If you’re like me, you’ve seen Say Anything dozens of times and find ways to work Lloyd Dobler quotes into everyday life as much as possible. A long time ago, a friend of mine even asked if I’d ever stood outside of someone’s apartment with a boom box over my head. After explaining that doing something like that would probably be considered stalking in real life, I thought to myself, “That’s how iconic the boom box scene is for my generation.”

Reflecting on the scene, one would think that the famous moment – in which John Cusack's Lloyd plays “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel – would have been a fairly straightforward shot, but it was quite the opposite, according to director Cameron Crowe.

John Cusack Really Didn’t Like The Idea Of The Scene

As it was written for the film , John Cusack didn’t think it was the right thing for Lloyd to do, as Crowe recently told the New York Times, saying

So, Crowe and Kovacs acquiesced and went in a different direction, at least at first. The Jerry Maguire filmmaker continued,

I’m actually with Cusack on this – or, at least, I can see where he was coming from. I do think that Lloyd, who is one part Gen X-slacker icon and one part love fool in the movie, probably would just sit solemnly outside Diane Court’s window with the boom box playing next to him.

But Kovacs seemingly knew that the shot wouldn’t work, as Crowe explained, and he made an effort to subvert it. Said the director,

I also don’t think, as others don’t, that Lloyd would be playing a Peter Gabriel song for Diane (Ione Skye). In fact, the original song choice was “To Be A Lover” by Billy Idol. I’ve always thought that another song on the Say Anything soundtrack, “Within Your Reach” by The Replacements, would have been perfect. However, even if I think it’s a little out of character for the slacker part of Lloyd, the shot in the movie is right in line with the love fool.

Here’s How They Actually Got The Famous Moment

At the end of the final day of filming for the most iconic scene in Say Anything, Cameron Crowe tried one more time to get the legendary shot, telling the NYT,

Cusack gave in and agreed to try the shot, though he evidently wasn't very happy about. As it turns out, though, having the actor be disgruntled gave the character the pitch perfect emotional mode for the scene:

The perfect emotion, indeed. It’s a shot, not just a great music moment in a Cusack movie, but in film history, that will never be forgotten. It just goes to show that it’s never a bad idea to trust the vision of two legends like Cameron Crowe and Lazlo Kovacs.

Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything is so beloved that these days it’s thought of as one of the best romantic comedies and big movies that defined Gen X. But, something that became even bigger than the film itself is the scene where Lloyd Dobler, played by charismatic leading man John Cusack, shows up outside of Diane’s home while holding up a boombox as its blasts “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. Have you ever wondered how the scene, which is one of the most memorable moments of the ‘80s (and all time), actually came about?

Well, Crowe recently shared the story behind picking the song for Say Anything on Audible and Gunpowder & Sky’s The Film Makers. Let’s break down the story:

Cameron Crowe’s First Pick For The Say Anything Boombox Song, And John Cusack’s Hilarious Pick That ‘Didn’t Work’

While we had previously heard that an Elvis Costello song was almost in the movie’s big scene, Crowe shared the full journey on the Audible original. As he started:

At first, Crowe said he actually had Billy Idol’s “To Be A Lover” written in the script for the scene, but I understand why that didn’t make it into that romantic part of the movie. The writer/director then shared what his leading man had in mind with these words:

OK, so that Fishbone song is a jam, but that would have given the scene a totally different energy than the final scene has. Even though Crowe had eliminated those early options from the movie, the journey was far from over.

Crowe Also Tried To Get An Original Song Written For The Scene

Many beloved songs from ‘80s movies like Say Anything became famous as a result of filmmakers hiring songwriters to create original tracks, and that’s just what Crowe did next. As he continued:

While other movies surely could get away with having songwriting teams, such as for Kenny Loggins’ Top Gun music, but in the instance of Say Anything, this was a song Lloyd was playing for Diane, and it definitely makes more sense for it to be a song he and the audience might know rather than a completely new track.

How ‘In Your Eyes’ Ultimately Ended Up In Say Anything

That’s when the story brings us to “In Your Eyes.” Here’s what Cameron Crowe had to say about the moment he realized the Peter Gabriel song would go in the movie:

How sweet is it that Crowe actually found the right song on his own wedding tape? Picking the song actually came from a place of grounded romance, and one can really feel it when you watch the 1989 classic. When the song, which was originally released three years earlier, became part of the movie, it had a second life, reentering the Billboard Hot 100 following the movie’s release. And, it will of course always be tied to Cameron Crowe’s classic rom-com.

How fun is it to see what could have been though? Goes to show how important soundtrack decisions can be to the popularity and staying power of a scene and film.

It's not unusual for directors to star in their own movies. Alfred Hitchcock famously made cameos in almost all of his movies and Quentin Tarantino appears in all of his in one way or another. It's rarer for a director to appear in a fellow director's movie. It's hardly unheard of, as we found plenty of interesting examples. So without further ado, here is our list of directors who appeared on other directors' movies.

Steven Spielberg - The Blues Brothers

Before the tragic accident on the set of The Twilight Zone, John Landis and Steven Spielberg were good friends. So good, in fact, that Spielberg showed up in a cameo in the Landis classic The Blues Brothers. Spielberg plays the Cook Country Accessor at the end of the movie who takes payment from Jake and Elwood.

David Lynch - The Fablemans

In a very meta moment, David Lynch plays another great director, John Ford, in Steven Spielberg's The Fablemans. The late Lynch didn't show up in movies often, even his own, so it's a fun moment in a movie by a legend, starring a legend as a legend.

John Landis - Spider-man 2

John Landis has twice done cameos in Sam Rami movies, both times appearing as a doctor, the most famous of which was in Spider-Man 2 where he plays a doctor killed by Doctor Octopus after performing surgery on the villain. It's a super quick moment and one that is easy to miss.

David Fincher - Being John Malkovich

David Fincher has occasionally popped into his own movies, including playing the voice of John Doe on the telephone so as to not give away the surprise later. He also has shown up in other directors' movies, specifically as a puppet expert in Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich.

Roger Corman - The Silence Of The Lambs

Legendary B-movie director Roger Corman has a habit of showing up in other directors' work. It makes sense as he's a huge hero to many filmmakers who grew up watching his movies. In Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs, Corman plays the FBI director in one scene.

George Lucas - Beverly Hills Cop III

Beverly Hills Cop 3 is a pretty terrible movie, though thankfully the franchise was redeemed decades later with Axel F. Still, there is a pretty funny cameo in the movie when none other than George Lucas pops into the movie as a disgruntled patron of the amusement park that is central to the story.

Tim Burton - Singles

Tim Burton is not a director that shows up on the other side of the camera very often. In fact he has fleetingly few acting roles, but he does appear in Cameron Crowe's Singles. Crowe also has a cameo himself in the film.

Sam Raimi - Miller's Crossing

Sam Raimi is a director with a lot of acting roles on his resume, in his own film and in the movies by friends of his. One such cameo is in Miller's Crossing, a movie by the Coen Brothers. Raimi also has a cameo in another Coen Brothers movie, The Hudsucker Proxy.

Gus Van Sant - The Canyons

Gus Van Sant has a bit more than just a cameo in The Canyons, a movie that flew way under the radar when it was released in 2013, starring Lindsey Lohan. Van Sant plays a psychologist in the movie and has more than a couple lines, unlike many on this list.

Quentin Tarantino - Sleep With Me

Quentin Tarantino is always happy to cast himself in his own movies, but even before he was one of the premiere directors in Hollywood, he was popping up in movies he didn't direct. In Sleep With Me, by director Rory Kelly, which came out a month before Pulp Fiction, Tarantino has a memorable moment as a chatty party guest who breaks down the movie Top Gun in a very unconventional way.

