Fame on Film Paper - Erin Carney

“One day, you will be cool,” is the advice that our hero, William Miller receives from his older sister in the beginning of the movie Almost Famous. Along with the advice from his sister, he is also bequeathed with a pile of her records that ultimately start him on his long journey to “cool.” William develops a fondness of writing and a love of music. He is a fifteen year old high school student who spends most his time writing for the high school newspaper. During an attempt to interview Black Sabbath, William stumbles upon a small band on the verge of becoming famous – Stillwater. It doesn’t take long before William is touring with the band and putting together a story for Rolling Stone magazine. Throughout his voyage on the Almost Famous Tour bus of 1973, William befriends some of Stillwater’s biggest fans, realizes the out-of-control egos that come along with the rock and roll lifestyle, and he finds out exactly what can happen when fame goes to one’s head. When William’s experience with the band is over and he finishes his article for Rolling Stone, it is obvious that the fame in this movie is simply a person’s struggle to, one day, “be cool.”

Lester Bangs, editor of Cream magazine, becomes a mentor for William during the course of the movie. After some time has passed on the tour, and William does not have any substance to his article, he calls Lester for help. Lester comes up with the framework for which William can base his article, one single sentence that also manages to sum up the entire movie; “Stillwater is a mid-level band, struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom.” At the time in which the movie begins, Stillwater is not quite the opening act kind of band. It is the band that opens for bigger and better bands like Black Sabbath. As the movie goes on, the band becomes more and more popular and the audience watches them transform into stars. They start playing larger venues, their fan base increases, they hire a well-known manager, and they even get their very own tour plane. As the band emerges into the spotlight, it becomes a bit more noticeable that there are still personal issues that need to be addressed in order to prevent future dilemmas.

Almost Famous is a classic story that teaches us to think about taking fame with the ever-proverbial grain of salt. As the members of Stillwater become more and more wrapped up in their own success and their own fame, they lose sight of their original purpose to entertain and play music. They are so concerned with social scene that goes hand in hand with becoming famous; they ignore William when he tries to get his interviews for the article that he is writing for Rolling Stone. None of the band members take William seriously and because of this, they almost lose their shot at the cover story for the magazine. When William finally gets a chance to sit down with Jeff, the lead singer, the most memorable thing he has to say is, “the chicks are great.” As for Russell, the guitar player, he only has one thing to say to William, “Just make us look cool.” At this point, Russell isn’t concerned with talking about music or the band. He isn’t even thinking about giving William a decent interview. Russell is telling William to write about anything in this “industry of cool;” whatever he wants as long as it makes the band look good and doesn’t take up too much of Russell’s precious partying time.

As Stillwater is spiraling into the spotlight, William is asked by the band to follow. Some of the members of the band view William as the enemy, knowing that he has the power to make them look like stars or send careers plunging down the toilet. However, as long as William makes the band look cool, it is smart to keep him around. When it seems as though the band members like having William around, he feels wanted and is more likely to write positive things about them. It becomes a whole system of recycling this coolness. Despite Lester’s advice to William that he “cannot make friends with the rock stars,” William is none-the-less still a fan who wants to give Stillwater the benefit of the doubt and like them. A phone conversation takes place between Russell and Elaine, William’s mother, and she is convinced that the band only likes him as long has he makes them rich. Although it has not been verbally stated until this point; it is clear that Elaine can see through the pseudo friendship.

As for the fans in Almost Famous; they are portrayed in an almost genuine way. There are several references throughout the movie that the Stillwater fans are not there because it gives them a chance to be close to someone famous; however, they are loyal people who are fans because they genuinely love the music. The girls who follow the band around do not refer to themselves as groupies. They are band-aids. As Penny Lane, head band-aid, explains it, “Groupies want to sleep with someone famous….band-aids are here for the music.” The motivations of the fans in this movie are pure and simple; they like the music. Sapphire, a Stillwater fan, explains why it is upsetting that there are certain fans that only come around to be close to these icons. “[Some people] don’t even know what it is to be a fan. To truly love a silly little piece of music or some band so much that it hurts.” As Stillwater’s fame rises, the men in the band begin to treat their female fans as commodities. Commodities eventually sold to a different band during a poker game.

Throughout the movie, one might think that because William is getting to be so chummy with rock stars and becoming introduced into this fabulous lifestyle of the rich and famous, his mind and his ego would follow in that same direction. This is not the case. William is caught up in all of the advantages that come along with such a lavish life; however he is truly able to see the negativity that also comes along with it. William and the band members are flying in the plane on their way to a new venue when they are caught in a storm. The plane is crashing down and all of the guys are spewing out faux apologies and confessions, when finally William brings up the fact that Stillwater’s biggest fan (Penny) almost died the previous night when they were all too busy partying with Bob Dylan. William is disgusted with the fact that even in the moments before their possible deaths, the band members are still unable to rise above what fame has done to them. They are all so blinded by the fame, that they have completely lost sight of their priorities.

Almost Famous, as depicted by Lester Bangs, is essentially about the “ups” and the “downs” that a band goes through during the long journey to becoming famous. The fans in this movie seem to respect the music, rather than to gawk at the rock stars. It is the rock stars who are more affected by the fame. The money and the chicks and the parties associated with fame do not make Stillwater “look cool.” After William’s article for Rolling Stone magazine is printed, the members of the band realize that they look like amateurs. It isn’t until the end of the movie, after the near-death experience, that Stillwater remembers the real reasons for becoming a band in the first place. They didn’t start playing music with the intentions to be cool one day. They began playing, because they love music. In the last scene of the movie, William asks Russell what it is that he loves about music. Russell answers, “to begin with…everything.”