Watch ‘Almost Famous’ Band Stillwater At Rock School In New Behind-The-Scenes Video
The Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases of ‘Almost Famous’ are out now as the iconic film continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Today sees the release of the 4K Ultra HD and limited-edition Blu-ray re-release of the coming-of-age rock classic Almost Famous. The new versions come filled with a touring bus load of new features, including interviews with writer-director Cameron Crowe, extended scenes, a look at the casting and costumes, and more. To celebrate the release, Paramount Home Entertainment is sharing an exclusive look at one of these behind-the-scenes features that shows Almost Famous’ Stillwater going to Rock School. You can check it out below.
The clip finds Jason Lee, Nancy Wilson, and Crowe reminiscing about what it was like to be in the pre-production rehearsals where they created the sound of Stillwater. “Writing these songs was a stone blast,” recalls Crowe. “Channeling all our favorite bands that kind of, sort of have been in that position. Like, they’re not Led Zeppelin, but they sure like Led Zeppelin.”
“It’s a conglomerate of styles that came from Bad Company, Allman Brothers, and a little bit of the era-specific type sounds and melodies,” adds Wilson.
At the end of the teaser video, fans can witness Stillwater (Billy Crudup, John Fedevich, Mark Kozelek, and Lee) playing the Stillwater track “Love Comes and Goes”. And if you look closely, you just might spot Peter Frampton joining the fictional Almost Famous band.
The Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases of Almost Famous come as the iconic film continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In addition, UMe recently released the movie’s seminal soundtrack as a 102-song box set. Available now digitally, physical configurations like a 13-disc box, a pair of six-LP editions, and a five-CD super deluxe set begin shipping August 20. There’s also a 12-inch EP of Stillwater tracks performed by Wilson and Frampton, a 2xLP vinyl of the original soundtrack, and a Record Story Day exclusive featuring seven original Stillwater demos.
Almost Famous is semi-autobiographical, as Cameron Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone. It is based on his experiences touring with rock bands Poco, the Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Crowe has discussed how during this period he fell in love, and met his musical heroes—these events represented in the film as happening to William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit), the boyish main character.
The film was initially released in 2000. Two decades later, the Oscar/BAFTA/Golden Globe Award-winning film remains one of the sweetest love letters to the genre, one that deftly captured the look, the sound, the feel, the attitude of what rock ‘n’ roll meant to its creators, its most fervent adherents, its hangers-on and its worried parents during a golden era of pop music.