Martin Scorsese - Quiz Show

Martin Scorsese's most famous on screen moment is as a rider in Travis' (Robert De Niro) cab in his own movie, Taxi Driver. He also shows up in Qui Show, directed by Robert Redford.

Tobe Hooper - Sleepwalkers

Tobe Hooper is a horror movie legend for his work directing the slasher classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the 1970s. In 1992 he popped up in a cameo working alongside Stephen King in the adaptation of King's novel Sleepwalkers.

John Waters - Something Wild

Director John Waters has been in many of his own movies, but he occasionally shows up in other movies as well, like Something Wild by director Jonathan Demme in 1986. Waters plays a sketchy car dealer in the movie and is one of the most fun parts of the movie.

Amy Heckerling - Into The Night

1985's Into the Night was John Landis' return to directing after being cleared of manslaughter charges as a result of the on-set tragedy during the filming of The Twilight Zone movie. In the movie, another director, Amy Heckerling, shows up in a cameo as a waitress.

Jonathan Demme - That Thing You Do!

Appropriately Jonathan Demme, who had a number of directors appear in his films, plays a film director in That Thing You Do! It's a brief role, of course, and it is one of the only times the late Demme appeared in another director's film. Into the Night by John Landis being another.

Roger Corman - The Godfather Part II

Roger Corman, one of the most influential directors of all time had a few cameos over his career with one of the most memorable coming in The Godfather II, where he played one of the senators grilling Michael Corlene (Al Pacino) in the Francis Ford Coppola classic.

Spike Jonze - The Game

Before David Fincher returned the favor for Spike Jonze in Being John Malkovich, Jonze appeared in Fincher's The Game, one of the most underrated movies by a big-time director.

Wes Craven - Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back

The late Wes Craven appeared in movies or TV shows as an actor 24 times according to IMDB, though most of his movie appearances were in his own movies. One exception was when he appeared in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back playing a version of himself directing a cartoonish version of Scream.

Frank Oz - Spies Like Us

Frank Oz has appeared as an actor in a bunch of movies, including The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Knives Out, not to mention all his puppet and voice work over the years. One of his best cameos came in Spies Like Us where he played the proctor of a civil service exam. It's truly a classic and maybe the funniest moment in the movie.

Cameron Crowe - Minority Report

Cameron Crowe has a very brief cameo as a man on riding public transportation in Minority Report by director Steven Spielberg. If you blink - or aren't sure what he looks like - you're sure to miss the moment, but it's there. In fact, another Cameron, Cameron Diaz, is in the background of the same scene.

Robert Downey, Sr. - Boogie Nights

In his day, Robert Downey Sr. was pretty famous. Of course, that fame has been eclipsed by his son, but that doesn't mean he did carry a lot of respect within the industry even late in his life. Like when Paul Thomas Anderson worked him into a cameo in Boogie Nights.

Frank Darabont - King Kong

For many, The Shawshank Redemption is the best movie of the 1990s. It's director, Frank Darabont, doesn't make a cameo in Shawshank or any of his other movies, but he is very briefly in Peter Jackson's King Kong. It's another "blink-and-you-will-miss-it" kind of role.

Lawrence Kasdan - As Good As It Gets

Writer and director Lawrence Kasdan is most famous for writing both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He's also directed movies like Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, and Silverado. On rare occasions, he's taken acting roles like he did in As Good As It Gets, by director James L. Brooks of Simpsons fame. Kasdan plays a psychologist in the movie.

James Cameron - The Muse

The Muse, directed by Albert Brooks, features a handful of cameos by famous directors including Martin Scorsese and Rob Reiner. In a rare appearance on the other side camera is also director James Cameron, who only has a few acting credits to his name.

Mel Brooks - The Muppet Movie

it's certainly not surprising to see Mel Brooks on the big screen, but it is rare to see in a movie that he didn't write and direct. That's part of what makes his cameo in The Muppet Movie so much fun. The legendary EGOT winner plays the evil Professor Krassman who is working to control the minds of frogs. It's worth noting that despite his delightful performance, it's not one that contributed to his EGOT.

Eli Roth - Inglourious Basterds

Eli Roth is as much an actor as he is a director, though in recent years he's concentrated on the latter. Sure he appears in his own films, but he's also been a collaborator with Quentin Tarantino a couple of times, first in Death Proof and then in a more prominent role in Inglourious Basterds.

Jim Jarmusch - Sling Blade

Director Jim Jarmusch has a unique style as a director and so it makes sense he would appear in a movie with its own unique angle, Sling Blade, by director and actor Billy Bob Thornton. Jarmusch plays the server at a food truck in the movie, serving up French fried potaters.

David Cronenberg - Jason X

David Cronenberg has a long history with the Friday The 13th franchise, having directed an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series in 1988. He shows up in a cameo in Jason X.

John Sayles - Malcolm X

John Sayles has directed some great movies over the years including Eight Men Out and Passion Fish. He's also occasionally done a bit of acting, mostly in cameos like as a memorable FBI agent in Spike Lee's classic Malcolm X.

Werner Herzog - Jack Reacher

German director is never shy about being in front of the camera as he often appears in his own films and occasionally acts in other stuff, like playing a wonderful role on The Mandalorian on Disney Plus. He also makes a great cameo in the Tom Cruise-led Jack Reacher from 2012.

Martin Brest - Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Before Martin Brest hit the big time as a director of such '80s classics as Beverly Hills Cop and the criminally underrated Midnight Run, he scored a small acting role as a coroner in Fast Times At Ridgemont High by director Amy Heckerling.

Orson Welles - The Muppet Movie

Mel Brooks has a fairly substantial role in The Muppet Movie, but he's not the only director to appear in the movie. Hollywood legend Orson Welles also appears in the movie. Welles was a huge fan of Jim Henson and the Muppets and worked with them on more than one occassion as well.

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Every moviegoer remembers the first time they heard the words "Show me the money" or "You had me at 'Hello.'" This was 25 years ago when Jerry Maguire, the Academy Award-winning third feature by writer and director Cameron Crowe, was released to universal praise from critics and audiences alike, impressive box office returns, and a succeeding legacy as one of the most iconic, quotable, and inspirational comedy-dramas that technically qualifies as a sports movie. Equally as interesting as plot of the Tom Cruise movie, about a hot shot agent to pro athletes whose moral epiphany sends him on a drastic journey of self-rediscovery, is the behind-the-scenes facts that craft the story of how it was made, starting with the some of people whose own lives contributed to the story.

Jerry Maguire Is Loosely Based On Real Sports Agents, Including Leigh Steinberg

In a making-of documentary included on the 20th Anniversary edition Blu-ray of Jerry Maguire, Cameron Crowe recalls how the inspiration for the film came from multiple avenues - some personal and some from the modern world of business. To put a face to a name, Leigh Steinberg was one of the more notable sports agents who largely served as the inspiration for the title character played by Tom Cruise. Steinberg told Sky Sports that Crowe spent a a year and a half shadowing the agent, whose most famous clients at the time included Dallas Cowboys’ Troy Aikman (who makes a cameo) and one who also sparked a few ideas in Crowe’s mind.

Leigh Steinberg’s Client Tim McDonald Inspired Cuba Gooding Jr.’s “Show Me The Money” Line

The aforementioned doc sees Cameron Crowe go on to mention an athlete whom Leigh Steinberg represented when he was researching for Jerry Maguire named Tim McDonald. He recalls conducting an interview with the former football player that led to one of the film’s more memorable moments:

Cameron Crowe then explains how that one sentence, which he adapted into one of the most recognizable movie quotes of all time, was the spark that led to the creation of Rod Tidwell - an Arizona Cardinals wide receiver who becomes Jerry Maguire’s sole client after he gets fired. The character is also remembered as the role that earned Cuba Gooding Jr. his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1997.

