic scene from the movie stands outside her bedroom window playing Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” from a boom box which he
Eventually, Diane comes out of the car and does finally give her father
holds above his head. Diane hears this, but only lies in her bed. Lloyd
a hug goodbye. Before leaving, she tells him to write her, and leaves
calls her one more time. We watch as Diane and her father listen to
the pen she had previously given Lloyd in her father’s hands.
Lloyd’s message. From Diane’s reaction, it is clear that she still very much is attracted to Lloyd. Her father tells her to just pick up the phone, but she replies that if she did, she would just get back together with Lloyd. Eventually, she can’t resist and picks up the phone, but it is just at the point when Lloyd himself hangs up.
The film ends with Diane and Lloyd sitting in a plane together. A previous scene in the film indicated that Diane has never flown, and is very fearful of the experience. Lloyd tries to calm her down by telling her that most accidents happen in the first minutes of a flight. As soon as the “fasten your seatbelts” sign goes off and a
By now the IRS investigation is heating up. Diane goes to the investi-
“ding” sounds, though, he tells her that everything is OK. The two
gator’s offices and demands that someone tells her what is going on.
are shown holding hands anxiously awaiting that ding to go off.
The man tells her that they believe that Mr. Court has been stealing
At the point that we hear the “ding”, the screen goes black and the
money from the old people at the senior home, when they die.
credits roll.
He then hides the money in the form of cash and collectibles in the house. Diane is shocked, but does not believe it.
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert called it “one of the best films of the year — a film that is really about something, that cares
She goes home and starts searching the house for the supposed
deeply about the issues it contains — and yet it also works wonder-
cash. Meanwhile, we the audience are able to see that the house is
fully as a funny, warmhearted romantic comedy.” Ebert later included
filled with the kinds of collectibles that the investigator tells her
it on his 2002 Great Movie list, writing, “Say Anything exists
about. Prominently displayed is a Wurlitzer Juke Box, which we previ-
entirely in a real world, is not a fantasy or a pious parable, has
ously learned cost Mr. Court $9,000. There is a Persian carpet, and
characters who we sort of recognize, and is directed with care for
Diane stops to notice the fancy ring that her dad gave her as a graduation
the human feelings involved.”
present. Eventually she opens up an antique box that her dad kept in his office, and discovers a stash of thousands of dollars.
25
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
say anything says everything Film Review of Say Anything by Roger Ebert April 14, 1989 RogerEbert.com She is the class brain, and so of course no one can see that she is
Lloyd has no career plans, no educational plans, no plans except to
truly beautiful - no one except for the sort of weird kid who wants to
become a champion kick-boxer, and then, after he meets Diane, to
devote his life to kick-boxing and who likes her because of her brains.
support her because she is worthy of his dedication. In the way they
He calls her up and asks her out. She says no. He keeps talking. She
trust each other and learn to depend on each other. What’s unique to
says yes. And after their first date, she tells her father she likes him
this movie is how surefooted it is in presenting the ordinary everyday
because he is utterly straightforward and dependable. He is a goofy
lives and rituals of kids in their late teens. The parties, the conversa-
teenager with absolutely no career prospects, but she senses that she
tions and the value systems seem real and carefully observed. These
can trust him as an anchor.
teenagers are not simply empty-headed “Animal House” retreads; the movie pays them the compliment of seeing them as actual people with
She discusses him so openly with her father because they have made
opinions and futures.
a pact: They can say anything to one another. When her parents got divorced, she chose to live with her father because of this trust,
Cameron Crowe, who wrote and directed the film, develops its under-
because of the openness that he encourages. Her father’s love for her is
lying ideas with a precise subtlety. This is not a melodrama about two
equalled by his respect. And she sees him as a good man, who works
kids who fall in love and a parent who gets in trouble with the IRS.
long hours running a nursing home because he wants to help people.
It considers the story as if it were actually happening, with all of the uncertainties of real life. When Diane goes in to confront a govern-
Honesty is at the core of “Say Anything,” but dishonesty is there too,
ment agent and tells him that he is harassing her father, who is a good
and the movie is the story of how the young woman is able to weather
man, Crowe allows the scene to develop so that we can see more than
a terrible storm and be stronger and better afterward. This is one of the
one possibility. He even cares enough to give the IRS agent three
best films of the year - a film that is really about something, that cares
dimensions.
deeply about the issues it contains - and yet it also works wonderfully as a funny, warmhearted romantic comedy.
I was also surprised to find that the movie had a third act and a concluding scene that really concluded something. Today’s standard
The young woman, Diane, is played by Ione Skye as a straight-A
movie script contains a setup, some development, and then some kind
student with a scholarship to England. She is one of the class beauties,
of violent or comic cataclysm that is intended to pass for a resolution.
but doesn’t date much because she intimidates boys. The boy who
“Say Anything” follows all of the threads of its story through to the
finally asks her out is Lloyd (John Cusack), and he dates her not only
end; we’re interested in what happens to the characters, and so is the
out of hormonal urging, but because he admires her. Her father (John
movie.
Mahoney) is a caring, trusting parent who will do anything he can to encourage his daughter, but his secret is that he has done too much.
“Say Anything” is one of those rare movies that has something to
They find that out when IRS agents come knocking on the door with
teach us about life. It doesn’t have a “lesson” or a “message,” but it
charges of criminal tax evasion.
observes its moral choices so carefully that it helps us see our own. That such intelligence could be contained in a movie that is simulta-
The movie treats Diane’s two relationships with equal seriousness. This is not one of those movies where the father is a dim-witted, middle-age buffoon with no insights into real life, and it is also not one of those movies where the young man is obviously the hero. Everyone in this film is complicated, and has problems, and is willing to work at life to try to make it better. The romance between Diane and Lloyd is intelligent and filled with that special curiosity that happens when two young people find each other not only attractive but interesting - when they sense they might actually be able to learn something useful from the other person.
26
neously so funny and so entertaining is some kind of a miracle.
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
27
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Singles 1992
Featuring Bridget Fonda, Scott Campbell, Matt Dillon, Kyra Sedgwick and Sheila Kelly Information Release date: September 18, 1992 Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 95 minutes Plot Summary Singles centers on the lives of a group of young people, mostly in their 20s, living in an apartment block in Seattle, Washington, and is divided into chapters. It focuses on the course of two couples’ rocky romances, as well as the love lives of their friends and associates. The film stars Bridget Fonda as a coffee-bar waitress fawning over an aspiring musician (Matt Dillon) and Kyra Sedgwick and Campbell Scott as a couple wavering on whether to commit to each other. The events of the film are set against the backdrop of the early 1990s grunge movement in Seattle.
Cameron Crowe wrote the part of Janet Livermore specifically for Bridget Fonda to play. Jennifer Jason Leigh was Crowe’s first choice for the role of Linda Powell. When she turned it down, Jodie Foster, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Robin Wright Penn were all under consideration before Kyra Sedgwick won the part.
There are brief and early appearances from actors Victor Garber, Paul Giamatti, Jeremy Piven and Eric Stoltz (whom Crowe has said is in all of his films, and who in this film plays the loudmouthed mime), and a rare onscreen appearance from director Tim Burton. Cameron Crowe himself has a cameo as a rock journalist at a club.
The film includes cameos from key bands from the Seattle music scene of the time, such
Singles // 28
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
29
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
“Janet, you rock my world.” —Cliff Poncier
as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and grunge favorite Tad
While completed in early 1991, the film was not released until Sep-
Doyle (lead vocalist of the Seattle bands Tad and Hog Molly). Stone
tember 1992. The film’s release went through repeated delays while
Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Eddie Vedder, all members of Pearl Jam,
studio executives debated how to market it. Warner Bros. did not know
have small parts as members of Matt Dillon’s character Cliff Poncier’s
what to do with the film, but after the grunge scene exploded, the
fictional band Citizen Dick. Their parts were filmed when Pearl Jam
movie was finally released.
was known as Mookie Blaylock. Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has a cameo as the guy who comes out to listen to a car radio. He
The film received positive reviews and rode on the heels of Seattle’s
also appears in a later scene with his band Soundgarden performing
grunge music boom. The success of and buzz around the film’s
the song “Birth Ritual”. The members of Alice in Chains also appear
soundtrack largely eclipsed the film itself. Nevertheless, Singles has
in the film as a bar band, playing the songs “It Ain’t Like That” and
been credited with inspiring a wave of films marketed towards a
“Would?”.
Generation X audience, spawning numerous imitators (most notably Reality Bites and Threesome). Tim Appelo wrote in Entertainment
The film was shot at a number of locations around Seattle and
Weekly, “With ... an ambling, naturalistic style, Crowe captures the
includes scenes at Gas Works Park, Capitol Hill, Jimi Hendrix’s grave
eccentric appeal of a town where espresso carts sprout on every
at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton and Pike Place Market. The
corner and kids in ratty flannel shirts can cut records that make them
central coffee shop featured in the film is the now-closed OK Hotel.
millionaires.” Warner Bros. Television tried immediately to turn
The apartment building is located on the northwest corner of the
Singles into a television series. When Crowe balked at the notion, the
intersection of E. Thomas St & 19th Ave E. Additional concert footage
company proceeded with the idea, engaged a new writing and
was shot in the now-defunct rkcndy bar.
directing team, changing elements and the name to Friends, which ran successfully on NBC from 1994-2004.
Most of Matt Dillon’s wardrobe in the movie actually belonged to Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. During the making of the film Ament produced
The Singles soundtrack was released on June 30, 1992 through Epic
a list of song titles for the fictional band, Citizen Dick. Chris Cornell
Records and became a best seller three months before the release
took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and
of the film. The soundtrack included music from key bands from the
“Spoonman” was one of them. An early acoustic version of the song
Seattle music scene of the time, such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam,
was created and can be heard in the background during a scene of the
and Soundgarden. Pearl Jam released two songs on the soundtrack:
film. Citizen Dick’s song name “Touch Me, I’m Dick” is a word play
“Breath” and “State of Love and Trust”. The Soundgarden song
on the song “Touch Me, I’m Sick” by the Seattle band Mudhoney. Also,
“Birth Ritual” and Chris Cornell’s solo song “Seasons” appear on
in the inside cover photo of the soundtrack, there is a Citizen Dick
the soundtrack. Paul Westerberg of The Replacements contributed
CD with the track listing on the CD itself. One of the songs is called
two songs to the soundtrack and provided the score for the film.
“Louder Than Larry (Steiner)”, a wordplay on the Soundgarden
The Smashing Pumpkins also contributed to the soundtrack
album, Louder Than Love. The band name Citizen Dick is a play on
with the song “Drown”.
the Seattle band Citizen Sane, which itself is a play on the 1941 film, Citizen Kane.
