cameron crowe & bebe buell

8/13/2019 Cameron Crowe & Bebe Buell

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Bebe Buell & Cameron Crowe Talk Magazine

Wild Things: Cameron Croweand Bebe Buell

The kid writer and the beautiful rock chick knew each other for real,

when it was all happening.

Will the real Penny Laneplease stand up? Kate Hudsons career-

maing per!ormance inAlmost Famousis based partially on a person

who really did e"ist# !ormer $ord model% Playboy playmate% and rocer

Bebe Buell% whos also the mother o! mo&ie star% Li& Tyler'

LieFamousPenny% Buell was ne&er a (groupie') Writer*director

Cameron Crowe understood this% and cle&erly dubbed the wonder!ul%

&ibrant% independent girls who li&ed and died !or roc +n roll% (Band

,ids') (We inspire the bands%) Penny says in the !ilm'

uch was the case!or Bebe% !or whom Crowe named the character% .e!!

Bebe% /lead singero! the !ictional band% tillwater0 in the !ilm' Bebe and

Todd 1undgren% whose seminalSomething/Anythingalbum appears

in the !ilms opening credits% li&ed together !rom 2345 to 2346' Crowe

went on the road with them in 2347' 8n her re!reshingly !unny andcandid memoir%Rebel eart! An AmericanRock n Roll "ourney%

which t' 9artins Press will publish this summer% Buell recalls those

heady days o! post-Hullabaloo with 9ic and Keith% Bowie and 1od%

,erosmith% and :l&is Costello' The boo% written with ;ictor Bocris%

was planned long be!ore the mo&ie' ,ll good (Band-,ids) now about

timing'

Cameron Crowe# or Cityin 2347? They

completely catch that whole time me being able to lea&e home and go

to =ew >or'

Bebe Buell# 8 remember you being with us' 8 thought you always looed

lie Todds little brother' 8t was so much !un@


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CC# , couple o! the pictures were on the wall when we maring the

mo&ie' Two o! the people in the picture loo timeless' Ane is ust stuc

in 47' That would be me' >ou and Todd e"ist in any time'

BB# 8t was an innocent% magical time'

CC# >ou did an inter&iew with#o$o% in which you told a great

storyabout going to a tones concert with your mom' 8t had all the

innocence that whole !eeling that youd oined the circus'

BB# 8 started something in this &ery sedate crowd' ,nd 8 went marching

up there with my 8nstamatic camerabecause 8 wanted a picture o!

Brian .ones in that pinstripe suit playing harmonica' 8t was a &ision' 8did it% 8 remember being rescued by Keith 1ichards' When youre 22

years old% and that happens% it lea&es a lasting impression' 8 wanted to

be rescued again and again'

CC# 8n the screenplay &ersion% theres a longer speech that Kate

Hudsonga&e that 8 must say is a tribute to Bebe' 8ts about how she

!irst went to a concert and almost got crushed but was sa&ed and pulled

up on stage' The idea was Kate was sa&ed and pulled bacstage' They

ga&e her a Coe and a lemon% and she ne&er went home'

BB# 8 always thought your story inRolling StoneD on Todd was going

to be a co&er story'

CC# o did 8'

BB# ,nd tillwater seemed lie Todd% Peter $rampton% and Bad

Companyall rolled into one' ,nd Penny lane was lie a lot o! women 8

met% with a roc n roll grandeur'CC# >ou and Todd both were these towering !igures' ,nd we were all so

young'

BB# 8 wondered in the mo&ie i! it was Todd who denied e&erything'


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CC# =o that was combination' There was a =eil >oung co&er tory that 8

wored on but at the last minute% he said% +>oure a nice guy% but 8 dont

want to be on the co&er% and 8m tellingRolling Stone8 ne&er

authoriEed this story' 8 had to call his manager /:lliot 1oberts0 and hewent bac to =eil' ome o! that was the basis o! the story'

BB# 8 lo&ed it because you !inally made such a real roc n roll mo&ie' 8

started to cry when 8 realiEed you named the singer .e!! Bebe'

CC# There were so many clues' Perhaps you noticed the time-

honoredSomething/Anythingcassette in the opening credits?

BB# >our wi!e% =ancy% did most o! the music !or this?

CC# he did the guitar interludes and then we wrote the tillwater stu!!%

which means 8 said% +Lets rip o!! Bad Company'

BB# 8 !eels real% not lie %el&et 'oldmine% but completely authentic'

CC# %el&et 'oldmine!elt lie a !ans !antasy mo&ie' Todd Haynes had

the same ind o! dri&e% but 8 wanted this to !eel more lie a diary or a

collection o! arti!acts !rom the inside looing out'

BB# The best line in the whole mo&ie is when $rances 9coure e"actly right' 8 got it by way o! 9ichelle 9eyer'

BB# he was the best@ Theyd all go +8ts all happening' Fodhead@

Fodhead@

CC# 8 !orgot about +Fodhead@


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BB# 8&e seen it at least !i&e times' 8 cry e&ery time the (Tiny


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CC# >es% and she !inally sur!aced' he was !rom an


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CC# ,nd thats what Kate caught on to'

BB# The de&il-may-care attitude' 8t was the guys who decided who they

wanted to meet@ 8ts not always the girls who are on the prowl'

CC# >ears later% 8 would run into one o! these guys' Within a minute

hed say% +

cameron crowe & bebe buell

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