Jerry Maguire’s Mission Statement Was Inspired By A Real Disney Memo By Jeffrey Katzenberg

Say, speaking of Jerry Maguire getting fired, the inciting incident of this is what the hot shot agent calls a "mission statement" for his company about emphasizing personal relationships over monetary gain that he pens after suffering a moral crisis. As it turns out, Cameron Crowe also borrowed this creative and inspiring plot device from reality as well - specifically a 28-page memo that Jeffrey Katzenberg wrote when he was head of Disney after becoming dissatisfied with the company’s box office-driven mentality. The producer sent this manifesto to his employees in 1991 - three years before leaving to develop DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.

Jerry Maguire’s Post-Firing Fall Was A Secret Between Tom Cruise And Cameron Crowe

Of course, Jerry Maguire’s exit came much quicker after releasing his statement, courtesy of Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), who chooses to announce the termination at a public restaurant to avoid causing a scene. Jerry still manages to create a rousing moment at the agency when he returns in such a rush to contact his clients that he falls flat on his face on the way to his office - an unforgettable instance of physical comedy that, apparently, was not in the script. According to Cameron Crowe on the 2016 Blu-ray featurette, he suggested the stable to Tom Cruise last-minute without telling anybody else on set, resulting in the completely natural reaction we see in the final cut.

Cameron Crowe Wrote The Jerry Maguire Role With Tom Hanks In Mind

It is off-the-cuff decisions that end in great results like that which are why it is impossible to imagine anyone else but Tom Cruise playing the title character of Jerry Maguire. However, the Mission: Impossible movies star was not the first choice in mind Cameron Crowe, who actually wrote the part the intention of casting Tom Hanks originally. However, while on The Dan Patrick Show in 2017, the filmmaker revealed that, by the time he finished, the two-time Oscar winner was committed to his directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, which would prove to be a blessing in disguise when Cruise stepped in.

Jonathan Lipnicki Introduced His Famous Line To Cameron Crowe, According To The Director

Bonus fun fact: apparently Cameron Crowe was warned by some about Tom Cruise using his star power to try taking control of production if hired on Jerry Maguire, which he said could not have been further from the truth. In fact, it even worked in the film’s favor to cast relatively unknown actors (at the time) around the A-lister, such as then five-year-old Jonathan Lipnicki who won the hearts of many with his debut role as Ray Boyd. The now 30-year-old actor has said that people still come up to him to ask if he knows that “the human brain weighs eight pounds,” which, according to Yahoo!, Cameron Crowe claims the young actor would tell people on set, inspiring him to put it in the movie and, unwittingly, make history.

Renée Zellweger Thought Her Iconic Jerry Maguire Line Was A Typo

A more historical quote from Jerry Maguire, however, is said by Jonathan Lipnicki’s on-screen mother Dorothy Boyd, played by Renée Zellweger. After Tom Cruise’s character finally professes his genuine love for his estranged wife by saying she “completes” him, she shuts him up by replying, “You had me at ‘Hello.’” It is one of the most romantic, oft-quoted movie lines ever, but, as the future two-time Oscar-winner revealed to Newsday, she was not sure what to make of it at first:

In defense of Renée Zellweger, if the line had turned out to be a typo, it would not be the only time that Jerry Maguire benefitted from a happy accident as we have already established.

Paula Abdul Choreographed Rod Tidwell’s Post-Concussion Dance In Jerry Maguire

Another memorable moment from Jerry Maguire that was also not by accident was the elaborate dance that Rod Tidwell performs after miraculously waking up from a concussion (which is something that doctors would strongly advise against these days). However, it is still an exciting moment that was achieved with the choreography of Paula Abdul - the pop star and future American Idol judge also known for lending her dance talents to films like Coming to America in 1988. When commenting on the dance in Jerry Maguire for Entertainment Tonight in 1996, Abdul mentions she had previously met Cuba Gooding Jr. after casting him in an ad for Bugle Boy.

Cameron Crowe’s Mom Makes A Cameo In Jerry Maguire

Someone who is frequently cast in Cameron Crowe’s movies is his own mother, Alice Marie Crowe, who notably appears in the Almost Famous cast as a guidance counselor who convinces Elaine (Frances McDormand) to let William (Patrick Fugit) follow Stillwater on tour. Her claim to fame from Jerry Maguire, according to Slate, is playing a member of the divorced women support group hosted by Dorothy’s sister, Laurel (Bonnie Hunt), who excitedly reveals to the other that she “finally got in touch with [her] anger.”

Believe it or not, that line might have gotten a harder laugh out of me than any other line in the film. Of course, Jerry Maguire is the kind of movie where the script tends to become a part of your vocabulary even before you see it - especially for those of younger generations like myself who caught the full experience a bit later. Luckily, the romantic sports dramedy is also the kind of film that never fails to entertain and inspire no matter if you are seeing the first time of the one-hundredth time, which is why it remains a classic a quarter of a century later.

With the current health crisis still lingering and a lot of folks continuing to socially distance/isolate, one event that’s been happening more often lately is the celebrity table read, i.e. famous actors virtually coming together to read the scripts of beloved movies. For example, last month saw the masses being treated to a reading of 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High over Zoom, which doubled as a reunion between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

However, when it came to stealing the show performance-wise, Shia LaBeouf arguably scored that honor thanks to the… unorthodox, yet entertaining way he played Jeff Spicoli. Cameron Crowe, who wrote Fast Times at Ridgemont High as his debut screenplay, was especially impressed with what LaBeouf did, saying the following about the Honey Boy star’s performance and the table read overall:

While Cameron Crowe’s conversation with Variety was primarily about the 20th anniversary of Almost Famous, which he wrote and directed, naturally the Fast Times at Ridgemont High table read came up, and it sounds like the filmmaker had a blast watching it. And like a lot of people who tuned into the event in September, Crowe thought Shia LaBeouf was one of the highlights.

As a primer for those who haven’t watched the Fast Times at Ridgemont High table read, not only did Shia LaBeouf read his lines from inside his parked car, he donned neon sunglasses and a tank top, and was smoking a blunt. That set the stage for LaBeouf to deliver a much different take on Jeff Spicoli that amused his cast-mates, including the man who originally brought Spicoli to life, Sean Penn. If there’s one thing you can count on LaBeouf doing these days with his professional endeavors (and sometimes personal ones), it’s making unique creative choices. I’m just glad he didn’t end up getting more tattoos in the process.

The Fast Times at Ridgemont High table read was organized by Dane Cook to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts. Along with Cook playing Mark “Rat” Ratner, Shia LaBeouf’s go-around as Jeff Spicoli, and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston playing Brad Hamilton and Linda Barrett, respectively, the table read starred Sean Penn as the pizza guy, Julia Roberts as Stacy Hamilton, John Legend as Charles Jefferson, Ray Liotta as Mr. Hand, Henry Golding as Mr. Vargas, Matthew McConaughey as Mike Damone, Jimmy Kimmel as various minor roles and Morgan Freeman as the narrator.

As far as the original Fast Times at Ridgemont High goes, not only did it put Cameron Crowe on the Hollywood map, it also served as Amy Heckerling’s first time directing a feature film, and she went on to helm National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Clueless and more. Sean Penn also wasn’t the only young actor who appeared in Fast Times at Ridgemont and went on to become a star, with others including Nicolas Cage, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Eric Stoltz.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for all the latest updates on the movies news front, and look through our 2021 release schedule to learn what’s slated to play on big screens next year.