30
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
31
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
youth, love and a place of one’s own
Film Review of Singles by Janet Maslin September 18, 1992
“Does everybody go through this?” asks a voice heard at the end of
Cliff, Janet and several of the film’s other principals are neighbors
“Singles,” Cameron Crowe’s buoyant, utterly charming look at a small
living in the same apartment building. But Linda (Kyra Sedgwick) is
sample of Seattle’s young, unmarried population. “Nah,” comes the
proud of having a place of her own, and a parking space to go with it.
answer. “I think just us.”
Gadgets like garage-door openers, telephones and answering machines take on a totemic importance under these circumstances. (Giving
Since that is so patently untrue, and since “Singles” speaks so wryly
someone an extra garage-door opener becomes an important romantic
to all the fun and trouble of being newly independent in one’s early
gesture, as well as the basis for one of Mr. Crowe’s better sight gags.)
20’s, Mr. Crowe has a lot to work with. He also has an uncanny ear
As the film begins, Linda is seen risking this once too often with a man
for the ways in which hip, humorous, vastly likable young characters
named Luiz (Camilo Gallardo), who claims to be on his way back to
might express themselves, with a jokey casualness that’s a lot more
Spain. “If I married him, he could live in this country and I’d always
substantial than it sounds.
have someone to go out with,” Linda muses to a friend.
Mr. Crowe (who wrote “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and directed
But Linda, an environmentalist, has become shell-shocked by the time
“Say Anything”) has an exceptional ability to enjoy such characters
she meets Steve (Campbell Scott), who is studying traffic patterns for
without a trace of condescension. Unopened Champagne, half-eaten
the Seattle Department of Transportation. Only reluctantly does she
birthday cake, duck sauce and pantyhose: Mr. Crowe understands
agree to accompany him on a quasi-date, during which they drink
exactly what kind of person might have these things (and not much
water and discuss the Exxon oil spill. Details like these are perfectly
else) in her refrigerator.
observed, as is the Seattle club scene that provides background music
The items in question belong to Janet Livermore, played by Bridget Fonda as an utter heartbreaker whose luck with men is inexplicably
and occasional settings for the story. (Paul Westerberg of the Replacements provides an irresistible theme song for the soundtrack.)
awful. An aspiring architect with a waitressing job, Janet is unac-
Much of “Singles” is structured as short takes and obvious gags, which
countably stuck on Cliff Poncier (Matt Dillon), a hilariously talentless
give a sitcom flavor to material that is actually much more delicate
rock musician first seen lounging on Jimi Hendrix’s grave. Cliff,
than that. A running joke about a sneeze turns out to say something
who has to concentrate very hard on the simplest concepts, can and
real about one character’s emotional requirements, and it allows one
often does point to his band’s popularity in Belgium to offset their
love affair to be resolved on a charming note. Even the punch lines
miserable status in Seattle. (Mr. Crowe, once known as the boy wonder
have their serious side, as when one of the principals speaks dismis-
of Rolling Stone magazine, concocts a review so blistering that
sively of casual sex (“It’s lethal, it’s over”) and nearly drives several
Cliff’s fellow band members are afraid to read it aloud in Cliff’s presence.)
others out of the room.
32
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
“Singles” is crammed with funny marginal touches, from a safe-sex party (“Come as your favorite contraceptive”) to the minor characters’ colorful affectations (“I live my life like a French movie,” says one young man, whose mind is actually on collecting 20 phone numbers to store in his high-tech watch.) Among the more memorable cameo appearances here are those of the basketball star Xavier McDaniel (who gives Steve some very personal advice) and Peter Horton (who turns up as his “Thirtysomething” character, and soon has two roommates fighting over him). The marginal-looking film maker who agrees to make a datingservice video for $20, and is described as “only like the next Martin Scor- seez, “ is Tim Burton. Also in “Singles,” and furthering the feeling that this film’s characters are real and completely irresistible, are Sheila Kelley as the only single who is dead set on being married, Jim True as that would-be French movie hero, and Bill Pullman as a doctor who does breast-implant surgery, which becomes a matter of importance to Janet for a while. It’s typical of “Singles” that this episode turns out a bit unexpectedly, that its lightweight tone is deceptive, and that audiences will be sorry to see it end.
33
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Jerry Maguire 1996
Featuring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Bonny Hunt Information Release date: December 13, 1996 Rated: R Runtime: 99 minutes Plot Summary Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a glossy 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International. After suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of stress and a guilty conscience, he writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and how he believes that it should be operated. He distributes copies of it, entitled “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business”. His co-workers are touched by his honesty and greet him with applause, but the management sends Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Maguire’s protégé, to fire him. Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry’s clients to try to convince them not to hire the services of the other. Jerry speaks to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one of his clients who is disgruntled with his contract. Rod tests Jerry’s resolve through a very long telephone conversation, which culminates in the famed “Show Me the Money!” scene. Meanwhile, Sugar secures most of Jerry’s previous clients. Frank “Cush” Cushman (Jerry O’Connell), a superstar football prospect from Southern Methodist University expected to be #1 in the nfl Draft, also stays with Jerry after he makes a visit to the Cushman home. Leaving the office, Jerry announces he will start his own agency and asks if anyone is willing to join him, to which only 26-year-old single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger) agrees. The two had previously bumped into each other in the airport and Boyd had told Maguire personally how inspiring she found his “memo”. Jerry travels to the nfl Draft with Cush and convinces Rod to come too, to meet representatives of other nfl teams. Though Rod at first feels neglected compared to the superstar Cush, Sugar contacts Matt Cushman (Beau Bridges), Cush’s dad, while Jerry is in the lobby with Rod and re-signs Cush to
smi.
Jerry is devastated and turns to his fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston) for
support, but she rebukes him and he breaks up with her.
Jerry Maguire // 34
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
35
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
He then turns to Dorothy, becoming closer to her young son, Ray, and
Rod later appears on Roy Firestone’s sports show. Unbeknownst to
eventually starts a relationship with her. However, Dorothy contem-
him, Jerry has secured him an $11.2 million contract with the Cardi-
plates moving to San Diego as she has a secure job offer there. Jerry
nals that will allow him to finish his pro football career in Arizona.
concentrates all his efforts on Rod, now his only client, who turns out
The visibly emotional Rod proceeds to thank everyone and extends
to be very difficult to satisfy. Over the next several months, the two
warm gratitude to Jerry. Jerry speaks with several other pro athletes,
direct harsh criticism towards each other with Rod claiming that Jerry
some of whom have read his earlier mission statement and respect his
is not trying hard enough to get him a contract while Jerry claims that
work with Tidwell. The film ends with Jerry, Dorothy and Ray walk-
Rod is not proving himself worthy of the money for which he asks.
ing in the park and stumbling across a Little League baseball game.
Jerry marries Dorothy to help them both stay afloat financially and to
When the ball lands near them, Ray throws it back; a surprised Jerry
keep her from moving away. He is emotionally and physically distant
then comments on his natural throwing ability (and possible future in
during the marriage, but is clearly invested in becoming a father to
sports), much to Dorothy’s dismay.
Ray. Although Dorothy is in love, she breaks up with him because she believes he does not love her.
The film received critical acclaim, with a 85% positive reviews on the film-critics aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Its critical consensus states:
Before the start of a Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals
“Anchored by dazzling performances from Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding
and the Dallas Cowboys, Sugar attempts to steal Rod, but is rebuked
Jr., and Renée Zellweger, as well as Cameron Crowe’s tender direction,
by Rod and Jerry. The two reconcile soon after. Rod plays well but
Jerry Maguire meshes romance and sports with panache.” Cuba
appears to receive a serious injury when catching a touchdown. He
Gooding, Jr. won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his
recovers, however, and dances for the crowd, which cheers wildly.
portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinals football player who
Afterwards, Jerry and Rod embrace in front of other athletes and
sticks with Maguire. Cruise was also nominated for Best Actor in
sports agents and show how their relationship has progressed from
a Leading Role and the movie marked Renée Zellwegger’s breakout
a strictly business one to a close personal one, which was one of the
role. The film itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best
points Jerry made in his mission statement. Jerry then flies back home
Picture, and crew members on the film were nominated for Best
to meet Dorothy. He walks in and, in front of her friends, says “Hello.”
Screenplay and Best Film Editing awards. Roger Ebert of the Chicago
He then speaks for several minutes, telling her that he loves her and
Sun-Times gave the film 3/4 stars, writing that there “are so many sub-
wants her in his life, ending with the statement, “You complete me.”
plots that Jerry Maguire seems too full” and also commented that the
Dorothy’s reply is that Jerry, “You had me at hello”.
film “starts out looking cynical and quickly becomes a heartwarmer.”
36
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
“I hated myself…no, I hated my place in the world.”
—Jerry Maguire
He concluded t hat t he f ilm “is of ten a delight” a nd “is about
In June 2008, afi revealed its “Ten Top Ten”—the best ten films in ten
transformation: About two men who learn how to value something
“classic” American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from
more important than money, and about two women who always knew.”
the creative community. Jerry Maguire was acknowledged as the tenth
Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote “An exceptionally tasty contempo
best film in the sports genre. The quotes “Show me the money!” and
comedic romance, ‘Jerry Maguire’ runs an unusual pattern on its way
“You had me at ‘hello’” were ranked by afi on its list of 100 Movie Quotes.
to scoring an unexpected number of emotional, social and entertaining points. Smartly written and boasting a sensational cast, Cameron Crowe’s shrewdly observed third feature also gives Tom Cruise one of his very best roles...” Jerry Maguire spawned several popular quotations, including “Show me the money!” (shouted repeatedly in a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire), “You complete me”, “Help me help you”, and “You had me at ‘hello’” (said by Renée Zellweger’s Dorothy Boyd after a lengthy romantic plea by Jerry Maguire), and “Kwan”, a word used by Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s Tidwell meaning love, respect, community, and money, also spelled “quan” and “quawn”, to illustrate the difference between himself and other football players: “Other football players may have the coin, but they won’t have the ‘Quan’”. These lines are largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, director and screenwriter of the film. Zellweger said of filming the famous “hello” line, “Cameron had me say it a few different ways. It’s so funny, because when I read it, I didn’t get it—I thought it was a typo somehow. I kept looking at it. It was the one thing in the script that I was looking at going, ‘Is that right? Can that be right? How is that right?’ I thought, ‘Is there a better way to say that? Am I not getting it? I just don’t know how to do it.’”
