Biography

Cameron Crowe

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Certainly idiosyncratic as a writer, Cameron Crowe has created a series of scripts that, while liked by the critics, were considered offbeat and difficult to market.

Cameron Bruce Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California, to Alice Marie Crowe (née George), a teacher and activist, and James A. Crowe, a real estate/telephone business owner. Cameron began his writing career as a 15-year-old high-school student, with articles on music submitted to Rolling Stone magazine, and only a few years later had his first script, for Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). This movie was important for more than his career - his future wife Nancy Wilson had a small role in the film. Music remained important to him, with the rock band Pearl Jam playing a bit role in Singles (1992) well before they were "discovered". His next movie, Jerry Maguire (1996), took over five years to develop - a chance photograph of a football player and his agent was the initial inspiration. It took some 20 drafts and near terminal discouragement that he would ever get it right before the film finally made it to the screen. And this time his wife composed the music.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bruce Cameron <dumarest@midcoast.com>

Films feature pop songs by leading acts
His films frequently contain scenes where a character sings a song in a car (John Mahoney sings "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" in Say Anything (1989), Tom Cruise sings "Free-fallin'" in Jerry Maguire (1996), the band sings "Tiny Dancer" in Almost Famous (2000)). The one to note specifically is Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky (2001), who does not sing in the car but plays a CD in which she is the singer.
His films frequently have characters who are single parents
His films often feature male protagonists who are misfits or outcasts; "the uncool", as he calls them in Almost Famous (2000).
His films often revolve around a dynamic successful person who loses everything and is forced to reevaluate their lives

When he won his Oscar for Almost Famous (2000), he dedicated the award to "Audrey and Billy". Most people assumed this was for Audrey Hepburn and Billy Wilder but, in fact, it was for Billy Wilder and his wife Audrey Young, who were close personal friends of Cameron.
Admires Billy Wilder very much and uses a lot of what Wilder taught him in his films. In addition, his favorite movie is Wilder's The Apartment (1960).
Directed four actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kate Hudson, and Frances McDormand. Gooding Jr. won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance for Jerry Maguire (1996).
Steven Spielberg did a cameo in Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001) and Crowe did a cameo in Spielberg's Minority Report (2002); both films starred Tom Cruise.
Wrote the liner notes for Lynyrd Skynyrd's "One More From the Road" album.

Making a big Hollywood film that really affects people is as hard as making a small movie on a credit card.
It used to be, like, the sanctity of rock was that you could never let a song of yours be used in a commercial. It was like, 'Oh man, we'll never let our music be exploited that way.' Now they'll call you up and say, 'You gotta use this song in your movie, man. It's the new VW ad! People love it.' And you realize, boy, have times changed.
I'm proudest of the fact that I've been able to make a few movies in the studio system that are slightly unorthodox and personal. But it's never quite as easy as you dream that it could be.
Little did I know that work-in-progress is a code for many things. In a press situation, it can mean the movie's not going to come out. It can mean the movie's not going to change at all, but if you don't like it we'll change it. Or it can mean the truth, which is it's a work-in-progress.
I mean, Internet radio, which is basically a guy with his iTunes putting it over the computer, is the only way you're going to get true eclectic music programmed.

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