If you look at the behind-the-scenes stories of one of Cameron Crowe’s most iconic films, it really leans into the “almost” of it all. The 2000 film starring Kate Hudson and Philip Seymour Hoffman about a young journalist who tours with a ‘70s rock band had a stacked cast as is. But according to the writer/director, there were a number of Oscar winners in the running. Brad Pitt was the filmmaker's first choice for Billy Crudup’s Russell Hammond in Almost Famous. In Crowe’s words:

At the time, Brad Pitt was in his prime (but honestly, has he left his prime since?), with Fight Club and Se7en under his belt. Cameron Crowe reportedly even wrote the role with him in mind for the part. The pair had previously met while he was casting for 1989’s Say Anything, and Crowe wanted Pitt to play the lead guitarist of fictional band Stillwater for Almost Famous. But Pitt ended up turning down the opportunity. The rejection took a toll on the director, as he said on the Origin with James Andrew Miller podcast:

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Brad Pitt’s ties to Almost Famous. According to a previous report, the actor, who was in his mid-30s at the time, just didn’t “get it enough to do it.” Crowe echoes some of these sentiments with these recent comments, also explaining he might have had a problem with the age difference between Russell Hammond and Penny Lane.

He read with Natalie Portman, who wouldn’t have been more than 19 years old at the time. In the end, it was Kate Hudson who scored the role of Penny Lane – she is two years older than Portman and Billy Crudup, who is five years younger than Pitt. Another “almost” was for the part of William’s mother Elaine, who is played by Frances McDormand in the film. It turns out Meryl Streep was up for that role. Whoa!

It's crazy to imagine what could have been. Earlier this year, Kate Hudson and Jimmy Fallon reunited to discuss their time on the film where they met. Hudson admitted to Fallon that she “would have totally gone there” with the Tonight Show host if he had made a move. Sound familiar? Fallon had a similar encounter on his show with Nicole Kidman back in a hilarious 2015 interview.

The beauty of Almost Famous is how well it works without Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman or Meryl Streep. It’s got an incredible lineup even if Cameron Crowe felt he had to compromise. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more behind-the-scenes news about your favorite movies.

Hollywood’s streets are lined with casting stories of movies that might have gone in different directions if certain actors said yes to specific roles. Will Smith reportedly turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix. Eric Stoltz originally started filming Back to the Future before he was replaced by Michael J. Fox. The list of potential castings stretches on forever… and it just added one more fascinating possibility to the roster.

Jerry Maguire might be Cameron Crowe’s best film. It’s arguably one of Tom Cruise’s greatest roles (he got a Best Actor nomination for the part) and it’s DEFINITELY Cuba Gooding Jr.’s best performance (he won the Oscar that year for playing egotistical NFL wide receiver Rod Tidwell). But what if, instead of Cruise, it was Woody Harrelson screaming “Show me the money!” into a telephone? Would that have worked?

Woody Harrelson was walking down memory lane with Esquire, and recalled being offered the role of the wayward sports agent Jerry Maguire in Cameron Crowe’s winning comedy. He said:

And initially, he’s right. You are not supposed to care for Jerry Maguire at the onset of Cameron Crowe’s movie. In fact, as he alienates himself from his firm after writing a strongly worded missions statement, you almost are meant to question his motives – and that of the loyal lady, Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), who drops everything to follow him.

But it’s the way that Crowe writes Jerry, as well as the way that Tom Cruise chooses to play him, that softens the audience to the sports agent over time.

Woody Harrelson wasn’t the only A-lister in the circle of Jerry Maguire. Reports suggest that Cameron Crowe originally wrote the script with Tom Hanks in mind, with the director later explaining to Deadline:

And yet, I can’t see anyone else by Tom Cruise in this role. Can you? He completes the movie. Pun intended:

At the time of Jerry Maguire, Woody Harrelson was coming off of Natural Born Killers and Money Train, but shooting Maguire with Cameron Crowe might have prevented the True Detective star from appearing in Kingpin or The People vs. Larry Flynt, both of which came out in 1996. That’s pretty incredible, that Harrelson had both of those movies in the same year.

God, he’s a versatile and gifted actor.

Tom Cruise has been a huge action movie star for decades, but his biggest role may have been when he took a turn for the dramatic in Jerry Maguire. It turns out, some tried to talk director Cameron Crowe out of casting Cruise. It seems that even in 1996 Tom Crusie had a reputation for being an actor who took control of the movies he starred in, and Crowe's friends were afraid the director would lose control of the project if he cast the Top Gun star. According to Crowe...

Cameron Crowe had made his name making smaller movies. His previous directorial efforts to Jerry Maguire were Say Anything... and Singles, both popular films but neither one had the sort of star power that Tom Cruise brings with him. Crowe told Alec Baldwin on his NPR Show Here's the Thing that this is what people were telling him would happen if Tom Cruise, who had been offered the part of the title character, said yes.

However, Cameron Crowe goes on to say that the reality could not have been further from the truth. While Cameron Crowe admits he became apprehensive about working with Tom Cruise, he says that the actor instantly wanted to work with him, rather than take over. Ultimately, while Cruise said he wanted the part, he also wanted to be sure Crowe wanted him in the part.

It's safe to say that Tom Cruise was the guy for the role of Jerry Maguire, as the part earned Cruise his second career Academy Award nomination. It's clear that the pair really enjoyed working together as they would do so again a few years later for Vanilla Sky and Crowe says he hopes to work with Cruise again one day.

Tom Cruise may flex his muscle as a Hollywood leading man when it comes to his desire to do his own stunts, but apparently, that doesn't mean he expects to take charge of every movie.

Legendary musician Tom Petty passed away after being rushed to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital in critical condition on October 2. The 66-year-old rocker was a solo artist as well as the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. His catalog of timeless songs includes hits like "American Girl," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Don't Come Around Here No More," "Free Fallin'," "I Won't Back Down," and "You Don't Know How It Feels." The news hit hard for many of Petty's family members, friends, and fans. Now many people in the entertainment industry, some of whom worked with or were close to Petty personally and others who were fans, are paying tribute to the rock rebel with statements to the press and messages of support on social media.

For example, Bob Dylan, who performed with Tom Petty as part of The Traveling Wilburys, said in a statement:

Many other friends in Hollywood have hopped on social media to express their sorrow over the news. For example, Paul Stanley of Kiss tweeted,

Then film director and former music critic Cameron Crowe was among the people who chose to share words of gratitude rather than grief. Crowe wrote,

Similarly, Ryan Adams shared words of appreciation for Tom Petty's musical legacy. Adams tweeted the beautiful words,

Like Ryan Adams, many other musicians hopped on social media to share their heartbreak, and some mentioned Tom Petty's influence on their music. For example, John Mayer tweeted,

Likewise, Bon Jovi wrote about the impact Tom Petty had on his life and career. Of course, the news of Tom Petty's death arrived on the day of the Las Vegas mass shooting tragedy, Bon Jovi combined his message with prayers for everyone there:

Shania Twain also shared a throwback photo of herself with Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks earlier this year. She added words of sadness, tweeting,

Countless other heartbroken people reached out with words of sadness. From Sheryl Crow to Meat Loaf to Stephen King, many famous names expressed their grief over the news of Tom Petty's passing. It is heartening to see so many people paying tribute to Petty and his works, and it is evident his legacy touched lives of people everywhere.

As hard as it is to believe, Jerry Maguire actually turned 20 years old this past year. The Tom Cruise-fronted romantic comedy has become iconic among movie fans in the two decades since it first hit theaters, but it is also incredibly popular among sports enthusiasts for the way in which in depicts the athlete-agent dynamic. To properly celebrate that legacy, the NFL has released a fake documentary called Rod Tidwell A Football Life. It coincides with the anniversary DVD release of Jerry Maguire on January 3. Check it out below and prepare for a serious blast from the past.