37
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
38
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
A fresh take on a spoiled yup’s fall and redemption Film Review of Jerry Maguire by Owen Gleiberman July 26, 2007 Entertainment Weekly
Anyone under the delusion that the greed decade went away — indeed,
however, has something subtler in mind. Jerry still wants to
that we got anything but greedier — should check out Cameron Crowe’s
be a sports agent. He just wants to slow down, to reconnect with his
brashly engaging Jerry Maguire. In this freshly minted take on a
clients — with himself. Jerry Maguire doesn’t have a conventional
spoiled yup’s fall and redemption, Tom Cruise plays a high-powered
narrative drive, and that’s part of its charm; it’s a movie of quick feints
sports agent, Jerry Maguire, who lives in a frenzy of dealmaking.
and jabs. Jerry dumps his fiancee and sets up shop with Dorothy
Jerry works for SMI (Sports Management International), the sports
(Renee Zellweger), a single mother so inspired by his mission state-
equivalent of a Hollywood talent agency like CAA; his clients include
ment — and his dimples — that she quits her job as an SMI bookkeeper
the top stars of baseball, football, and basketball. In an age of global
to go to work for him. Jerry, likewise, hangs on to just one client,
marketing, the athletes are franchises, grinning jock pashas who sell
Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), an upstart wide receiver for the
products by selling themselves. Jerry is the shark on the sidelines,
Arizona Cardinals who stakes his shot at superstardom on Jerry’s
the guy with the cellular phone who turns a first-round draft choice
undivided loyalty.
into a multimillion-dollar endorsement industry. To be or not to be — a human being, that is. That’s the question that To Jerry, everything’s a commodity: his clients, his bitch-goddess
courses through nearly every scene of Jerry Maguire. America’s favor-
nfl-publicist
ite star is still on smiling Cruise control, but now he finesses it into
fiancee (Kelly Preston), his life. He’s on a merry-go-
round t hat won’t stop, a nd Crowe, whose previous f ilms, Say
a dance. He seduces — then steps back; he turns on the charm — then
Anything... (1989) and Singles (1992), gazed with affection upon
lets it slide into pools of doubt. It’s Cruise’s deftest performance yet
the romantic yearnings of a newly cooled-out generation, here zigzags
as a slickster grasping for the decency in himself. As Dorothy, Renee
into denser, faster, more cynical terrain. For about 45 minutes,
Zellweger, with her oval face and slightly daffy little-girl voice, at
Jerry Maguire is an explosion of media-age filmmaking energy.
first calls up images of a more petite Victoria Jackson, but she grows
Whether Jerry is closing deals or flirting through his bachelor party
on you. When she turns her imploring stare on Cruise, she melts
(pretty much another deal), Crowe catches us up in the mad unreal-
through his sheen the way Debra Winger melted through Richard
ity of it all — a n adrenaline-capitalist high that just keeps feeding
Gere’s in An Officer and a Gentleman.
on itself. One of the most likable things about Jerry Maguire is the way it keeps Jerry, though, isn’t quite at home as master of the universe. He’s got
throwing you curves. Jerry and Dorothy get married, but (small detail)
everything, but deep down he knows he’s disconnected, wedded to
he still has to fall in love with her. The biggest curve of all is Cuba
not hing but his ow n pitches. In a crisis of conscience, he d raf ts
Gooding Jr.’s ferocious star-making performance as Rod, the hot-dog
a corporate ‘’mission statement’’ advocating that
rebel. Gooding, so earnest in Boyz N the Hood, here breaks loose into
sm i
pay more
attention to fewer clients (for less revenue). Does he realize it’s heresy?
Ali-like flights of punchy, combative eloquence. When he ‘’magically’’
Unconsciously, perhaps. Within days, he’s been fired, tossed off the
emerges from a mishap on the field, his ebullient reaction — fueled
merry-go-round, a dealmaker with no more deals to make.
by the knowledge that now, at last, he’ll be ‘’shown’’ the money — calls up all the soulful real-world triumph the movie has been reaching
Jerry Maguire is the story of how Jerry, cut loose from his identity, gen-
for. It’s truly a feel-great moment.
tly stumbles into a new kind of life. For a while, I expected a familiar sermon about a top gun who finds, like, his integrity, man. After all, how is Jerry going to satisfy his ego now? By writing fiction? Crowe,
39
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
40
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
“I was 16 when Rolling Stones sent me out on the road with the Allman Brothers Band. I spent over two weeks amassing interviews with all the band members and their roadies. The night before I was to leave, Gregg Allman—still mourning the recent deaths of his legendary guitartist-brother Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley—had a late-night vision that the FBI could possibly be using me to investigate his band. He demanded all my tapes back until further notice. I left the tour in an emotional mess and wound up catatonic in the San Francisco airport, where I ran into my thenstewardess sister Cindy. She cheered me up and sent me home. Days later, the tapes arrived at my house with an apology note from Gregg Allman. I never told the magazine. It was my fist cover story.”
41
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
crowe talks capturing feelings by Jack Giroux, Film School Rejects December 22, 2011 Like everyone else, why haven’t you become cynical and jaded yet?
life. That’s a good signal. Writing at its best can be authentic and create a universal feeling, ya know?
[Laughs] You know what’s funny? Right now it’s actually harder it seems to make a movie that is uncynical, because people are going
Does that type of searching also make the writing process more
through such a tough time. So many of the movies and stories are
difficult? I’d imagine you sometimes think, “This could be a great
reflecting the grief, anger and rage, and it’s kind of easier to make
scene, but it probably wouldn’t be realistic.”
that movie now. A movie that wears its heart on its sleeve has a rocky birth, so I was really proud to make it. Like, Billy Wilder is one of
Yeah, also you don’t want to be looking inward all the time. I think
my favorites of all time, of course. He’s a guy who had clear eyed—
it’s kind of a dance you do with yourself. Like, what’s the story that’ll
I wouldn’t call it cynicism—whimsical view of all the pain, strife,
mean something to you? Your life is the research for anything that
and backstabbing in the world. That’s a really great way of filmmaking,
you write. Generally, in writing, there are little things that become
too. This one, for me, felt like an expression of joy. Sometimes you
bullies you swim to in a project that just make you go, “Well, there’s
can’t experience joy without grief or loss, and that’s in there too. It’s
this scene and that scene.” I remember in Say Anything it was Lloyd
that great happy-sad feeling that I love about music, which I thought
talking into the tape recorder about his lost relationship with Diane.
this movie could catch. That’s my favorite thing in movies and songs.
Everytime I didn’t feel like that was on firm footing or where we’re
We Bought a Zoo felt like a great happy-sad story. When we got Jónsi’s
going with the movie, I’d always think of that scene with the tape
music in there it took that joyful feeling to another place.
recorder and we’d get back on track. When we started showing the movie, that was one of the scenes where people just really responded.
My mom went to see an early screening on sneak night. She went to
I think Pauline Kael, in one of her last reviews, was like, “I don’t get
the bathroom, and there was a woman in there. She walked up to the
everything with this movie, but I love that sad John Cusack talking
woman and asked, “So, what’d you think?” The woman just put her
into a tape recorder!” [Laughs] I remember reading that in a mall when
hands up and said, “I’m still in the feeling!” [Laughs] She blew my
I had just got the New Yorker and I went, “Yeah!” It’s never changed—
mom off. My mom told me that story and I was like, “Yes! That was
it’s always been about a handful of scenes that have been your bullies.
the goal, to create that feeling.” You can stay in that feeling a little
In this movie, it was the argument with the son in the hallway and
longer than the movie.
the last scene of the movie, where Matt reenacts when he first his wife.
[Laughs] That’s always a nice and rare experience.
Was that process different at all on Vanilla Sky? Did the trippy feel of that movie affect that process?
Yeah! I remember seeing Close Encounters a long time ago, and it was an early screening. All these people were waiting to get in and
That’s a really good question. Again, it’s the stuff that’s grounded in
they were like, “What’d you think? What’d you think? What happens?”
the personal. I’ve always loved the idea of Noah Taylor saying, at
I was like, “I must go for a walk! I can’t speak!” [Laughs] I was a little
one point, “Am I blowing your mind?” [Laughs] I love that. That was
bit that way after seeing The Descendants, and that’s my favorite thing.
dialog I thought would be really fun. Or when that guy says, “This is
When the movie takes you a little bit outside of your experience and
the revolution of the mind,” that was a big thing. Also, sad Tom Cruise
you gotta still breathe that air, that’s my favorite.
watching the Thanksgiving parade go past him his window in New York scene was another one of those bullies. It’s fun, it’s fun to think
Not to make a bad transition, but I think both The Descendants and
about it now.
We Bought a Zoo find those little human moments which mean a lot. What’s the process of getting that down in the writing process?
It’s interesting how, unlike the rest of your films, that film is about someone very narcissistic and there’s some cynicism to it. At the
Often it comes from real life, because that’s generally the stuff that
time, did you see it as going outside of your wheelhouse?
comes out of me when I’m writing. The thing you’ve just gone through just bubbles to the surface and says, “Write me! Write that feeling
I did, I did. I love Abre los ojos and liked that this was a movie that
you had yesterday when this and that happened.” Pretty much down
could shake it up. It was kind of a way I read other people talking
the line, that’s what people respond to—the stuff that came from real
about their punk rock experiences, where there would be one record
Interview // 42
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
they made and didn’t think about. They went in with a producer who
top of the building in Dubai for Mission Impossible, he was like,
knew how to work fast and just banged up this thing that may have
“Man, you wanna clear Times Square? Let’s do it!” It was that kind
rough edges, but it was a snapshot of how they felt at the time. That
of spirit of adventure that we were into. Again, when you get an actor
was Vanilla Sky—a chaotic look at an internal life through a prism of
like Tom or Matt Damon—who are just skilled, experienced, and trust
pop culture. You’re getting bombard with all these images of paradise
you—you just feel like you can go, go, go. In the case of Vanilla Sky, it
and pain, and everybody’s throwing their images at you. Where’s the
took years for people to understand what that movie was trying to do.
personal in the middle of that chaos? That was the idea. So we were
Now, they get it. The Roots are obsessed with Vanilla Sky! When we
going to make the movie the way the movie felt, with the search of
were on the Jimmy Fallon Show, I thought they were kidding at first.
meaning. You know, I saw Vanilla Sky not too long ago, and I gotta
Man, they’re working on a tribute album with samples from Vanilla
say, there are things here and there that make me go, “Whoa, that
Sky! I just love it. It makes you feel like everything you do is like a
could’ve been different or you could’ve done that.” Overall, it
rocket you send out, and sometimes it lands way, way off into the
completely matched what we were going for. It felt like a cry the
future someplace.
inner-caves of pop culture [Laughs]. When a movie like that and Elizabethtown get those type of divisive I like how you described it as being similar to punk rock. At the time
reactions, how do you approach that? Do you see them as being mov-
I remember my Dad seeing it, and I hope you don’t mind me saying
ies not for everyone or do you begin to wonder if there’s something
this, but he hated it.
wrong with them?
Oh yeah.
