"If a man from the future had come up to me and said that this little movie [would] go to Broadway, I would've said, 'You're on acid, but you're entertaining,'" says Cameron Crowe
Penny Lane and Russell Hammond's late-night dialogue now appears in the adaptation's latest single, "The Night-Time Sky's Got Nothing on You"
The scene that didn’t make it into the movie takes place after Stillwater lead a group singalong of Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air,” while Anna Paquin’s Polexia Aphrodisia secretly describes Penny and Russell’s three-act play of hookups to William Miller. The couple meet at an ice machine in the dark, with Russell (Billy Crudup) dropping cubes in his glass as he simultaneously drops what he loves about Penny (Kate Hudson). “The way you turn a hotel into a home….the way you pick up strays wherever you go…”
The half-autobiographical story centers on Crowe‘s early days of writing for Rolling Stone in the 1970s. The film starred Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jason Lee. Almost Famous follows Fugit, Crowe’s stand-in, as he travels on tour with a fictional rock band called Stillwater.
The Almost Famous soundtrack was pressed on vinyl so few times that the original record is rare — a dream for every collector who just wants to light a candle and see their entire future. Thankfully, Cameron Crowe expanded the soundtrack into a limited-edition box set, last July via UMe. (Full Story on Rolling Stone)
The news arrives after the film celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, which included a podcast, cast reunion, and an unearthing of Crowe’s archive. The upcoming box set marks the first-ever release of all the music featured in the film — from all five Led Zeppelin songs to the cast singalong of “Tiny Dancer” — as well as beloved bits of dialogue like, “One day, you’ll be cool,” and “Don’t take drugs!”
The “Uber Box” edition contains 103 tracks spread across five CDs, seven LPs, and a seven-inch of Stillwater’s “Fever Dog.” It also includes William Miller’s Rolling Stone cover story on the band, a 40-page photo book, backstage passes, Lester Bang’s Creem business card, and more.
An integral part of the box set is Stillwater’s music, which was written by Crowe, Nancy Wilson, and Peter Frampton. Songs like “Fever Dog,” “Love Thing,” and their backstage huddle “Piggyback Ride” are included. You can hear “Love Comes and Goes” in the video above.
Crowe will also release the film in 4K Ultra HD in a limited-edition Steelbook, as well as a Blu-ray, out July 13th. “We are extremely proud to revisit Almost Famous with a very special bounty of goodness,” he said in a statement. “For the first time, we’ve created a deluxe soundtrack that features nearly every song from the film, along with Nancy Wilson’s wonderfully evocative score. We’re also thrilled to finally preserve both versions of the film, along with a collection of rare new bonus features, on these beautiful new 4K and Blu-ray releases as part of Paramount Presents. Long live physical media!”
“Something magical happened when the actor and the scene and the music worked together,” he said of the soundtrack. “Often it’s a shotgun marriage, but every once in a while, everything clicks. That’s when a movie can sear your soul.”
Added Wilson: “We went to great painstaking lengths to bring some rich detail and authenticity to paint a real picture of living the life of rock. I always feel proud and happy to have been a big part of this wonderful film.”