The NFL officially released that video to honor the legacy of Jerry Maguire on its 20th anniversary, and I'll be damned if it doesn't make me want to watch Jerry Maguire right now. The clip frames Rod Tidwell's iconic game as a receiver for the Arizona Cardinals as a real event from the 1990s, and features color commentators remarking on the hit that Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character takes towards the end of the movie. If you have already seen Jerry Maguire, then you already know that this initially dramatic moment leads to some serious success for Rod Tidwell, and the fake documentary serves as an excellent tribute to his life as one of the all-time greats. Not for real, but you get the idea.

Ultimately, the video is a hilarious (and oddly touching) tribute to a moment in cinematic history. Jerry Maguire has become endlessly iconic in the years since it debuted in theaters for a number of reasons. For starters, it established legendary lines such as "show me the money," "you complete me," and "you had me at hello," which at least one of your friends has probably quoted to death at some point. Beyond that, the role of Rod Tidwell famously helped Cuba Gooding Jr. win an Oscar win in 1997 -- a moment that quickly became instantly memorable when the actor took the stage and gave one of the most hilariously energetic and passionate speeches in the history of the Academy Awards. To put it bluntly: Jerry Maguire is a watershed moment, not just in the history of movies or sports, but also in the annals of pop culture as a whole.

The NFL tribute video even found time to include Jay Mohr's smarmy Bob Sugar in on the action with some less than savory words for Mr. Tidwell.

And, of course, since this video is a total nostalgia-drenched trip back to the 1990s, a certain rapper by the name of Vanilla Ice obviously had to make an appearance. Why the hell not?

If there's one downside to this touching tribute, it's the fact that A Football Life isn't a real documentary. I would watch the hell out of that. The 20th anniversary Blu-ray edition of Jerry Maguire is currently available; make sure to check it out!

It's been just a couple of days since HBO decided to cancel its heavy and overly masculine music drama Vinyl. In its wake, Showtime has its own music-oriented drama hitting the schedule, this time about the people who make the lights, the sound and all the magic happen during big concerts. Because it's a behind-the-scenes sort of look at life on the road instead of about the making of the music, Roadies has fewer bold personalities. The pilot also has Cameron Crowe's signature charm and hopeful perspective. That outlook leaves us feeling hopeful, too.

To start, Roadies isn't the best pilot I've ever seen---it doesn't even mark among the best I've seen this year. Its cast is charming but the exposition explaining why they have come together to set up for a band called The Staten House Band is clunky at best. There are also boobs shown at the wrong moments and awkward dialogue that doesn't always fit the characters. (We guarantee you'll cringe when some of the roadies make fun of the new guy for having Mumford and Sons on his iPod, no matter that music snobs often say things of this ilk.) Still, pilots aren't the best indication of what is to come, and there's really a lot going for Roadies that indicates the series should be given a chance.

The pilot was created, written and directed by Cameron Crowe and subsequent episodes are connected to the first through a recurring gag that The Staten House Band can't keep an opening band on the bill. This also means that performances from bands like The Head and The Heart and even Lindsay Buckingham are intertwined with the rest of the plot, which is entertaining. The heads of the crew, Bill (Luke Wilson) and Shelli (Carla Gugino), are mostly the two individuals who are responsible for ensuring things run smoothly, while the rest of the crew tries to figure out their place in the team and why they would want to take a hard, low-paying job like being part of a road crew. Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall and Keisha Castle-Hughes also star.

I mostly like that Roadies doesn't play out like most other music shows on TV. Music is infused into the episode in a way that is pleasant but isn't as in-your-face as it is on shows like Glee. The setup for each episode is similar to how HBO's Veep is structured, with an ensemble cast dealing with oddball problems in order to accomplish their day-to-day jobs. Obviously, it's a different professional environment, but this formatting should mean that Roadies should have enough stories to tell for seasons and seasons to come, should it be a good fit for Showtime.

That's still up in the air at this point. While Roadies is an easy, pleasant show to watch and often an amusing one, it hasn't figured out exactly what it wants to be yet. When it's at its best, Roadies is a series that feels genuine instead of edgy. When it's at its worst, it bloviates for the sake of bloviating, simply to look cool to other music fans. It just needs to figure out how to pull more of the former if it wants to stick around over the long haul.

Roadies will debut as a part of Showtime's summer lineup this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, following the new season premiere of Ray Donovan. To see what else has yet to hit the schedule in 2016, you can check out our summer TV premiere schedule.

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire. The drama about a sports agent who has a breakdown earned several Oscar nominations in 1996, including a win for Cuba Gooding Jr. for Best Supporting Actor, and has been remembered if for no other reason that it’s an incredibly quotable film. The catalyst for all the film’s action is a Mission Statement which Tom Cruise’s character writes which ends up getting him fired. As it turns out, writer/director Cameron Crowe actually wrote the entire document back then, and it’s just been published in its entirety. Now we know why Jerry lost his job.

The Mission Statement was called "The Things We Think And Do Not Say" and it’s 25 pages of stream on consciousness from the mind of the lead character Jerry Maguire. We only get the briefest bit of the document done as voice over as Jerry is hammering it out in the middle of the night, but there’s a great deal more here and now we wish the film had spent more time dealing with the document. The Uncool has published all of it.

The first thing one notices is that great chunks of the Mission Statement don’t even deal with aspects of being a sports agent. It’s full of "random facts." Each one has a number, but they’re in no particular order.

The random facts don’t appear to be connected to anything other than, as an agent, Jerry Maguire spends a lot of time in airports, as do, one expects many of the other people who will be reading this.

What truly comes through, however, is that Tom Cruise's character did once love his job, and he wants to again. He got into it because of the people, and he believes that making the business about the people again can lead to greater success for everybody.

Of course, it’s all also a business, and in the end that comes down to money. Jerry Maguire doesn’t give money much concern here, and that’s his ultimate downfall.

The idea of intentionally having fewer clients is the part that ultimately leads to Jerry Maguire losing his job and starting over on his own. Fewer clients means less money and nobody wants a guy working for them intentionally bringing in less money.

In the end "The Things We Think And Do Not Say" is worth reading if only to get a glimpse at the amount of work that was put into a fairly small part of the movie. However, it’s also funny, strange, and possibly a little touching.

Our favorite characters from The Office have been gone from our screens for three years, now, and while we may miss them, the actors who helped bring those characters to life have started to move on. Now, Rainn Wilson, who perfectly embodied the weirdness that was Dwight Schrute, finally has his next television role.

A report from Deadline states that Rainn Wilson will have a recurring role on the new, hour long Showtime comedy Roadies. The series comes from the mind of Cameron Crowe, the man behind Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire.

Since NBC’s The Office ended its run in 2013, Rainn Wilson has only appeared in little more than a handful of projects. He’s voiced characters in The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange and Adventure Time, and made appearances in small films like The Stream, Cooties, Uncanny and The Boy. Last year he led the police procedural Backstrom on FOX, but the series was not picked up for a second season. He currently has three films in post-production and is recording his part of Gargamel for Smurfs: The Lost Village.

For those who are uninitiated to the term “roadie,” this is someone who works for a band while they’re on tour to help set up and maintain all of the equipment needed for taking a band on the road and performing concerts. The Showtime comedy Roadies will give audiences an insider’s look into the world of a committed group of roadies who live for rock music and the family that they’ve made of one another along the way. The show will center on Bill (Luke Wilson) and Shelli (Carla Gugino), who are the manager and production manager, respectively, of the (imaginary) arena-rock band, The Staton-House Band. The show is told from the point of view of the behind-the-scenes personnel who help to make sure each show goes smoothly, without anyone in the crowd ever knowing who they are or how important their roles are to the concerts.

In the 10 episodes of Season 1, Rainn Wilson will be seen as an overly self-important, but famous, music journalist named Bryce Newman, who will likely be following the band’s progress during their concert tour. Wilson will join a cast that’s already filled with well-known names. Including Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino, the show has also added Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor, Colson Baker (known as rapper Machine Gun Kelly) and comedian Ron White to the ensemble.