I think you have to ask yourself, “Is it authentic? Are those songs meaningful to you? Did you write it from yourself heart? Did you tell
But, to me, it had that punk rock feel of, “He doesn’t get it, but I do.” You know, Jack, when they first showed that movie I think people were still upset about 9/11 and it had been advertised a bit like it was a Fatal Attraction story. When it became obvious that it wasn’t that and was more risky and psychedelic, they would send people up the aisles of the theater saying, “This is not the movie you think it is! This is a warning!” I was like, “Wow, that’s like what they do for smell-o vision or something.” [Laughs] It’s like, “We did something
that story from an authentic place?” The answer is such a resounding yes, for both of them. You kind of have to say, “If you’re lucky enough to do a bunch of stuff, some of them are going to affect people differently.” No, I don’t really rethink it. Elizabethtown was for my Dad, and that is really a souvenir of the feeling my dad left behind. In the way the personal stuff tends to resonate really strongly, it resonated strongly with the people it affected. Like, I love it for that. Yeah, no regrets.
different here.” I gotta say, through the years, that is the movie I hear
You mentioned how, when recently revisiting Vanilla Sky, that there
about the most, that and Almost Famous.
were a few things you thought could’ve been done differently. When
It almost seems like a post-9/11 movie, actually. There is that theme of finding meaning in a terrible situation. Yeah. We made it, you know, right before 9/11 and it came out after 9/11. It was kind of like a message from pre-9/11 to post-9/11, and it was disturbing. I love Noah Taylor. Also, underrated Tom Cruise. I love the idea of casting a movie star of that caliber, and then making him an asshole whose face is behind a mask for a lot of the film. When making that film, did you ever get a note saying, “What are you doing?”
you rewatch your films, do you try not to think too much about that? Oh yeah, definitely. We did this book on Billy Wilder and he was still recasting his movies, including like Sunset Boulevard into his 90s! [Laughs] That’s a part of the, “I would’ve changed that or that chord.” But, really, it is exactly what you meant to do at the time. It’s always a snapshot of where you were then. It’s like a diary. When you go back and read a diary you think, “Oh man, was I really feeling that?” It’s the same with going back and changing a classic album for remastering. You think, “No, don’t do that!” I wouldn’t really, but it is fun to play the parlor game.
No, no notes at all. Tom really wanted to bravely go right to that. [Pause] They’re handing me notes that I got to go, but we will hold them off! Tom was constantly driving the protective element of that movie in such a great way. Not only did he not want the paparazzi not to get a picture of him in the disfigured make-up, he didn’t want anyone to know much about what we were doing. We ramped up fast, similarly to We Bought a Zoo. It was, “There’s a feeling, and let’s go quickly and catch it.” Tom was really a big fan of us doing something different and surprising people. You know, not unlike going to the
43
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Almost Famous 2000
Featuring Billy Crudup, Francis McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Zooey Deschanel Information Release date: September 13, 2000 Rated: R Runtime: 123 minutes Plot Summary The film is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story concerning William Miller. The film starts out with William (Michael Angarano) at a young age, where we find him living in a household with his mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) and his sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) in San Diego, California. While William gets along well with his mother and sister separately, both of the women in his life are at odds with each other, as Elaine struggles to keep some form of control over Anita, who feels that her mother is too overbearing. One day Anita brings home a copy of Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends album and her mother confiscates it, say that the songs are about drugs & promiscuous sex. Anita leaves in a fury. During this time, it is revealed to William that his Mom skipped him ahead 2 grades, as all his classmates around him are 13, and he’s 11. During the summer, Anita decides to leave home to become a stewardess, leaving her record collection to William. William finds a note in The Who’s Tommy which tells him to listen to it with a candle burning and he’ll see his future. Time passes, and a more grown William (Patrick Fugit) enters high school. In that time, he has become interested in rock music and journalism, writing for several underground newspapers, and Creem Magazine, edited by one of his idols, famed rock writer Lester Bangs. One day, William meets Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who gives him some pointers about interviewing and the world of Rock and Roll. He also claims that William has arrived in time for the “death rattle” of rock n’ roll. However, Lester sees a determination in William to succeed, and offers to pay him for an interview of the band Black Sabbath, who will be playing at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Almost Famous // 44
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
45
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
“One day you’ll be cool. Look under your bed, it’ll set you free.” —Anita Miller
William attempts to get in, but is rebuked by the doorman at the
At an outdoor stage event, Russell is electrocuted, sending the band
Sports Arena. Unsure what to do, he meets a group of girls who
scrambling from the venue, much to the anger of the show’s promoter.
call themselves Band-Aides. William is introduced to their leader,
The band trashes the trailer provided by the promoter, who seems
Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who explains their philosophy, of how
unconcerned about Russell’s injury. When the gates are locked, the
they are not groupies, but are there to support the music.
band has their driver crash the bus through them.
Shortly thereafter, William manages to get into the Sports Arena when
-Jeff Bebe gets into a heated row with Russell, when the band’s first
he meets the opening act for the night: the band Stillwater. Compli-
t-shirts arrive, with Russell as the only recognizable person in the
menting them on their sound and musical talent, they allow William
band while everyone else is out of focus. The argument is indicative
in. During this time, William ends up interviewing them, with the
of the problems that have been plaguing the band for an indeterminate
bulk of the interview coming f rom member Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee).
time - Russell feels his talent has allowed him to grown beyond the band’s limits and Jeff feels Russell is overshadowing his bandmates.
William ends up watching the concert from backstage, as the band opens for Black Sabbath, performing the song “Fever Dog.”
Following the argument, Russell and William end up at a house party in Topeka, KS, where he drops acid and climbs up on a rooftop,
After the show, Lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup)
proclaiming to be a ‘golden god.’ (Moments later he jumps off the
invites William to meet them at the Continental Hyatt House in Los
roof into the swimming pool.) William calls Dick, who comes to
Angeles, and requests to William that they’d like Penny Lane to come
the house & convinces Russell to return to the band. As they leave,
along. William informs Penny and as they exit the sports arena,
Russell, still tripping, yells at William, believing him to be a cop.
she gives him her contact information, and tells him of her life’s goal:
Shortly after they drive away in the tour bus the band and Band Aides
she plans to live in Morocco for one year.
all reconcile a bit while singing Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” together.
A few days later, unknown to his mother, William sneaks off to Los
William insists that he needs to go home & Penny tells him he is home.
Angeles with Penny, where they meet up with the band at the Hyatt
The record company sends a renowned band manager named Dennis
House (knicknamed ‘The Riot House’). It is here that William sees
Hope (Jimmy Fallon) to replace their current manager, Dick Roswell
there may be some chemistry going on between Russell and Penny.
(Noah Taylor). The band is apprehensive, but give in to Dennis’ grand
A couple days later, William gets a call from Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen) of Rolling Stone. William disguises the fact that he’s 16 years old, and pitches his voice lower. Fong-Torres compliments him on his work, and asks William about any bands he’d like to cover. William
plan for the band to make more money, turning them away from their philosophy of playing ‘for the fans.’ Dennis is also instrumental in adding more tour dates, and the band ditches their bus ‘Doris’ in favor of an airplane.
suggests Stillwater, and soon joins the band on the road, traveling
As the tour winds down, William is able to interview almost everyone,
with the Band-Aides as well on the band’s bus, named ‘Doris,’ much
but still is not able to get his key interview with Russell Hammond.
to the horrors of his mother, who fears that this will derail Williams’
What should have been a simple task becomes mind-numbing, as
future. Along the way, a number of incidents happen to which
William is swept up with the tour, causing him to field questions
William is privy:
from Ben Fong-Torres about the story, and rousing the ire and worry
46
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
of his mother, who in one of her classes, proclaims: “rock stars have
After Ed speaks, the plane makes it through the weather, and everyone
kidnapped my son.” One night while he talks to his mother, Russell
stays silent, not speaking for the remainder of the trip. When the plane
seizes the phone from William and tries to reason with Elaine, who
lands, Russell tells William, that he can write whatever he wants in
immediately cuts through Russell’s charm and lectures him on being
regards to the band.
more responsible. Russell is somewhat shaken by the conversation. William then goes to Rolling Stone’s headquarters in San Francisco, At one of the stops, William is privy to a poker game, in which Dick
armed with his notes, but still without his key interview with Russell.
and Russell wager Penny Lane and the Band-Aides in a game without
William is given a night to finish the piece, and calls Lester Bangs,
Penny or the girls knowing. The girls must leave the tour before they
who tells him to be honest and truthful, suggesting that William
arrive in New York where Russell’s wife will meet the band. The band
shouldn’t have allowed himself to befriend the band.
Humble Pie ends up winning them, and pays Dick and Russell $50 and a case of Heineken beer. William tries to put this out of his mind,
The story that William types reveals everything, including Russell’s
but upon hearing how Penny seems to have stepped over the line of
‘golden god’ speech and the airplane confessions. Once the band is
supporting the band and fallen for Russell, tells her about the bargain
contacted by Rolling Stone’s fact-checker (Erin Foley), t he ba nd
Russell and Dick struck. The news has a devastating effect on Penny.
denies 90% of the story, and William is sent back to San Diego. At the airport, he runs into his sister Anita. Anita offers to take William
The Band-Aides and Penny end up leaving the tour before the band
on an adventure to anywhere... but the only place he wants to go is
arrives in New York. Upon arrival at their hotel, William gets a call
home. Anita joins William and they go to their home where Anita and
from Fong-Torres and others at Rolling Stone, telling him that the
Elaine reconcile and William crashes in his own bed.
band will grace the cover of their next issue, and that he is free to tell this to the band.
Sometime after, as Stillwater is going their separate ways, one Bandaide whom Penny knows named Sapphire (Fairuza Balk) meets up
At a restaurant in New York, this news is met with enthusiasm by the
with Russell, chastising him for what happened to Penny as well as
band. However, Russell’s girlfriend, Leslie (Liz Strauber) sees Penny in
him ruining Williams’ story. Nearby, some new groupies are mingling
a nearby corner watching Russell. Dennis goes over to talk with Penny,
with the band. Sapphire comments how the new girls are not really
who rushes off. William takes off after her, finding her at the Plaza
fans, seeing as they don’t love the music.
Hotel, where she has downed an entire bottle of Quaaludes. William manages to keep Penny conscious until the doctors get there. After
After talking to Sapphire, Russell is compelled to call Penny and
pumping her stomach, Penny and Russell then go for a walk through
apologize, requesting to meet her. Penny gives him an address, but it
Central Park, where she tells William that her real name is ‘Lady
is not until he arrives there that he realizes she has given him
Goodman,’ proclaiming that he now knows ‘all her secrets.’ After
William’s address. Russell first meets Elaine, whom allows him to talk
their stroll, William takes Penny to the airport, where she flies home
with her son. Russell explains that he retracted his statement to
to San Diego.
