EXHIBITS
Almost Famous and Authenticity: The 70s
The 1970s
Music
Cameron Crowe went to great lengths to ensure that Jason Lee and Billy Crudup would pull off the '70s rocker vibe. Crowe bought an extensive video history of rock-n-roll for Jason Lee and had Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant watch the film before it was released (Goldstein). With the approval of these rock gods, Lee and Crudup's portrayals pass the authenticity test.
The soundtrack of Almost Famous consists almost entirely of music that the characters in the film could have listened to. The only exceptions are the songs written for the movie, covers of songs that had not been released although the original versions had, and Black Sabbath's "Wishing Well," which was released in 1980. This final and unexplained inconsistency is made more interesting by the fact that on Cameron Crowe's website, this song was marked as a priority to take place during the scene where William tells Stillwater that they are going to be on the cover of Rolling Stone ("Almost Famous Soundtrack"). The track's refrain calls out "Don't you know that I might be your wishing well?" suggesting William's frustration at being treated poorly when his work could either positively or negatively impact the band. While this break from the time period damages the film's authenticity on the surface level, it reveals more about William and his struggle with authenticity.
Costuming
Emma Hope Allwood interviewed Almost Famous's costume designer, Betsy Heimann, in an article detailing what went into the film's clothing. Unlike the music, which was almost all borrowed from the seventies, nearly every article of clothing in the film was made with the film in mind. The only clothing that may have been from the seventies were thrifted jeans. Betsy Heimann drew mainly from photographs of Neil Young's "Time Fades Away" tour in 1973 in order to maintain an authentic look (Allwood).
One of the most iconic articles of clothing in the film, Penny Lane's coat, had no photographic references to tie it to the era. The coat was included for more symbollic reasons. Heimann explains in Allwood's article that "[Penny Lane] was so vulnerable on the inside and so strong on the outside, that this coat was her armour." Heimann further explores this symbolism with the transparent shirt that Penny wears when she cries in front of William, showing that she is a vulnerable human being for the first time in the film. (Allwood). Just as "Wishing Well" did, this break from authenticity occurs in order to make a character feel more genuine. The audience understands more about Penny Lane because of that coat.
Allwood, Emma Hope. "What You Never Know About the Fashion in Almost Famous." Dazed, 15 Sept. 2015.
http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/26194/1/what-you-never-knew-about-the-fashion-in-almost-famous. Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.
"Almost Famous Soundtrack." The Uncool. Vinyl Films. 2015.
http://www.theuncool.com/films/almost-famous/almost-famous-soundtrack/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.
Goldstein, Patrick. "This Time, It's Personal; A '70s Rock Film Co-Starring... Mom?" Los Angeles Times. 2000. http://search.proquest.com/newsstand/docview/421542010/abstract/C6E11637932A49A2PQ/1?accountid=14761. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.