Cameron Crowe wrote the pilot and will be directing it as well. Showrunner Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) is executive producing alongside J.J. Abrams and some of his Bad Robot cohorts.

So, is Roadies already bringing back feel-good memories of Crowe’s Almost Famous for you? If so, you’ll want to tune in when the series debts on Showtime sometime later this year.

If, like many moviegoers, you spent part of 2015 wondering what in the world got into Cameron Crowe’s mind when he made Aloha. Luckily for the filmmaker’s fans, his next project is definitely moving forward, as Showtime has put in a series order for the comedic drama Roadies. Whether you think it’s a chance for redemption or another solid notch in Crowe’s belt, it’s got the potential to enter cable’s upper echelon.

For Season 1, Roadies is getting 10 one-hour episodes, which fits right into what Showtime is comfortable dealing out. The show centers on the lives of Bill (Luke Wilson), the manager of the “arena-level” rock group The Staton-House Band, and Shelli (Carla Gugino), the band’s production manager. (The actress replaced Christina Hendricks, who left the pilot after the role was restructured.) The season will follow the band around on a multi-city tour, but will obviously focus more on the behind-the-scenes crew than the musicians themselves, and how relationships play out while on the road. Particularly that of the central duo, as their dynamic goes through thick and then. The supporting cast includes Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor, rapper Machine Gun Kelly and comedian Ron White.

That’s a solid cast, to be sure, and the premise kind of sounds like an extension of Almost Famous, which could be great. And the two other execs worth mentioning here add to the intrigue, as we’ve got Bad Robot involved, including J.J. Abrams, and the showrunner and co-creator is Winnie Holzman, who created My So-Called Life, one of the greatest teen series of all time. Plus, Pearl Jam’s manager Kelly Curtis is on board as a producer and music supervisor.

It’s an interesting combination, and I can’t help but be optimistic that gold will be crafted. That, of course, comes with the knowledge in place that disappointment may develop.

Roadies is rather unlike anything else on Showtime’s current schedule. There’s the gothic horror of Penny Dreadful, the alluring drama of Masters of Sex, the government-driven thrills of Homeland, with comedies like Episodes, Shameless and House of Lies. None of those are musically-inclined, and I hope that Roadies uses that angle to separate itself further. Showtime’s other upcoming shows including Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti’s hedge fun drama Billions and the revival of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, both of which will premiere in 2016. There’s also a Halo show in development, as well as I’m Dying Up Here, a Jim Carrey-produced dramedy about the 1970s stand-up scene.

With guest stars that include Luiz Guzman and Finesse Mitchel, Roadies is expected to hit Showtime at some point in 2016, and that includes all of its online and on demand services. Are you guys anxious for this one?

There are a ton of potentially excellent pilots and series in development at the moment, and one of the most exciting is Showtime’s Roadies, director Cameron Crowe’s first trip to the small screen. But that doesn’t mean that everything is going smoothly, and there’s already been a casting upheaval, as actress Carla Gugino is taking over a role previously slotted for Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks. Let this be the only snafu-that-isn’t-really-a-snafu that’ll affect this show.

Hendricks was set to play leading lady Shelli, but reportedly decided to exit the hour-long comedy project after the creative team decided to revamp some of Shelli’s characteristics. According to THR, Hendricks’ vacating the series was on amicable terms, and the decision to conceive the character in a new way had nothing to do with the actress or her performance. No feuds here.

So now we’ll get to see Gugino as Shelli – assuming Showtime picks the project up to series, anyway – who will be the production manager for the band that Roadies revolves around. (The concept centers on the behind-the-scenes team that keeps a rock tour from imploding.) Shelli is being described as “a world class multitasker, passionate music fan and tireless work partner” to Bill, the band’s tour manager to be played by Luke Wilson. Their relationship will be a core facet of the show’s comedy-infused drama as they mix their professional relationship with their personal one. It’s a description that doesn’t really sound all that different from the original version, but it’s possible the connection between Shelli and Bill was built up more.

Gugino is the latest addition to a cast that already includes Wilson, Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor and rapper Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly. I can’t wait to see who else gets added as it goes on, and hopefully more musical acts will pop in and out.

A veteran of both television and movies, Gugino has been all over the place in recent years, most recently on the big screen with Dwayne Johnson in San Andreas. She was part of the mystery in Fox’s recent bonkers thriller Wayward Pines, which could possibly see her return for a second season if it comes to that. She’s also on the HBO comedy The Brink, which could make her the rare performer to be on two premium cable networks at the same time. Her Roadies role reconnects her with Showtime, where she starred on Californication during Season 4.

The Oscar-winning Crowe (whose career took a recent critical tumble with Aloha) wrote the pilot and will be directing. The showrunner will be Winnie Holzman, who created the one-season-wonder My So-Called Life, and she’ll be executive producing alongside J.J. Abrams, whose Bad Robot cohorts Bryan Burk and Kathy Lingg will be there as well. Here’s hoping we get more info on Roadies soon.

How much do you love Jerry Maguire? I’m going to guess that rather than insisting it’s one of your favorite films ever made, you’re simply happy to be reminded of a virtuoso Tom Cruise performance and a witty if slightly over schmaltzy Cameron Crowe script. But two Jerry Maguire fans have found a unique way to showcase their adulation for the 1996 rom-com. They want to build a pyramid in a Californian desert using every single VHS tape ever printed of the film. Seriously.

The brains behind this rather unique operation are Nick Moore and Dimitri Simakis, who run the website and collective Everything Is Terrible. This team, which is obviously diametrically opposed to everything The LEGO Movie has ever taught us, re-edit clips from VHS tapes for online content and live performances.

But back in 2008 they set out on a mission that even Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible franchise would balk at: they want to acquire every single VHS tape of Jerry Maguire that they can get their hands on. Don’t know what Jerry Maguire is? Then check out this helpful, and amazingly 90s, trailer for the much-loved, but still impressively average, film:

What started out as a little joke at their show has now blossomed into a fully-fledged mission in the eyes of Everything Is Terrible’s posse.

Recently they surpassed the 10,000 VHS mark, and now Moore has told Yahoo that when they reach 18,000 they will go all out to celebrate their achievement. And how will they do just that? Well, they are going to purchase land near Joshua Tree in the Californian desert, which they will then use to build a gigantic pyramid with the 18,000 VHS tapes. But it won’t just be a pyramid. Oh no. Moore and Simakis are also planning on including a tunnel and a well in the pyramid so that fans can deposit even more tapes.

But how did this peculiar project get started? Well, after traveling around a variety of thrift stores, Moore noticed that there were dozens upon dozens of Jerry Maguire video tapes just sitting around. Moore decided to give them a home by purchasing 100 copies of them. He originally decided to hand them out at one of their live shows as prizes. But then had a change of heart because they were simply "too beautiful."

This then inspired them to seek out even more VHS tapes, and they soon started to receive hundreds of copies at shows. In fact, the donations have become so severe that they have their own team to keep track of them. One man by the name of Alex McNeely has even donated 1,157 tapes.

But their biggest push came after Jerry Maguire’s writer and director Cameron Crowe endorsed the project, and they’re now crossing their fingers and toes that Tom Cruise will learn about it and throw his weight behind it. And Nick Moore couldn’t be happier that Jerry Maguire is the film that has provoked such a reaction. Because rather than being a firm fan favorite that is beloved by cinephiles, he loves it because it’s just so average. Probably best not to tell Cameron Crowe that though.

Fancy helping out Nick Moore and the Everything Is Terrible team? Then you can send your copies to:

Everything is Terrible! P.O. Box 50825 Los Angeles, CA 90050 USA

While they’re also planning on going out on tour in October, so you can pop your copies straight into their hands if they’re appearing anywhere near you.