Rolling Stone, confirming that the story was true. William then takes the opportunity to get what he never could before: a one-on-one
After this, William joins the band on the plane as they fly to a new
interview with Russell about what he loves about music. Russell tells
venue. Everyone questions where William went, but he is hesitant to
William that he loves “everything” about music.
tell them what happened. Suddenly, the plane is caught in the edge of a storm, violently shaking everyone around. Feeling like the plane
The film then ends with a montage of different clips that play over Led
may crash or break up at any moment, everyone begins to reveal
Zeppelin’s “Tangerine”: Stillwater goes back on tour, with their old
secrets and other confidential information. Dennis reveals that he
bus ‘Doris’ as their main mode of transportation (with their 1974 tour
once hit a man with a car, and kept on going. Dick reveals that
called the ‘No More Planes Tour’). William sitting down to breakfast
he took more money than his regular fee, claiming ‘he knew he earned
with Anita and his mother, who have reconciled. Penny at an airplane
it.’ Jeff reveals that he slept with Dick’s wife after they broke up, and
ticket counter, fulfilling her decision to go to Morocco.
also slept with Leslie. Jeff, in a moment of rage at Russell, reveals his true anger at Russell, and tells Leslie that Russell had been sleeping with Penny. William, angered at how the band treated Penny, finally tells them what happened to her, and proclaims his love for her. Ed Vallencourt (John Fedevich), who has mostly been silent, comes out of the closet.
47
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Almost famous is absolutely fabulous by Richard Corliss, Time Magazine World Does each generation of kids get the music it deserves? No, but it gets
the knowing groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson, with the soft, curly
the music that defines it. It’s in the generational blood. Every joy or
haired charisma of a Woodstock Botticelli); from Stillwater’s lead
pang of growing up has an accompanying sound track. And decades
guitarist, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup, who has finally found
later, car-radio playings of specific songs, good or bad, can be as acute
the movie role to fit his questing intelligence and almost-too-hunky
a prod to sweet or rueful memory as Proust’s tea cake. For Cameron
features); and from his protective mom (fierce, nattering Frances
Crowe, the pastry was named Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers,
McDormand). William’s task is to sift all this good, or at least
Poco. And Crowe didn’t just listen to them. He interviewed them.
plausible, advice and make his own choices. On the fly, on the road, he’s forced into maturity.
The ‘70s were when the machinery of rock-starmaking was perfected. The poet-satyrs on stage and the poet-flacks of the rock press fed off
Most memory movies (and novels and plays) have a score to settle.
one another voraciously. The artists preened; the authors postured—
When parents are depicted as idiots, teachers as tyrants and class-
all to make the cover of Rolling Stone.
mates as sadists, you can bet the writer feels so much better for taking revenge on the people who made his teen years miserable.
What gives Crowe’s story poignance is his background as a teenage working journalist. At the age when kids are supposed to be feeling
Crowe carries no such grudge. He has warm feelings for all the
those gonadal guitar jolts for the first time, he was standing backstage
characters (except the Rolling Stone staff; they come off as naive and
during a concert, riding the band bus, eliciting sexual confessions
capricious, first deciding that an unseen article from an unknown
from rock Rimbauds. This was a kid’s dream. But to live it—to survive
writer should be a cover story, then killing it briefly when the band
it—Crowe had to be a premature grownup.
disputes a few quotes). Crowe likes the rockers, the groupies, the exasperated desk clerk at a rowdy hotel. And dammit, he loves his mom.
Almost Famous has a lot of smart lines, but the best are in Patrick Fugit’s face. Fugit, who plays the teen Crowe character, William
That’s nice. Better yet, it is good screenwriting: giving each character
Miller, has a baby face, creased with dimples and given to grins, but
his reasons, making everyone in the emotional debate charming and
it is stuck on a tall, gawky body. Then he speaks, and he sounds so
compelling, creating fictional people who breathe in a story with an
much older than he looks it’s as if his voice had been dubbed by the
organic life.
adult he would become—the adult who became Crowe. Watchful and open, skeptical but not cynical, Fugit manages to embody both
One associates this equipoise, this generosity of spirit, with Crowe’s
the child and the man, the boy who went on the trip and the writer
mentor, the writer-director James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment,
who would remember it and shape it into comic drama.
Broadcast News), who produced Crowe’s Say Anything...and Jerry Maguire. Those early Crowe films, for all their nifty moments,
William lucks into his on-the-road adventure with the rock quartet
reduced minor figures to stereotypes, skirted believability, settled
Stillwater, and is adopted as their chronicler and mascot. At 15 he
for easy answers. The new one is a big step up. By recalling (and
could be the poster child for a dark odyssey of sexual and pharmaco-
subtly rouging) the inner adult of his childhood, the Brooks protege
logical abuse; his mother could be right when she blurts out, “Rock
becomes his own man.
stars have kidnapped my son.” But William and the film are too savvy for that. People use one another here, but genially, and in small doses.
So Almost Famous is almost fabulous. Oh, all right. The movie’s so
On this cross-country trek, everyone is, benignly, lost in poppyland.
clever and endearing, you can forget the almost.
It’s Oz without the wizard. The typical boy-to-man fable is one of groping in the dark, a child beset by demons, on a road with no signposts. But William isn’t clueless; he has too many clues. He is swamped in advice: from his musical mentor, the rebel critic Lester Bangs (another off-kilter, on-target tour de force by Philip Seymour Hoffman); from his muse,
48
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
49
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Vanilla Sky 2001
Featuring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee Information Release date: December 14, 2001 Rated: R Runtime: 135 minutes Plot Summary David Aames (Tom Cruise) drives to work, finding the streets of New York strangely deserted at rush hour. With growing unease he drives to Times Square and finds the entire city abandoned. He then awakens in his bedroom once again to realize he’s only been having a vivid dream. The movie cuts to David in a jail cell describing a dream to Dr. Curtis McCabe (Kurt Russell), a psychologist who has been assigned to him. David has been charged with a murder he cannot remember. Following the death of David’s father, he was given 51% ownership of his father’s publishing company. The rest of the company is owned by a board of directors that David disparagingly calls the “Seven Dwarfs.” Each of them believed that he was next in line to take over the company after David’s father died. David can have anything his heart desires, and nothing is beyond him. On the night of his birthday party, David considered firing Thomas for what he believes is his incompetence as an attorney, but he has a change of heart when Thomas makes a sad confession. David’s best friend, Brian Shelby (Jason Lee), brings with him a girl named Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz) whom he just met at the library. Almost instantly, David and Sofia flirt with each other, almost completely ignoring Brian. However, Julianna Gianni (Cameron Diaz), a regular bed partner for whom David has no deep feelings, crashes his party. She stays distant but keeps a close eye on him the entire night. Once David realizes Julianna is there, he asks Sofia to pretend to engage in a deep conversation with him so that Julianna won’t come near him. David walks Sofia back to her place, where they stay up all night talking. The next morning as David is getting ready to drive to work, Julianna drives up beside him asking how his night
Vanilla Sky // 50
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
51
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
52
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
“Every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around.” —Sofia Serrano
with Sofia was. Julie makes David feel guilty about ignoring her and
world all is not what it seems. As Dr. McCabe leaves, David sees an
convinces him to get into her car. It quickly becomes apparent that she
infomercial for a cryonics company called “Life Extension.”
is obsessed with David. This infomercial involving a dog that has been frozen and brought She starts driving recklessly, speeding through busy city streets, all
back to life has appeared at several points throughout the film. David
the while insisting that she’s deeply in love with him and berating
is entranced by the commercial, and McCabe sees that there may be
him for treating her so casually. Fearing for their safety, he tries to get
a connection between Life Extension and David’s amnesia. Escorted
her to stop the car by telling her that he loves her. She drives the car
by Dr. McCabe and the police, David visits Life Extension and
off a bridge in an attempt to kill them both.
realizes that he had signed on as a client. He had opted for an extra feature called the Lucid Dream. This allows cryogenically-frozen,
Julianna does not survive the crash. David does, however, although
clinically dead clients to experience an unending custom-made dream
his face and right arm are mangled, and he suffers blinding headaches
life with no memory of their physical death.
due to the metal pieces holding his skull together. He spends a long time in isolation before deciding to take back control of his company
David realizes that he is now living in the Lucid Dream and that the
and see Sofia again. She appears hesitant to be around him, and
mysterious man is his “Technical Support.” The Support Technician
when they go on a date she brings Brian along. The date is a disaster
explains that the Lucid Dream was “spliced” into his memories at
as David drinks too much and makes Sofia increasingly uneasy
the point where he passed out on the sidewalk after his night out with
around him. The three part ways at the end of the night, and David
Sofia and Brian. But the dream went awry and turned into a night-
ends up passing out on a sidewalk. It is morning when Sofia wakes
mare. Since nothing he experienced after the splice was real David
him up at that same exact spot and tells him that she will stay with
realizes that he never murdered anybody. Dr. McCabe tells him that
him if he can get his act together. From that moment on, David’s life
the guilt he felt for the way he treated Julianna may have caused his
is turned around. His team of plastic surgeons is able to restore his
subconscious to merge Julianna and Sofia. But it turns out that Dr.
face and he finds his soul mate in Sofia. David’s new-found happiness
McCabe isn’t real either; he’s just a character David created in his
is short-lived, however, when he begins hallucinating. He looks in
dream to be the father figure he always wanted. Most curious is the
the mirror to see his face once again disfigured. A mysterious man
fact that Dr. McCabe seems to believe that he himself is real and
(Noah Taylor) turns up wherever he goes and tells David that he has
only reluctantly comes to accept the truth (he had previously
the power to control the world. And one night he goes to bed with
mentioned that he was going out with his two daughters for dinner
Sofia and wakes up to find himself with Julianna, who insists she
after a session with David, but when The Support Technician asks
really is Sofia. He grows violent, convinced that Julianna is alive
him “What are their [your daughters’] names, Dr. McCabe has no
and playing games with him. He is arrested and told by Tipp that
response). Tech Support tells David that in reality, he never saw Sofia
he severely beat Sofia, but Tipp will have the case thrown out. Tipp
again, and that Thomas Tipp, the attorney that David considered
shows David photos of Julianna with a bruised face, but everybody,
firing in the beginning, had saved the company for David and helped
including his best friend Brian, tells him that it was Sofia he attacked.
him regain control from the board of directors. But David, suffering constant pain and depression following his disfigurement, committed
David breaks into Sofia’s apartment and finds that every photo he’d
suicide. In the end, technical support reveals an upgrade to the
seen of Sofia is now of Julianna. Julianna attacks him thinking he’s
software which allows David to either be reinserted into the lucid
an intruder but then apologizes while still insisting she is Sofia. She
dream with no memory of the nightmare portion or to be awakened
leaves the room and the actual Sofia returns in her place as if nothing
in the present time (which is 150 years after he was frozen) and live in
unusual had happened. They begin to make love but while they are
the real world with a restored body. David chooses to be awakened
in the middle of the act he finds that he is making love to Julianna. In
in this future present realizing that everyone he ever knew will be
a fit of panic he suffocates her and then discovers he has just killed
long dead and his wealth will be worth far less. After one last lucid-
Sofia. When David is finished telling Dr. McCabe his story he still
dream rooftop exchange with Sofia in which she vows to “find you
can’t bring himself to believe that he killed anybody. Dr. McCabe,
again” he leaps off the skyscraper. Multiple memory-images cascade
frustrated by David’s failure to tell him anything meaningful that
frenetically through his mind as he falls. The final shot is of a brief
might help his case, tells him that he can no longer help David and
whiteout (rather than the blackout) accompanied by the sound of a
will try to argue for “temporary derangement”. This odd turn of legal-
woman’s voice telling him to “open your eyes” and an extreme close-
istic phrase is just one of many clues that in this version of David’s
up of a single human eye opening and staring into the camera.
