Cameron Crowe wants his movies to do just one thing: affect lives.
He showed us the money in “Jerry Maguire” and introduced us to Jeff Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” He got us singing along to “Tiny Dancer” in “Almost Famous” and inspired us to blast Peter Gabriel through a boombox above our heads in “Say Anything.” In “Elizabethtown,” out Friday, he proves that we can go home again.
In the midst of all of the memorable scenes, songs and dialogue from Crowe’s films, one thing cannot be denied: He’s a sentimental guy who makes personal movies meant to be remembered by moviegoers.
Sure, “Vanilla Sky” wasn’t based on his experiences, but Crowe isn’t hesitant to put his own life onscreen. During an interview last week at Chicago’s Four Seasons Hotel, the writer/director said his latest effort doesn’t make him feel so vulnerable.
“In many ways, ‘Almost Famous’ felt more scarily personal,” he said. “Not everything is achingly personal in [‘Elizabethtown’]. What I really wanted to do was honor the feel of a stranger in a strange land, when the strange land is actually … your family root system.”
Of course, “Elizabethtown” has a strong connection to Crowe’s life. The story is based on his experiences coping with his father’s fatal heart attack.
The film follows Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom), who meets and falls for flight attendant Claire (Kirsten Dunst) as he goes to his father’s small Kentucky hometown–Crowe’s dad was from Elizabethtown, Ky.–to claim his dad’s body.
“That scene where Orlando comes into the family kitchen for the visitation dinner, that was a scene I wanted to get right,” Crowe said. “That was one of those scenes where you just go, ‘I want to make the movie to get that scene.’ And also, getting to know my dad a lot after he died was a feeling I felt close to.”
Crowe has said Bloom was his first pick for the role of Drew, even when scheduling conflicts seemed to end the actor’s involvement.
That’s when Ashton Kutcher stepped in.
“We passed through Ashton’s world for a time,” Crowe told the San Jose Mercury News. “But … it was really only Orlando I wanted. I missed him in the part.”
Crowe denies he told Kutcher to get acting lessons before the two parted company, the Mercury News reports.
Bloom was happy for another chance.
“I was like, ‘Dude, I’ll do anything,’ you know?” he said. “It was something that I was looking for–a character drama, an American movie, a great American director at the helm, and a chance for me just to be an everyday guy, without a horse, without a sword. To tell a human story.”
Even after filming, Crowe had struggles. “Elizabethtown” wasn’t greeted warmly by critics at the Toronto Film Festival, with several saying the movie was too long and disjointed. Yet Crowe was far from discouraged.
“People have said to me, ‘Oh, man, how’d you feel about Toronto?’ I was like, ‘I felt great about Toronto.’ We got a standing ovation in the public screening.
“It was only later that I saw that there was some critical sniping that took place. You know, I’ll take it,” he said. “The movie’s going to have the life it’s going to have out in the world, and that’s when we really will have the perspective to see whether it was good or bad for it to be such a public journey. Seems like it’s the character of this movie.”
Crowe cut the 135-minute “work in progress” by nearly 20 minutes, according to news reports. The shorter film received a more positive response when it opened the Chicago International Film Festival last week.
Regardless of his critics, Crowe says he knows the film was connecting with viewers.
“When we started showing this movie, even at a far too long length, some people–not everybody–would feel like something deep inside them was scratched, touched, reached, and that always made me feel like we were on the right track,” he said.
“It started to touch people in a way I had only known with ‘Jerry Maguire,’ where sometimes people would stand up after we’d had a screening and go, ‘I’m breaking up with my girlfriend and it’s a good thing, I know I have to do it now,’ ” he said. “And you just go, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize that movie was saying that or was going to reach you in that way.’
“But this movie has that in it, too,” he said, “in a far different way.”
Music man
Cameron Crowe has created unforgettable film moments with music.
“You want to really honor the music you love and use it great because everything’s kinda cool now,” Crowe said.
In “Elizabethtown,” he taps artists including U2, My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams and Elton John to provide the soundtrack to Drew Baylor’s search for love, family and self.–MATT PAIS.
Songs, scenes, stars
You can always count on Cameron Crowe movies to deliver an awesome soundtrack and a true-to-life screenplay. (OK, forget “Vanilla Sky.”) But the writer/director and soundtrack master also has boosted the careers of many major celebs. Check out his partial resume.–REDEYE.
“Elizabethtown” (2005)
Stars: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst.
Song and scene: Word has it that U2’s “(Pride) In the Name of Love” resonates as Drew (Bloom) visits the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
“Almost Famous” (2000)
Star made: Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane (right) overshadows Patrick Fugit as the Crowe character and earns her an Oscar nomination.
Song and scene: Members of Stillwater, their roadies and groupies sing Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.”
“Jerry Maguire” (1996)
Stars made: Tom Cruise stars, but Renee Zellweger and Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. (above) steal the show.
Song: Bruce Springsteen croons “Secret Garden” as Jerry (Cruise) and Dorothy (Zellweger) fall for each other.
“Singles” (1992)
Stars made: An early look at Matt Dillon, Kyra Sedgwick, Bridget Fonda, Eric Stolz, Jeremy Piven and Bill Pullman.
Song and scene: Members of Pearl Jam appear as Citizen Dick, a band fronted by Dillon’s Cliff. They perform “Breath” and “State of Love and Trust.”
“Say Anything” (1989)
Stars made: John Cusack (right) establishes himself as the lovable dork who melts hearts.
Song and scene: Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler lifts his boombox as it blares Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.”
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982; writer)
Stars: Sean Penn’s Jeff Spicoli (left) is the icon of slackerdom.
Song and scene: Judge Reinhold’s Brad fantasizes about Phoebe Cates’ Linda as she leaves a pool, and The Cars’ “Moving in Stereo” plays.