Cameron Crowe’s latest star-studded flick Aloha was met with heated controversy. Not only was the film which featured big names from Bill Murray to Bradley Cooper to Emma Stone and more, a huge flop, but it also brought along many allegations of white washing and cultural misappropriation. While the actors themselves have little to do with these issues, often being asked just to portray as a script tells them, Emma Stone wants to admit her disapproval in the part she played of this controversy, and claims that her eyes have now been opened.

The allegations were primarily in regards to the lack of diversity explored in the film. Aloha was set in Hawaii, a state where caucasians make up only 30 percent of the population, but you sure couldn’t tell in the film that featured little to no Asian-Pacific Islanders. But another specific element is that Stone was actually cast as an Asian-American woman, which she is not. This ignited quite the disapproval, as even the one few realistically represented in the film, wasn’t even cast in the appropriate diversity. Stone, a young, charismatic woman just trying to make her way up the ladder in Hollywood, admits that she now sees the blatant problem in the industry. She told an Australian news outlet:

And as an up-and-coming, now Oscar-nominated actress, Emma Stone has a long ways to go. Every step she takes is a learning opportunity, and further experience for the actress. But along with the lack of diversity in Hollywood, the representation of women has been unrealistically altered as well. A problem Emma Stone has experienced first-hand, playing romantic interests to men many years older than her. She continued in the interview:

Maybe it is because Stone’s just so darn likable, it’s hard to stay mad at her, but these miscastings (that are far too regular in the business) are opportunities for her to work with critically-acclaimed directors that the young actress has probably only dreamed of. We’ll see what this eye-opening does for the starlet, but for now we look forward to seeing her grow, and hopefully land more fitting roles. Next you can see her alongside Joaquin Phoenix in Woody Allen’s Irrational Man hitting theaters on July 17.

Aloha, Cameron Crowe's latest film, hit theaters this past weekend and, unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Emma Stone is far more interesting than the movie itself. The Amazing Spider-Man star took the role of Allison Ng, a quarter Hawaiian woman with a half-Chinese father. This casting caused some backlash among moviegoers. Since then, the filmmaker has released a letter online to defend Stone and apologize for the whole ordeal.

The letter in question is called "A Comment on Allison Ng" and is posted on Crowe's official site. The full transcript can be read here, but he begins by describing Aloha as a misunderstood film that became increasingly so amid the Sony hacking scandal. If you recall, a leaked email from Amy Pascal caught the former studio head saying how she'll never work on another movie like this when the script is ridiculous. But now all anyone can talk about is Stone's casting as Ng, and Crowe would like to offer his apologies, writing:

However, he continues by adding how the character, though proud of her ethnicity, doesn't outwardly look like a Hawaiian, and she's based on a real-life local. Furthermore, he states that many Asian Americans, Native Hawaiins, and Pacific Islanders were employed both in front of and behind the camera, including Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele and his village, to ensure authenticity. Although, he's taking all the comments to heart. He wrote:

Aloha stars Stone, American Sniper's Bradley Cooper, True Detective season 2's Rachel McAdams, and folks like Bill Murray and Alec Baldwin. The story centers on a military contractor (Cooper) who messes up big time and returns to Oahu, which is connected to his greatest career triumphs and is where he reconnects with an ex-girlfriend (McAdams). At the same time, though, in walks in his Air Force liaison (Stone) to put a kink in his romance chain. Unfortunately for Crowe, the film was almost universally disliked by the critics; our own Sean O'Connell wasn't impressed, and Aloha current sits at a deplorable 18% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Aside from Stone's casting, audiences took issue with the overall depiction of diversity in the film...meaning there wasn't much of any. A representative of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans remarked that Crowe's film makes it seem like caucasians make up 99% of Hawaii, while more still denounced the inaccurate depiction of the native cultures.

Cameron Crowe is in need of a hit. His latest effort, Aloha, has been savaged by critics, while audiences have been staying away from it. In fact, Aloha has proved to be such an disaster that moviegoers are wondering if Cameron Crowe has lost his edge. But it sounds as if the Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire filmmaker has devised a possible antidote to his current problem: he has ideas for a sequel to Say Anything, one of his most endearing films. And he’s got huge plans for the potential follow-up.

Cameron Crowe made this admission to Film School Rejects, where he admitted that he has recently been spending a lot of time thinking about the character of Lloyd Dobler (who was played oh-so expertly by John Cusack back in 1989). Crowe has previously insisted that he would be interested in making a sequel, and now it’s clear that he’s already outlined his ideas for the story. The director said,

Sounds like classic Cameron Crowe fodder. The director admitted that he wasn’t sure if it would be a direct sequel to Say Anything, however, it would certainly be a "spiritual follow up." One of the main reasons that Crowe is interested in writing Say Anything 2 is that he really, really loves writing for John Cusack. And even though he’s only mentioned the potential sequel to the actor once, it seems like he would certainly be interested.

There would be plenty of moviegoers who would be interested in catching up with Cusack’s eternal optimist Lloyd Dobler and Ione Skye’s Diane Court. Heart-warming, funny, sweet and a quintessential generation X film, Say Anything has aged gracefully and remains just as potent and impressive as it did 26-years ago. The film revolves around the relationship between Lloyd Dobler, who is an average student, and Court, the school’s valedictorian, as they look to start a relationship in Seattle, Washington, immediately after graduating from high school.

Cameron Crowe’s Aloha has been beset with problems over the last few months. At first it became embroiled in the Sony hacking problems after Amy Pascal privately stated that it never worked, while Hawaiians criticized the film for not featuring enough locals. Reviews for Aloha have also been scathing, and it’s not expected to make much more than its $37 million budget. Coming off the back of Elizabethtown and We Bought A Zoo, both of which were poorly received too, it had been suggested that Cameron Crowe had reached an impasse. But a Say Anything sequel would certainly help to reinvigorate Cameron Crowe’s career. Now all Crowe has to do is get John Cusack to sign up.

Amidst the bright colored bluster of early summer season blockbusters like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Furious 7, it was easy to miss a small romantic comedy like Aloha sneaking into theaters. But Cameron Crowe’s latest does indeed make its way onto movie screens across the country this weekend, bringing a star-filled cast of Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, and Alec Baldwin, among others, along for the ride.

Crowe is a filmmaker who takes his sweet time, often letting many years elapse between the releases of his projects, and as such, he only has a handful of titles on his resume. But it’s also part of why we tend to get excited when a new one pops up, and with that in mind, what better time to countdown our top five favorite Cameron Crowe movies than right now? This is, of course, a highly subjective list, so sound off in the comments below and let us know where you think we went wrong, and what you would have placed where.

5. Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Okay, maybe it’s bad form to start out with something of a loophole, as Fast Times at Ridgemont High isn’t exactly what you might call a "Cameron Crowe film." He did write the screenplay, and if you’re paying attention, his fingerprints are all over the place, but it is actually directed by Amy Heckerling. Still, it’s Crowe’s script, based on a book he wrote after going undercover at a San Diego high school (that in itself sounds like a movie), that gave us indelible characters like Jeff Spicoli, Mr. Hand, and Brad and Stacey Hamilton, and it shares a trait with his later filmography in that it features a killer soundtrack full of memorable music moments. Capturing the small details of high school life like few other films, the 1982 flick basically laid out the roadmap for a decade’s worth of bittersweet teen comedies, and who are we kidding, the influence is still readily felt today.