53
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
It’s about the sweet and sour of life, the fleeting qualities by Jenny Cooney Carillo and Matt Mueller Total Film Magazine
Three sides of a love triangle in Cameron Crowe’s psycho-thriller
Nicole Kidman over their broken marriage, Cruise denied whispers
Vanilla Sky. But why did the team behind feelgood smash Jerry
that his relationship with the Spaniard blossomed during shooting
Maguire want to make a dark tale of sex, obsession, disfigurement
(before his divorce papers were signed). But Crowe sensed the couple
and delusion? And how did The Split affect the shoot? Total Film
shared a unique chemistry: “All that matters for the movie,” he says,
gathered the talent together and asked…
“is do they fall in love on screen? And they do.”
“Cameron Crowe and I had been trying to find a film to do together,
With Vanilla Sky touching on themes of love, casual sex, virtual real-
we were working on a bunch of different ideas,” says Tom Cruise.
ity, and pop culture (look out for a Steven Spielberg cameo), Crowe’s
“And then I showed him this.”
take on the differences between the two films reflects his first love, music. “Open Your Eyes is like a song our band really liked,” says the
This was Alejandro Amenábar’s 1997 Spanish thriller, Abre Los Ojos
former Rolling Stone journalist. “And this is our cover of it.”
(Open Your Eyes), a movie that starts as a boy-meets-girl romance, before turning into a murky cinematic Rubik’s cube where seeing is
Reaching For The Sky
most definitely not believing. Cruise first saw Amenábar’s twistyWhen I first saw Open Your Eyes, I literally—as the end
turny flick in 1999 and snapped up the remake rights with producing
tom cruise
partner Paula Wagner. The first helmer they talked to was Amenábar
credits were running—got on the phone and said to my producing
himself. But, maybe with thoughts of George Sluizer in his head (the
partner, Paul Wagner, “You’ve got to buy this!” It was a great story,
Dutch director who remade his own classic chiller The Vanishing
but it was also dealing with universal themes and it left room
into a wretched Hollywood turkey), the Chilean-born helmer declined,
for interpretation.
although he did got on to make The Others, which Cruise produced.
cameron crowe:
After Tom showed it to me, I couldn’t get it out of my mind.
Enter Cameron Crowe, who, after Almost Famous – his love letter to
It left me with a feeling I hadn’t experienced in any other movie. And
the ’70s – was desperate to turn his hand to something contemporary.
after Almost Famous, I wanted to do something super-contemporary.
Cruise screened Open Your Eyes for his Jerry Maguire director, who was hooked by the story of a playboy ladies’ man who meets the love of his life, only to be disfigured when his suicidal ex tries to kill him in a car crash.
cruise:
We talked about the film, and Cameron became involved. He’s
unassuming, but an incredible person. You sit down and talk about film ideas, and he not only discusses them, but he can then go off and write it. The story is Alejandro’s, but the script and characters are
With Crowe’s retooled script, which set the story in New York and
Cameron’s. He pays homage to Open Your Eyes, but Vanilla Sky is very
made Cruise, a super-rich publishing titan, the pair threw out their
much from Cameron’s imagination. As an actor, I absolutely adore
casting net. Cameron Diaz signed up to play unhinged good-time girl
working with him.
Julie, while Hollywood’s favourite Euro-starlet Penelope Cruz—who’d starred in the original—lobbied to reprise her role as the sultry beauty who offers a lifeline out of the shallow bachelor pool. Cruz’s casting added some unexpected spice to the project when she and her leading man fell for each other. The question now is how fortuitous the Cruise-Cruz coupling has been. In fighting a losing PR battle with
54
crowe :
There wasn’t enough of the love story in the original for my
taste. I wanted more and that’s what I thought I could bring to any adaptation. I also wanted to explore how we treat the passing moments in our lives. Depending on how you react or what you say to a person, it might change your life or their life forever. My other concern, which
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
I saw a little bit of in Open Your Eyes, was the notion of casual sex.
russell :
How casual is casual sex really? I thought I could make a movie that
body to feel like they are in cahoots with him. He has a tremendous
would try and answer some of the questions Alejandro posed.
ability to communicate.
All The Right Friends
Love And Other Catastrophes
crowe:
I loved Penelope Cruz in Belle Epoque, and I loved her in Open
Your Eyes. She always said that if somebody was going to remake it
cruise:
Cameron is one these people that seems to be able to get every-
The story really pivots on the one night that David and Sofia
spend together.
and not talk to her, she was going to get violent. But I would’ve talked to her anyway because I like her acting and she felt like a link to the
crowe:
original, a way of tipping your hat.
in the situation where there was no chemistry, and I’d go home at night
Chemistry between your leads is what you dream of. I’ve been
and think, “It’s a love story and they hate each other. Oh my God!” penelope cruz:
I didn’t feel like I was repeating myself because, although
the characters have many things in common, they’re not the same
cruz:
woman. So I arrived on the set fresh again, not thinking, “I’ve done
tic and poetic I have ever known. It wasn’t about my body. My career
this before.”
has never been based on that and I’ve said no to many things that were
The love scene between David and Sofia is one of the most roman-
a temptation in that way because I didn’t want to be put in cameron diaz :
I had read with Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise for Jerry
a box forever.
Maguire. This was at the beginning of my career. It was such a thrill to work with them that day, and they both said, “We’re going to work
russell :
with you someday.” And I’m like, “Yeah, right.”
he shouldn’t get in a care with: Julie. He didn’t want to hurt some-
Tom’s character makes a decision to get in a car with somebody
body’s feelings, and also he might get laid. What’s the difference? The cruise:
Cameron and I had wanted to work with Cameron Diaz for a
difference was that he had met someone he was really wanting to
long time. We just talked to her and she said she wanted to be part
spend the rest of his life with—Sofia—and he was not man enough
of it. We felt very fortunate to get her, because it’s such a challenging
to say.
character. I don’t think Cameron met with a lot of other people for any of the characters. People would call, but he always had Penelope in
diaz :
mind, he knew he wanted Jason Lee, he new he wanted me [laughs], so
point in our lives. We’ve all put ourselves forward and not had feel-
that was done.
ings reciprocated. I don’t see Julia as being obsessed with him. I mean,
I understood Julia because she’s someone we’ve all been at some
this is a man who invites her over to his home five nights a week. kurt russell :
I’d watched by step-daughter, Katie [Hudson], work with
They’re sharing something very intimate and in the past it might have
Cameron Crowe on Almost Famous. I’d been on the set and I remember
been okay for her because she’s a good-time girl. But she finds that
saying, “If the movie’s as good as what I saw today, this guy’s going to
she’s no longer willing to play the games, and decides she’s going to
get nominated for Best Picture. This guy is the real thing.” When my
make him be honest about their relationship. But David is incapable
agent phoned up later and said, “Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe
of being honest with anyone because he’s completely self-absorbed.
want to know if you’d be interested in a supporting role in their movie”, I said, “Tell them I’m there. I don’t need to read the script.
Directions
Falling Apart cruise :
Being disfigured in the movie wasn’t something that was
necessarily freeing. In fact, it was very difficult. It was hard looking diaz :
The thing with Cameron is he creates moments. He leaves the
at pictures and seeing what people go through when that occurs. I’m
camera rolling for a minute longer where another director would have
a physical person, so when I’m going through it thinking this really
called, “Cut!”. He lets it get past that moment where you’re acting.
happens to people, it’s very upsetting. It was uncomfortable wearing the mask, and disorienting. I’ve got really good vision and when I had
cruz :
Both Alejandro and Cameron take care of the actors first.
something blocking my eyes, I felt nauseous sometimes. It’s the weird-
Cameron already knew what he wanted to do but he was also open to
est thing. As far as plastic surgery goes, I’ve broken my nose twice and
suggestions. We he was looking for a profession for my character I told
my teeth have been knocked out a few times so I’ve had them replaced.
him I danced for 14 years, and I became a dancer in the movie.
But, no, I haven’t thought of plastic surgery for myself.
crowe :
diaz :
She played the character very differently from the way she
The make-up was the physical manifestation of the deformation
played it in Alejandro’s movie, She was more of a carefree club-goer in
of his character’s soul. This man, who looks like he could have it all,
the original. In our movie, she’s struggling a little bit, juggling jobs to
but he’s severely deformed within himself. He’s incapable of making
make it in New York.
55
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
changes that would allow him to be the perfect man.
diaz :
Cameron Crowe said that his wife Nancy [Wilson, formerly of ‘70s
rock duo Heart] had written a song for Julie, ‘I Fall Apart’. Nancy cruise:
There was no concern from the studio about me being disfigured
Wilson, who was like a goddess to me when I was a child! I got to sit
in the movie at all. No editing, no limitations. They didn’t interfere
with Nancy Wilson in front of me singing me a song, and then I got
at all. They just left it up to Cameron and myself. We weren’t going to
to go to a recording studio and sing with her. It was one of those things
make the movie unless that make-up was perfect and reflected what
where you just go, “This is why this job is so great.”
happened in that accident. Michelle Burke, the make-up artist, did a brilliant job.
crowe :
A very cool thing happened – we called Paul McCartney and
asked him if he wanted to come and look at our movie and maybe crowe:
We wanted it to be real. What would really happen after a car
accident like that?
Hear My Song crowe:
Vanilla Sky was a title I had come up with for Almost Famous,
but it didn’t quite work. It sounded like the name of an album or a Beatles song, which I liked for this movie. Pop culture is a beautiful thing, but it’s also a dangerous thing when life is consumed by it. cruise:
Cameron wanted the movie to be a pop culture experience.
He wanted to create a pop culture ride, but also explore its effect on a society, as well as pose questions about casual sex and the little moments in our lives when you have a chance to turn things around and change your life. Those are all things that I have a great affinity for, and understanding of. cruz:
I’ve always used music for acting to get myself in the right place,
and Cameron used it on the set so everyone knew what atmosphere he was looking for. He could get a subtle idea that was difficult to put into words, and explain it with music. russell :
He likes it because he can create a mood on set. To try to get
you to feel as if you’re reminiscing, he plays ‘Yesterday’. That’s for everybody. Then he’ll play something that he knows just means something to you personally. You got pretty good at understanding where the music’s meant to take you. crowe:
My feeling for a movie usually begins with a song. I feel like I
want to make the movie to play this song. We’ll play it on set or it’ll end up in the movie. In this movie, it was Radiohead that we listened to a lot. And Peter Gabriel. The best music is very cinematic and a movie is your own radio station. You can programme it with music you love.
