Author Archives: Greg

American Hot Wax: Cameron Becomes the Story

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We’ve got a new Rolling Stone article to share with you today. Cameron visited the set of the 1978 film, American Hot Wax, a film that chronicles Alan Freed (an influential DJ)  and the early days of rock ‘n roll. What’s interesting is that he was asked to portray a delivery boy and he shares the process with the readers. Ultimately his lines and most of his scene was cut from the film, but you can kind of see him (wearing the paper hat) during the “Come and Go With Me” studio sequence (34:00 minute mark).

Incidentally, American Hot Wax has never been released on DVD and is extremely collectable on VHS. However, you can watch the film over on Myspace.

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Jul 7, 2011

More L.A. Times Music Reviews: Guthrie, Prairie & Raspberry

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How about three more L.A. Times LP reviews from 37 years ago this month? First up is Arlo Guthrie and Cameron rates this one “a gem”. Pure Prairie League’s Bustin’ Out also receives high marks. Can we get three LPs in a row that pass the muster? Unfortunately not, as Larry Raspberry’s LP is dismissed rather quickly. Oh well, two out of three isn’t bad…

 

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Jul 6, 2011

Inquire Within: Singles Extended Cut or Blu-ray?

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Welcome to another edition of Inquire Within… Through your submissions, Cameron will answer your questions in his own words. The goal is to have a new question and answer posting every week or two leading up to the releases of Pearl Jam Twenty and We Bought a Zoo this fall and The Union early next year.

Justin Noszek: Singles is my all time favorite movie.  Will there ever be an extended version released?  Failing that, what about a Blu-ray? It would be a perfect tie in to Pearl Jam Twenty?

Cameron: I’m with you, Justin.  Andy Fischer, who works with me running Vinyl Films, is digging into the vaults at Warner Brothers to see where the footage resides.  We have all the concert footage – including KILLER stuff on Alice in Chains – but the outtake scenes themselves are waiting to be discovered.  Some of Chris Cornell’s unreleased score will be in PJ20 – which is great because he’s a natural scoring artist and did GREAT stuff for the movie that was never used.

Citizen Dick wants a Singles Extended Cut!

Please send in your questions for Cameron and maybe yours will be part of a future installment of Inquire Within…

 

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Jul 4, 2011

Fleetwood Mac: On The Cusp of Mega Stardom

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Cameron chats with Fleetwood Mac in this 1976 interview with the L.A. Times entitled “Better Rocking Through Chemistry”. The band reflects back on their recent platinum success with their self titled LP. Their next album, Rumors is just months away and will catapult the band to an ever greater heights. This interview also comes seven months prior to the Cameron Crowe penned Rolling Stone cover story.

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Jul 2, 2011

L.A. Times Music Reviews: Black Oak & Flash Cadillac

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Here’s two album reviews from April 7th, 1974 edition of the L.A. Times. Poor Cameron got stuck reviewing another Black Oak Arkansas record and this one fares no better than the last. Flash Cadillac avoids his scorn and receives a passing grade. I’ve given the L.A. Times its own section on the Journalism page as I’ll be sharing a slew of additional articles and reviews in the coming weeks…

 

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Jul 1, 2011

Crowe’s Nest: Fast Times Reunion Pic, Peter Bart, John Michael Higgins

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The Crowe’s Nest is a collection of random tidbits, etc. in one blog post. Here’s the latest:

  • In case you missed the Fast Times reunion at the Guys Choice awards on Spike TV, here’s a pic. Pictured above is (L to R) Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Sean Penn and Judge Reinhold. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a picture that also included attendees, director Amy Heckerling and Forest Whitaker all in the same shot…
  • If you want to learn a bit more about writer, producer Peter Bart (who Cameron recently did a Q & A with at the Harold & Maude anniversary screening), you might want to check out this interview over at Culture Map Houston.
  • New York Magazine interviews actor John Michael Higgins. Among the topics was his musical experience on the set of We Bought a Zoo. Here’s what he said:

Did you sing with Justin Timberlake on the set of Bad Teacher, or Scarlett Johansson on We Bought a Zoo, which you also have out this year?
Justin is a professional; I would never dare to sing in front of him! Although Jason Segel and I definitely crossed paths, and he’s a good singer. And Cameron [Diaz] and I would dance a bit, off-camera. We were always doing silly things half the time. We Bought a Zoo was a more musical set. Scarlett loves to sing — she’s like a Mynah bird, she can imitate anyone — so every now and then, we’d get a good pop vocal going on. We’d make up a lot of stupid songs, joke songs, like a little piece Scarlett would write to sing to Matt [Damon] and he would sing something back. Nothing serious. And that’s how we communicated. Scarlett would sing, “It’s a really hot day,” or “I’m hungry for lunch.”

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Jun 29, 2011

Eagles: Track by Track

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Cameron sat down with Glenn Frey and Don Henley for the liner notes of Eagles: Very Best of. Instead of the usual essay, they discuss each song and share anecdotes, recording info, early versions, title changes and inspirations behind the songs. It’s interesting to hear them reflect back on these iconic tunes and the impact that unofficial member J.D. Souther had on the band. Enjoy!

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Jun 28, 2011

Inquire Within: Manic Pixie Dream Girl

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We are back with another edition of Inquire Within… Through your submissions, Cameron will answer your questions in his own words. The goal is to have a new question and answer posting every week or two leading up to the releases of Pearl Jam Twenty and We Bought a Zoo this fall and The Union early next year.

Rodrigo Rothchild (Austin, Tx): How do you feel about Kirsten Dunst’s character in Elizabethtown being the source of the term ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’? (Greg’s note: this phrase coined by film writer Nathan Rabin, has become part of the pop culture vernacular over the last few years. more details can be found here)

Cameron: I dig it.  I keep thinking I’ll run into Nathan Rabin and we’ll have a great conversation about it.  Every MPDG he’s assigned to me has been based on a real woman, though, so they’re not really “cinematic creations” to me.  Often that persona is a front, and every true man’s job is to dig beneath the surface and really come to know the woman he finds himself in love with.  Still, the coinage is hilarious.  I love it.

Manic Pixie Dunst Girl?! – Claire Colburn

Please send in your questions for Cameron and maybe yours will be part of a future installment of Inquire Within…

 

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Jun 27, 2011

  • Almost Famous- Paramount+, AMC+
  • David Crosby: Remember My Name- Starz
  • Elizabethtown- FUBO
  • Say Anything...- Disney+, Hulu, AMC+
  • Vanilla Sky- Paramount+,Showtime
  • We Bought A Zoo- Disney+, Roku