Almost Famous     Directed by...................................................Cameron Crowe Written by......................................................Cameron Crowe                                          Cast                                        Russell Hammond.............................................Billy Crudup Elaine Miller.........................................Frances McDormand Penny Lane........................................................Kate Hudson Jeff Bebe..................................................................Jason Lee William Miller.......................................................Patrick Fugit                               Other Information                       2000 122 Minutes R In English

From Cameron Crowe, the writer and director of Jerry Maguire, comes Almost Famous, a film that was nominated for four Academy Awards and winner of Best Original Screenplay. Set in 1973, Almost Famous chronicles the funny and often poignant coming-of-age of 15-year-old music fanatic William (Patrick Fugit). Having managed to land an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview the up-and-coming band Stillwater, fronted by lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), and with the help of gorgeous "band aid" Penny Lane (Oscar nominee Kate Hudson), William finds himself drawn into the band's inner circle, despite the objections of his over-protective mother (Frances McDormand). As he becomes less an observer and more a participant in the band's dynamics, William learns a life-changing lesson about the importance of family—the kind we inherit, and the kind we create.