56
write a song. So he came and watched about 40 minutes. I said, “It’s about the sweet and sour of life, the fleeting qualities of life. If anything comes to you, we’d be honoured…” A few days later he called and said, “It’s Paul. I’ve written a song called `Vanilla Sky’, and if you don’t like it, I’ll just change the title to `Manila Envelope.’” We just screamed across town and he played us the song and it ended up being a really good way to end the movie.
Cruise And Cruz crowe:
I have a built-in bias about actors who are married, you know,
kind of playacting romance in movies. Sometimes it just seems like that’s not to be taken seriously because everybody knows they’re already together, and that takes away from the suspension of disbelief for me. What’s different, I hope, about Vanilla Sky is that it was made when Tome and Penelope were still finding out who they were. cruise:
This relationship wasn’t going on when we were making the
picture. I can’t control what people write about my personal life, I’m just going to make the movie. But people want to make money and sell magazines… crowe:
I started to feel something was wrong the day before Tom and
Nicole’s separation was announced – something was crowding his mind. The next day he brought the cast and crew together and told us, “You’re going to be reading something in the newspapers about my life.” For a guy who’s so much about work to be that open and personal in a work environment was a big deal. He never brought us together again like that, but in those days, there was a bit of a cloud around him. And he did some of the most challenging dramatic stuff right after the separation was announced, so I can only guess how it became part of his process.
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
“I wanted to give credit to an audience to think about the movie, but I don’t like playing the game of Ha, ha, ha! You thought it was that, and it’s not!” —Crowe
cruise:
I’m not someone who lives in the past. I’m a realist. I will
why are you? If you’ve done something, why did you? It’s a life to be
always love Nic, and we have a family together, but I don’t get stuck
counted. I’d also like to go on record to say I think Cameron Diaz was
in, you know, difficult things.
absolutely spectacular in this movie.
crowe:
I don’t know if I share Taylor Hackford’s problem on Proof of
cruise:
All of us make decisions every day, and those decisions not only
Life where controversy seeps into the movie and it becomes, where
reflect on where we end up but also have a ripple effect into other
does the controversy stop and where does the movie begin? To me,
people’s lives. And sometimes people are totally unaware of the effects
Vanilla Sky is clearly a love story made before they were a couple; it
they have on others, and the repercussions of their actions. When I
captures the start of a relationship.
look at the world today, and I see what happened on 11 September, I think that a lot of the way I feel about life is very much in this pic-
cruise:I
want to be with someone who’s fun, who I can have great con-
versations with and who enjoys eating hamburgers late at night on the
ture and this character. It’s a very personal film for me. I’m very proud of it.
beach, as well as, you know, travelling. I’m someone who really enjoys flying airplanes, hiking, going for walks and spending time with my
crowe :
kids. That’s what I like.
film. What are we having for dinner?” You’d want to talk about it. If
I didn’t want people to come out of Vanilla Sky going, “Cute
somebody comes out confused and disillusioned, that would be a big crowe:
The scene right after the accident, when he sees her and she
disappointment. I wanted to give credit to an audience to think about
jumps in his arms, was the first day of filming. I watch that now and
the movie, but I don’t like playing the game of “Ha, ha, ha! You thought
they look at each other in the way you look at somebody that you’ve
it was that, and it’s not!”
just met. It’s fresh. I love that we caught that moment. Yes, they became a couple later, and yes, that surprised me, but in terms of the movie, it captured a moment that no longer exists. cruise:
As far as I know, Penelope is coming down to the Vanilla Sky
premiere in Australia. I don’t feel any animosity from Australians. My kids are half-Australian, and I am very protective of Nic and my family, so if someone has animosity towards me for whatever reason, forget about them. Go to hell. It’s nobody’s business what happened between us.
Everything In Its Right Place russell :
Vanilla Sky asks you to be responsible for the way you feel.
If you love something, why do you? If you’re afraid of something,
57
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Interview // 58
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
Music Matters — A Candid Conversation with Cameron Crowe by Greg Mariotti, The Uncool: Vinyl Films
Do you ever feel any pressure of being Cameron Crowe, the all-
So, no, I don’t feel the pressure to be “music guy”, but music is so
knowing Musical Guru?
much a part of my life. It’s never far away from the whole creative process. I always use music as a metaphor to explain stuff to the
No. That’s a funny question. We went into We Bought A Zoo thinking
actors. I can’t help it. The end result is that it starts to bring out
it would probably be mostly score. We had so much music in Eliza-
the music fan in all the people that are working on the movie.
bethtown. My Morning Jacket and Ryan Adams were always going to be the sound of Elizabethtown, but we went down so many paths that
It also creates some great music discussions on the set. For example,
the movie filled with other records. Strangely, one of the most impor-
Thomas Haden Church is a specialist in a very specific kind of hard
tant songs in the writing of the script, “I Will Be There When You Die,”
rock that he loves. Melodic, urgent, never cheesy. So we’ll have these
by MMJ, never found a home. Similarly, Julie Miller’s “By Way Of
great discussions about Seether or Eddie Trunk’s show, or Craving
Sorrow” never made it into Vanilla Sky. Anyway, the original idea of
Lucy or whoever he’s into at the time. I guess the point is that there’s
We Bought A Zoo was to not play as much music. We’ve been trying
no reason to try to get away from music. Music is inherently part of
to mostly make it a score-based movie, but sure enough… records we
the relationships that I have in life and in the actors we work with.
loved started creeping in. Yeah. I would think that somebody who signed up to work with you It started on the first day. I wasn’t going to play music during the actu-
and walked on set and found that you weren’t playing music during
al takes. I usually do that a lot. But I’m standing out there for a scene
takes might be slightly disappointed.
in a junior high hallway with Matt Damon and Colin Ford. The way Matt was looking, I kept thinking about the Tom Petty song, “Don’t
Yeah. Maybe so. It does add something. You’ll see in just the subtle
Come Around Here No More”. I just said, “I’ve got to play it!” (laughs)
way that people move. I remember when Steven Spielberg visited us
So I played the song during the next take. Matt Damon immediately
on Vanilla Sky… he was about to work with Tom Cruise on Minority
soaked it up and turned to me and said, “That was amazing. You’ve
Report. He saw us doing it and said, “I really need to do that too.” We
got to play that again. And what else do you have?” I don’t think he’d
all had this vision of composer John Williams on set with a boom box
ever acted with music playing during the take.
playing his score on full volume. (laughs) I heard he tried it on Catch Me If You Can.
So we started going down the road with records again. It really is exciting when you pick the right song out of the blue and you play it
Do you ever tire of seeking out new music and just want to listen to
while you’re filming. Then it becomes part of the texture of the movie.
the stuff that makes you feel the most comfortable?
We even played the theme from Local Hero when Peter Riegert was with us. He was the star of that movie, and Local Hero meant a lot to
I can’t help it. New music will find me. There’s stuff that I’m
quite a few of us. And Scarlett Johansson is a huge music fan too,
delinquent in checking out, but before too long, someone will come
she’s made records with Pete Yorn and Massive Attack. She’s an artist
up to me and say, “What’s your favorite new Fleet Foxes track?”
too, and it really comes out in her performance in We Bought A Zoo.
And I’ll say that I’m saving them because I know I’ll love the Fleet
She acted to a lot of Bob Dylan, we did quite a few takes listening to
Foxes. I’m saving it for a car ride or something. But that immediate
Freddie Stevenson’s “If An Alien Astronomer Could See Us.”
look of somebody LOVING new music makes me go home and listen.
59
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
“Something that kind of irks you ultimately can become the very thing that you cannot get enough of. It’s true in life too with relationships for sure.” —Crowe
It’s fun. It’s the game that music lovers always play with other music
to get it.” Of course now, I crave Todd Rundgren and I will forever.
lovers. Also, I listen to a lot of internet radio, which is where the best
The YouTube performances of Todd, I mean I’ve lost entire days going
stuff lives now.
through ‘em. (laughs) I think I’ve over-tweeted this issue with Paul Myers too. Paul wrote a great book on Todd (A Wizard. A True Star.
I love hearing the songs that people connect so hardcore to that they
Todd Rundgren In The Studio). There are a lot of songs and people
have to share it. Someone will play you a song that you will blow your
that begin that way in your life. It’s the best cycle, it’s fandom.
mind too and then you’re off and running again. It’s the greatest cycle in the world.
How about a guilty pleasure that might not have the critical praise?
That goes back to a period I remember when I was thinking that I was
Mid-period Elvis Presley. It’s too easy to love The Sun Sessions. If you
not going to listen to a lot of music and I’m going to just going “love the
really love Elvis, you’re into “Shrimp Boat Song”. Or all that great 60’s
stuff I love” and not chase any new stuff for awhile. That was the day
pop stuff like the Grassroots and Every Mother’s Son.
that Nancy (Wilson) came up to me and said that Heart’s drummer, Denny Carmassi, had an early copy of the new Peter Gabriel album.
What about a review that you wish you could rewrite? I saw your
“You have to hear this song “In Your Eyes”.” I specifically remember
San Diego Door review of Neil Young’s Harvest in 1972 and you (like
her playing me “In Your Eyes” and thinking this is the sound of
many critics) trashed it pretty good.
the future. And then I was back craving new music again. That’s the beautiful thing about music. It doesn’t matter what anybody says about the music business dying. Music will never die. The business will transmute, but you’ll always be able to go down the street and see somebody playing a song. And you’ll want to know what that song is, and suddenly that song has crept into your way of looking at the world. You’ve mentioned Todd Rundgren as someone you didn’t want to like, but couldn’t help yourself… You touch on something that is one of the great things about loving bands, music or movies. Sometimes the ones you love the most are the ones that began by you arguing so aggressively with your friends that the group or the song is shit. It’s like something that kind of irks you ultimately can become the very thing that you cannot get enough of. It’s true in life too with relationships for sure. Because of an album cover or a photo I’d seen, Todd seemed like an irksome dude. He had a smirk on his face. He had such a self-appreciative presentation that made me want to be the guy who said, “I don’t want
60
I remember being really disappointed by Harvest because I heard all those songs on the bootleg of I’m Happy That Y’all Came Down. All that stuff that showed up later on the Massey Hall album that was finally released. I just initially felt like some of Harvest was overproduced. Any songs from that album that really stand the test of time with you? Sure. “Out on the Weekend” was the song that played as we rolled up to the property that became where we shot We Bought A Zoo. It really completed the whole vision of it and we knew we needed to shoot there. Some of Neil Young’s best writing is on that album. Usually I’m fine to have the demo of a song I love. I don’t even need drums. Just the singer and the song… The whole Jack Nitzsche overblown “There’s a World” stuff on Harvest disappointed me. But the songs over time, you just go ‘Oh My God.’ The strings were meant to be there. But still, nothing beats the versions you hear on Massey Hall. Much the same way, there’s bootlegs of Neil playing in ‘92/’93 which is where the version of “Cortez
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
The Killer” that we used in Almost Famous came from. It’s just really
Seeing The Who live really at any point, you marvel over
hard to top solo, acoustic versions of those songs. That’s just where I
Pete Townshend’s incredible rhythm playing which is just
sit as a Neil fan. It’s the same with a lot of other artists as you read the
as important as any lead guitar.
