The Big Picture

• Almost Famous is a loose retelling of Cameron Crowe's own experiences as a teenage journalist for Rolling Stone.
• Real-life journalists Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres were pivotal in shaping Crowe's career and were included in the film.
• The character Penny Lane was based on a combination of Bebe Buell, Pamela Des Barres, and Pennie Lane Trumbull, with Trumbull having the greatest influence.

Boy has a passion for writing. Boy starts writing for an underground music magazine. Boy gets noticed by a major publication. Boy meets girl. Boy travels with a touring rock band for weeks. By most accounts, this premise seems far-fetched, but for Cameron Crowe — the screenwriter, director, and former teen Rolling Stone journalist — these events are a loose retelling of his formative years as a rock journalist. Almost Famous, the brightest light of Crowe’s work, follows a Crowe-esque teen, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), as he tours with the fictional rock band Stillwater.

Though Almost Famous is a beloved cult classic nowadays, it was ironically outshined upon its release in 2000 by the re-release of The Exorcist — a film from the same year in which Almost Famous is set. But with such a hard-to-believe-this-would-actually-happen plot, it’s worth looking into what’s fact, fiction, and embellishment in Almost Famous. As mentioned, Almost Famous is inspired by Crowe’s adolescent years as the youngest journalist that Rolling Stone has ever had, having been published in the magazine at just 16 years old.

'Almost Famous' Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres are Based on Real-Life Journalists

In Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe included journalists who were pivotal in shaping his career: Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres. Bangs was portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who, at the time of filming, was working through the flu. The real Bangs died of an accidental overdose while trying to self-medicate from a bad case of the flu (and even in a further somber comparison, Hoffman also died from an accidental overdose). Bangs and Crowe kept a close correspondence. In Almost Famous, William's first contact with Fong-Torres is over the phone, where Fong-Torres tells him that he thinks he should be writing for Rolling Stone. It isn’t until the end of the film that William and Fong-Torres actually meet in person and Fong-Torres realizes that William is a teenager. This differs from how Crowe and Fong-Torres met in real life.

In the documentary Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres, we learn that Crowe met Fong-Torres at a Rolling Stones concert in 1973. Fong-Torres had been following the band’s tour along with Annie Leibovitz. Crowe introduced himself to Fong-Torres as a freelance writer. That night, Fong-Torres assigned Crowe to write 750 words about the band Poco. While this differs from Almost Famous, Fong-Torres didn’t realize the guy he had just assigned to cover a rock band was only 15 years old. Fong-Torres would later discover Crowe’s actual age when he called his home and Crowe’s sister picked up. Learning that Crowe was only a teenager, Fong-Torres added a note of Crowe’s age in an article he wrote. Fong-Torres has also said that the only thing he had in common with his Almost Famous version, played by Terry Chen, was the loudness of his shirts.

Which Real Bands Inspired Stillwater in 'Almost Famous'?

Almost Famous's fictional band, Stillwater, was inspired by bands like Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Eagles. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin also inspired a line in the movie. If anyone has watched Almost Famous, that line is probably obvious: “I’m a golden god,” Billy Crudup’s Russell Hammond yells as he jumps into the pool at a Topeka house party. With his blonde locks and world fame, it’s perhaps not a surprise how Plant came to think of himself as such. Initially, another blonde man was slated to play Russell Hammond: Brad Pitt. Almost Famous had a shuffling act when it came to finding and locking down actors, and Pitt was one of the cards that fell out of the deck. When Crudup was cast to play Russell when Pitt dropped out, Crowe kept the “golden god” quote despite Crudup being a brunette.

Though Almost Famous’s Stillwater was an amalgamation of rock bands, there was actually a real-life band called Stillwater. Hailing from Georgia (not Troy, Michigan), Stillwater managed to be signed to the same label as the Allman Brothers and had a minor hit. In 1973, Crowe spent ten days following the Allman Brothers on their tour. Gregg Allman initially denied Crowe’s accounts to Rolling Stone’s fact-checkers because he was more open to Crowe about the toll of losing his brother than he expected to be. Eventually, he did corroborate the story, just as how Russell Hammond initially said William lied, only to later admit that what he wrote was factual.

Who Is Penny Lane Based on in 'Almost Famous'?

The most enchanting element of the film is, of course, Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). The ethereal “Band Aid” was herself an amalgamation of three women: Bebe Buell, Pamela Des Barres, and, of course, Pennie Lane Trumbull. Buell is a singer and former model who was active in the ‘70s rock scene. She also dated Todd Rundgren and Steven Tyler. She’s been hailed as someone who helped open the door for female artists and promoted sexual freedom.

Des Barres has a more complicated relationship with Almost Famous. In an interview with Vulture, Des Barres castigated the film and Crowe for not crediting her influence on Penny Lane. Among Des Barres’ issues with the film, she thinks Penny Lane doesn’t embrace her groupie lifestyle, choosing instead to be called a Band Aid. Des Barres also said that Crowe initially denied her influence on the character, only to later admit that she did partly inspire Penny Lane. Des Barres has also criticized the most iconic scene in Almost Famous — when the tour bus sings “Tiny Dancer” together — saying that something like that would never have happened on an actual rock tour. Her retelling of the rock scene paints a grittier picture of rock and roll in the ‘70s compared to the golden beams Almost Famous imbues it with.

And, of course, there’s the Pennie Lane behind Almost Famous' Penny Lane. Out of the three women who helped bring Hudson’s character into existence, it appears that Pennie Lane Trumbull had the greatest influence. Des Barres claimed that Kate Hudson's Penny Lane looked like her, which could be true, but looking at a picture of Trumbull in her youth, it’s clear that Hudson was styled after her. Trumbull even assembled a group called The Flying Garter Girls, which the Band Aids were modeled after. Trumbull was interviewed for the podcast Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty. In many ways, Trumbull seems to fuel the elegant quality that Penny Lane has; she liked riding horses, helped out her parents, and was athletic — not what most people would expect from a girl who spent so much time with rock stars. But that was part of her charm: she was different from the scene in all the right ways.

Trumbull is the only woman Cameron Crowe credited as inspiring Penny Lane. And as Penny Lane ended up making good on her goal to go to Morocco, Trumbull retreated from the rock scene when she was ready for something calmer. What’s more ironic about Trumbull influencing such an iconic character is that she wasn’t a prolific groupie. As she said in an interview with Oregon Music News, her place in the rock world was more niche. She recalls that period of her life as beautiful, exuding a warmth that’s so evident in the film.

How Did Cameron Crowe's Childhood Influence 'Almost Famous'?

Much like the people portrayed in the film, Cameron Crowe’s home life was likewise reflected in Almost Famous with both accuracies and inaccuracies. In the film, William’s father died when William was very young. In reality, Crowe’s father passed away in 1989 when Crowe was already grown up. But Crowe’s mother, Alice, did influence William’s mother, Elaine (Frances McDormand). Alice was a professor and active in social causes. During filming, Alice was weary of how she’d be portrayed, and McDormand assured her that it wouldn’t be a caricature. The two women ended up getting along well during filming. William's sister, Anita (Zooey Deschanel), was inspired by Crowe’s sister, Cindy. In the film and real life, his mother and sister were estranged, but Almost Famous helped heal their relationship.

Almost Famous is one of those films you wish there were more of. In many ways, the movie signifies the end of an era: films like it are hardly made anymore and journalists, even for major publications like Rolling Stone, no longer have weeks to spend with a band for a story. Though it’s a film about a bygone era, it can teleport viewers back to a very special time. As Penny Lane says, “You’re home.”

Almost Famous is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

Watch on Apple TV+