The life and works of journalist, writer, actor, and director Cameron Crow By Robin Steeley
Cameron Crowe was born July 13th, 1957 in Palm Springs, California and raised by his Dad, James in San Diego. Crowe showed his talents early and was considered gifted from an early age. He skipped three grades over the years and was considerably younger then the rest of his peers which must have been exceptionally hard, this compiled with a rare kidney disease kept him often isolated. He was raised in a house that didn’t allow any kind of rock music and it wasn’t until Cameron won tickets to see Iron Butterfly from a local radio station before his dream for a career in entertainment began.
He started out in a band called the Masked Hamster and soon went on to other things, including journalism as Crowe began writing for his local school newspaper. By age 13 was contributing music reviews for an underground rag called The San Diego Door, which eventually led him to corresponding with legendary rock critic Lester Bangs who was then the Editor for national rock magazine Creem, and before long Crowe was a contributing writer for Creem, Penthouse, Playboy, Crawdaddy, Music World, Circus, and the Los Angeles Times.
Soon after graduating from high school at age 15 in 1972, Crowe met Ben Fong-Torres, the editor of Rolling Stone. Before long he had become a contributing editor for the magazine working with influential players such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and Led Zeppelin just to name a few.
After appearing briefly in the 1978 film ‘American Hot Wax’ Crowe decided he wanted to take a different turn in his career although he would continue writing over the years he began focusing on writing a book about teens growing up in the late 70’s. He went so far as to go undercover at 22 years old in a southern California high school to research the book, which turned out to be a number one bestseller entitled “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and was soon picked up by Universal Pictures who signed Crowe to write the screenplay. The movie became an instant hit and has since become a cult classic.
Crowe continued to write over the years, writing liner notes for Zeppelin, Frampton, lynyrd Skynyrd and earning a Grammy nomination for his work on bob Dylan’s Biography Three Disc Set. In 1982 Crowe met Nancy Wilson from legendary band heart and the two soon married in 1986 before eventually welcoming twin boys into their family.
In 1989, Crowe began directing movies full time, starting with his original screenplay ‘Say Anything’ followed by the romantic comedy Singles, both of which were received with critical acclaim. His next movie would become a box office hit with Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise; an actor Crowe would continue working with throughout the years. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards.
Crowe’s next big hit would be my favorite movie of all time, ‘Almost Famous’ and what I believe is to be his most poignant and successful film yet, the movie was the story of a ten year journey highlighting Crowe’s experiences starting out in journalism and the rock industry. It was in150 critic's Top 10 List's for 2000 and received six Golden Globe and four Academy Award nominations. Almost Famous received two Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical and Best Supporting Actress (Kate Hudson), and Cameron received his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Crowe didn’t stop there, he soon directed ‘Vanilla Sky’ a remake of the Spanish film Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) which started Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, and Cameron Diaz. The film grossed over $200 million in box office sales. He continued on to work in music videos for artists such as Tom Petty, Paul Westerberg, Singles, and Stillwater’s “Fever Dog” from Almost Famous, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam. He even did a commercial for the Gap that starred Kate Beckinsale and Orlando Bloom.
The now legendary director is currently working on a new film, entitled ‘Elizabethtown’ and starring Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarrandon, which is said to be a comedic drama, and filming is slated to begin soon with the hopes of a Summer 2005 Release.
Writer - Filmography
1. Elizabethtown (2005)
2. Vanilla Sky (2001) (screenplay)
3. Almost Famous (2000)
4. Jerry Maguire (1996)
5. Singles (1992)
6. Say Anything... (1989)
The Wild Life (1984)
7. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) (book) (screenplay)
Producer - Filmography
1. Elizabethtown (2005)
2. Hitting It Hard (2002)
3. Vanilla Sky (2001)
4. Almost Famous (2000)
5. Pearl Jam: Single Video Theory (1998)
6. Jerry Maguire (1996)
7. Singles (1992)
8. The Wild Life (1984)
Director - Filmography
1. Elizabethtown (2005)
2. Vanilla Sky (2001)
3. Almost Famous (2000)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
4. Singles (1992)
5. Say Anything... (1989)
... aka ...Say Anything... (USA: promotional title)
Actor - Filmography
1. Minority Report (2002)
2. Singles (1992)
3. The Wild Life (1984)
4. American Hot Wax (1978)
5. The Other Side of the Wind (1972)
Miscellaneous Crew - Filmography
1. Sugar Town (1999) (thanks)
2. Jackson Browne: Going Home (1994) (TV) (interviews)
3. "Fast Times" (1986) TV Series (creative consultant)
Composer - Filmography
1. Vanilla Sky (2001) (song "I Fall Apart")
2. Almost Famous (2000) (songs)
Himself - Filmography
1. Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)
2. Hitting It Hard (2002)
3. Prelude to a Dream (2002)
4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High: The E! True Hollywood Story (2002)
5. AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
6. An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson (2001)
7. Young Hollywood Awards (2001)
8. The 73rd Annual Academy Awards (2001) - Winner: Best Original Screenplay
9. The Beatles Revolution (2000)
10. Welcome to Hollywood (2000)
11. All Access: The Making of 'Almost Famous'