early reviews I did for the Door and L.A. Times. I’m always fighting for the most original version of the song. If you come to me and say
And then seeing a guy named Ledward Ka’apana play in Oahu, Hawaii
that you have the greatest band version of a song or a shitty demo
at a strip mall a couple of years ago. He was playing the most truly
where you can barely hear the vocals where it was first written in a
amazing slack guitar. He’s kind of the Keith Richards of slack guitar.
back room at the guy’s house, give me that one. Give me the versions
That was truly inspiring. So I would pick those three.
of “Watching the Wheels” and “Grow Old With Me” that John Lennon wrote with his son, Sean, crying in the background. Or even the
Would you consider Robert Hilburn, the legendary L.A. Times music
demo of Marvin Gaye working out “Sexual Healing” in his living room
critic, a mentor? Was it him or Danny Goldberg (VP of Swan Song at
in Belgium. The best! Almost every time, those are always going to
that time) who helped you get your first L.A. Times writing assign-
be the most brilliant interpretations of the song. But that’s just me.
ment on Led Zeppelin in 1973?
What has happened with your long-planned Neil Young book with
Absolutely, Robert Hilburn is a shining light for anybody who wants to
photographer/Young archivist Joel Bernstein? Is it a traditional bio
write or read about music. He was really important to me. We’re
or do you have something else planned?
putting together a collection book of the rock journalism I’ve done,
I do. I have a changing concept. We were going to do the cover of Roll-
I really want to treat the book as a primer for how you can function
ing Stone around the times of Archives Vol. 1. The time to get with
as a young journalist. Even today, journalism lives, you know? I get
Neil up at his ranch kept changing due to other projects. We finally
people asking “How can I break into journalism and write about the
got up there after Archives Vol. 1 was released and he was working
music and the artists I love?”. That fever lives in anybody who loves
some of which you’ve collected on the Uncool… thanks by the way!
on Dreamin’ Man. Anyway, we did the most amazing interview with
music and loves to write about it. So the book will have some of the
Neil. He said it was the last interview that he would ever do. It was
stories between the stories. How do you do it? How do you get
a career spanning interview. We drove around his ranch and talked
the access? How do you behave, and how do you do an interview that
about everything. Rolling Stone had a hard time scheduling it since
makes yours different from the others?
Archives Vol. 1 had already come out. Then I heard from Neil and he said that he was coming down to L.A. and wanted us to hear his new
For that 1973 article in the L.A. Times, Led Zeppelin didn’t want to
album that he was working on which turned out to be Le Noise. So
talk to anybody, but Danny Goldberg, their publicist was a former
now we do more interviews based on those songs and the creation of
journalist himself. He wrote for Hit Parader and Circus and for Lisa
that album. We had a big session that was not unlike the Bob Dylan
Robinson’s Rock Scene. He was a sympathetic guy to the plight of
Biograph session where he was talking about songs. Track by Track.
t he jou rnalist. He k new t hat I really wa nted to w rite about Led
What inspired them, what they remind him of today. Just amazing
Zeppelin and I had written about other Atlantic acts and had estab-
stuff. Now, the entire thing is awaiting the release of Archives Vol. 2
lished a relationship with Danny, working together on other stories.
or it got me thinking that we now have enough material to do a Con-
He kind of inched me onto a list of reporters who were much more
versations With Neil Young book. Which would be just as thorough
heavily connected than me who would talk with Led Zeppelin. People
as we were able to be with Billy Wilder. That feels like it would really
like Al Rudis of the Chicago Sun Times and Lisa Robinson, who
create a difference with the Shakey book and be a wonderful thing for
became a good friend and still is.
fans to hear Neil talk about his music through the years in Q & A form. So I asked Robert Hilburn if I could write about Led Zeppelin. He said What did you think of the first volume of the Neil Young Archives?
yes, but that I couldn’t let the artist pay for the trip from San Diego, where I lived, to Los Angeles. I said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll drive!”
Brilliant, and just perfectly complex and beautiful. You don’t think of
I couldn’t even drive at that time. I took the bus, and Neal Preston
Neil Young as being a techhead but he is as geniously precise as any
would pick me up at the station. Bob Hilburn was insistent on journal-
R&D guy you could ever meet. The Archives are the two sides of his
istic integrity, and it was important. It said, basically, that rock
brain on full throttle—the techie and the dreamer.
journalism wasn’t a throwaway pursuit. It was as important as any-
Greatest guitarist you’ve ever seen live in person?
companies pay for your gas. You can’t let the artist inf luence your
thing on the f ront page. He said, “Don’t even let the record
I can’t narrow it to one, so how about three? Joni Mitchell live at the Troubadour (Nov 1972) where she was playing solo and doing all these amazing, odd tunings that were hard to play and hard to copy. Joel Bernstein was the one who kept track of all the tunings, and I think, taught them back to her. She was so original that even she couldn’t keep track! But she was doing all the tunings and playing all these songs that were so intricate, beautiful and hard to play. This was right after the release of For the Roses. It was a quiet tour de force of guitar playing.
coverage by letting them pay for your travel.” He was adamant about that and it was great. It was that relationship that happened over the L.A. Times coverage that made Zeppelin trust us enough to do the Rolling Stone cover. Robert Hilburn is also a great editor. I remember him telling me that you really have to describe who these people are and what position they occupy in the band. “It’s not enough to say, ‘bassist Glenn Hughes.’ Describe him and his style!” I’m really proud of those L.A.
61
Coming Into Focus // Self discovery Through Life & Love
Times articles as they were so beautifully edited by Hilburn.
feel an overall mood. Local Hero was a big, big influence in that. Mark Knopfler’s score really set a tone for a world you create in a movie.
What’s your take on Linda Ronstadt? I’m surprised that she’s never even been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…. do you think it’s due to turning her back on rock/pop or the fact that she
It happened a little in Vanilla Sky with Nancy’s wonderful themes, but I really do want to create one of those movie environments where
wasn’t a songwriter?
when it’s over, you want to go back there and feel that way again.
Let’s campaign because you’re absolutely right. She’s a pivotal figure
Exorcist with a very small amount of music. But to this day when
in many ways for the people she put together and the songwriters she
you hear that one theme or feel that piece of music you go right back
discovered. Forget what an amazing singer she is. I think what hap-
to the tone of that movie. I really like that and that should be We
pens sometimes is that when an artist turns their back and says I’m
Bought A Zoo.
To a completely different end, William Friedkin did that with The
pulling out of the race, they get forgotten. The same thing happened to Laura Nyro. They check out and they don’t spend a lot of time
I heard that Blood Circus’s “Six Foot Under” will be featured in the
reminding you of the things they’ve done. So let us begin a campaign.
Pearl Jam Twenty doc. Will other musicians’ songs play a part as well or will most of the music be courtesy of PJ?
Is it a coincidence that you’ve hired many actors with musical pasts or futures (Zooey Deschanel, Scarlett Johannson, etc…) or passionate music lovers (Cusack, Dunst etc….)? Do you actively seek actors
Yes. “Six Foot Under” is in the documentary. It’s one of the first songs I heard back in Seattle when Bruce Pavitt (Sub-pop founder) was DJing
for roles that have music running through their veins?
at a museum show and played “Six Foot Under” into “Ring My Bell” by
It’s probably not a coincidence at this point. We end up talking about
than I grew up with. That is not a San Diego segue. That feels like the
music pretty early on. There is a difference between people who don’t
future. Sure enough, later that night, we ended up at a Mother Love
appreciate music or think musically and those who do. Those who do
Bone show at the Central. It all felt like that KCMU (now KEXP, of
are able to get the metaphor you naturally use when you’re directing
course) sensibility that I love so much. Pearl Jam Twenty begins with
which translates onto the screen. A music lover is often the exact
that mood setting and the idea is to put you back into that frame of
actor who soaks music up when you watch music and film together.
mind. 1988-89 Seattle, where the music belongs to you. You have the
So pretty much if it’s somebody who loves music you will feel it later
music playing in clubs that nobody else has. You have KMCU at the far
in the editing room.
left end of the dial. They will play Thelonious Monk, Anita Ward and
Anita Ward. I was thinking, “Holy Shit.” That’s a different sensibility
Blood Circus. PJ20 begins by putting you in that place. Matt Damon has discussed the Eddie Vedder/Neil Young-heavy tape he received with the script. Can we expect a lot of Vedder and Young
The soundtrack will have quite a few rarities and some demos from a
songs on the Zoo soundtrack?
few different eras in the band’s history. Kevin Shuss (and Josh Taft) deserve a lot of credit for that – Kevin in particular was filming the
I think it’s going to lean heavily into one or two artists, but not neces-
band as it was all starting to break wide open. He’s still filming them.
sarily either of them. We did play a lot of Eddie, Neil and PJ during
Chris Perkel, Kevin Klauber and Adi Cabigting, our editors on PJ20,
the movie. It’s kind of revealing itself now. There is another artist who
have been deep in the cave curating this visually and sonically, along
is campaigning in the editing room with his music ala Cat Stevens
with Andy Fischer (Vinyl Films) of course, for what has been liter-
in Harold and Maude. We’ll see how far it gets.
ally years. It’s been our passion project for a long time. The crew all deserve a big thanks. You’ll be able to hopefully, between the movie
Will there be a traditional score on We Bought A Zoo? It won’t be a traditional score, but there will be more score than usual on this one. It won’t feel like a collection of records as much as you’ll
62
and the soundtrack, really feel the band from the inside out. It’s one of the gifts of having met them so early in their careers. They gave me a lot of cassettes and work tapes, and I kept everything. It’s been a little bit like homework for them, I know, to go back over all the
A Cameron Crowe Film Festival
artifacts… but like Neil Young, they’re able to be objective and look at their own stuff the way a fan would. Which is one of the themes of the movie – a band made up of fans, kept alive by fans, and now their concerts are a celebration of that fact. Everybody made it, together… One last question, do you prefer the mono or stereo version of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds? Because it’s one of the greatest recordings ever, for the pure feel of the songs, I’ll take any version of Pet Sounds that’s available. I like every version of Pet Sounds. Especially bootlegs or box-set versions of the songs that contain Brian Wilson’s studio chatter. Knowing Brian’s fondness for mono, I’ll always appreciate that sixties sensibility, but I’ll take any version you got.
63