4. Singles

This one is going to cause some debate, as Singles, Crowe’s 1992 relationship drama set in the heart of Seattle’s exploding music scene, admittedly doesn’t hold up as a movie quite as well as some others on his resume. Still, for fans of a certain age, this film captured the zeitgeist, portraying the city and the scene, as well as a bunch of slacker twenty-somethings clumsily trying to find their way through life and love. Singles is such a capsule of a specific time and place that it’s become a touchstone for an entire generation. Filming real bands, many of whom show up as extras and in small roles (most of Matt Dillon’s band Citizen Dick is made up by members of Pearl Jam), and filming in real clubs, some of which are still there, others relegated to memory (I used to live two blocks from the main apartment building and pass it everyday), it depicts a city and a scene and an era in a way most movies about such a precise time and place rarely do.

3. Jerry Maguire

A lot of times, Jerry Maguire is so identified with the scene of Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. bouncing around, shouting, "Show Me The Money!!!" into telephones that it’s easy to forget that Crowe’s 1996 romantic comedy-drama is actually a great movie. There’s a lovely romantic story, a sweet thread between Cruise and a small, bespectacled boy, and somehow Crowe weaves sports threads throughout as easily as he usually features music cues. Beginning cynical and ending up a heartwarming tale full of emotional and psychological connections, this is also Cruise doing some of his best, most varied work. Rightly or wrongly, he’s so identified as a movie star, people tend to forget that he can actually act when he puts his mind to it, something this movie reminds you of throughout. There’s a genuineness and generosity to Jerry Maguire that is moving and disarming, helping the film transcend and expand beyond the overall rom-com boundaries.

2. Almost Famous

Loosely based on his experiences as a startlingly young music writer for Rolling Stone, Almost Famous is personal, autobiographical, and Crowe’s love letter to rock and roll (he’s fond of calling his movies "love letters"). Revolving around a young, sheltered journalist, the film shows him embark on a great adventure, but it’s about so much more than just a journey. It’s about camaraderie, friendship and love, family and fandom as much as it is about the music. A stellar cast has fantastic chemistry—the guys in the band fight like only people in a band can and do—and Almost Famous is populated by seemingly small scenes that are offbeat and quirky, the kind of things that only happen in the long periods of boredom on the road, that are also touching, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. It’s not necessarily the huge moments that have the most impact, it’s about showing how huge the small things can be.

1. Say Anything

For a certain subset of the population, the image of John Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler standing in a field, holding a boombox over his head, blasting a Peter Gabriel song, is still the most romantic (if slightly stalkerish) moment in modern cinema (it also helped make Cusack the sensitive-man hearthrob). Funny, moving, and deeply invested in its characters and their lives, Say Anything feels like all of Crowe’s favorite themes and concerns coming together. He’s more invested in the onscreen action here than anywhere else in his entire filmography, which is saying something because he’s a filmmaker who tends to wear his heart on his sleeve in his films. There are bands named after this movie, episodes of sitcoms inspired by its lead character, I can’t count the number of records I’ve heard that use samples of dialogue, and that moment with Lloyd and his radio has become truly iconic, emblazoned on t-shirts, posters, stickers, and spoofed countless times. And there’s a damn good reason for that, and the lasting impression is a big part of why it sits at number one on this particular list.

The words Cameron Crowe and controversy normally would go together as well as peanut butter and fish paste. Yet in the past couple of days we've seen not one, but two instances where the filmmaker's latest foray into film, Aloha, has come come under fire. Allegations of white washing and cultural misappropriation have mired the otherwise innocuous looking film, and Sony – the studio backing the picture – has finally come out to address these heavy charges.

Entertainment Weekly broke the news only a short while ago that the studio had made a statement that simultaneously addressed both fronts of Aloha's PR war with those who protest its existence. The statement reads as follows:

While this not only sounds like the typical kind of response a studio rep would issue against claims of Aloha's lack of diversity and respect for Hawaiian culture, it does back up its own claims with reason. Aloha hasn't been seen by the public at large yet, and all that anyone's had to go on is the marketing materials to the film. Focusing solely on the information that's been widely available, one could definitely say that there's a lack of non-Caucasian influence felt in what looks like another Cameron Crowe film.

That's not to say that Aloha lacks quality, but if there's anything Cameron Crowe knows how to write a movie about, it's an attractive dude – who just happens to be white most of, it not all of, the time – finding his mojo thanks to some free spirited woman. However, thanks to a new featurette also released by Sony, new footage has been spotted that starts to paint a better picture for Aloha's diversity woes.

For the most part, there's a lot of the usual behind the scenes chatter and B-Roll. But between the sound bites from cast members and Cameron Crowe's typically insightful remarks about his work, there's more attention paid to the local environment than in any other spot for the film. We even get to see some of the footage that showcases Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele's role in the film. It's not as deep of a dive as some who are railing against the film might want, but the new featurette does hint towards Aloha being a little kinder to its chosen setting's people than previously implied.

Is Aloha shunning the Hawaiian locals? We won't know for sure, but the footage on display in the new behind the scenes clip above looks a lot better than the standard trailer did in that respect. While we can note that using a native actress to play against Bradley Cooper would have been a good step towards making the film just a bit more diverse, we'll just sit back and wait to see how Aloha fares on both the diversity and the critical fronts. We won't have to wait too long, as Aloha opens this Friday in theaters everywhere.

Cameron Crowe’s island romance has already come under fire for a perceived lack of diversity in its culturally diverse setting of Hawaii. Now it appears that Aloha is in trouble again for being culturally insensitive, though this time the source is unexpected. The title itself.

According to a story on Yahoo some Hawaii natives find the title, Aloha, to be a "disrespectful misappropriation" of the word, which has deep cultural meaning to the state's population. The word has become a standard English greeting to say both hello and goodbye, however it also reportedly means a great deal more according to Hawaiians, and they believe that Crowe's new film does not show much, if anything of native Hawaiian culture, so it should not be using the word to attract moviegoers. Janet Mock, on her MSNBC Shift show So Popular!, said:

Ultimately, the issues with the title seem to come back to the broader problem that natives have with the film, that Crowe’s movie takes so much from Hawaiian culture -- it’s setting, mood, and title -- without giving anything back. The film, which stars Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, and Emma Stone, centers on the romance between a defense contractor (Cooper) and an Air Force pilot (Stone). However, the native people, who make up more than a fifth of the population of Hawaii, are barely noticed in the film's screenplay. From what we can see in promotional materials, Hawaii very much is one of the stars of the film, as it has as much space on the poster as each of the two women in the film. If part of the film is about Hawaii, then locals are arguing that the real Hawaii should be shown.

A handful of other films have used the word "Aloha" in their titles over the years. Most recently was 1988’s Aloha Summer which, though not necessarily a great film or great representation of Hawaii, does have a diverse cast -- including native Hawaiian Tia Carrere, of Wayne’s World fame, in the lead female role.

Hawaii is an oft-used filming location, although most of the time it’s used to stand in for other exotic places both real and fictional. It will be seen again this summer as the location of the Jurassic World theme park. When the islands get a chance to play themselves, however, they don't always get the chance to show the world who they really are. Aloha opens Friday.

You would have thought that it would be difficult for a Cameron Crowe film to offend anyone. The man makes crowd-pleasing films. However, Asian-Pacific Islanders from Hawaii are incensed with the rom-com master, accusing Crowe of whitewashing their ethnic community while casting for Aloha, which is set in Hawaii.

The Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) have released a press release, which comes courtesy of the New York Post, that lambasts Aloha for its perceived lack of diversity when it comes to casting key roles. Guy Aoki, who used to reside in Hawaii and is still a member of the MANAA, explained:

Guy Aoki went even further by comparing Aloha to a number of Hawaii-based films that also have predominantly Caucasian ensembles. These included Adam Sandler’s 50 First Dates, the surfer flick Blue Crush, and what’s roundly acknowledged to be the worst Michael Bay film (and we all know that includes a vast list), Pearl Harbor.

But don’t just think that it’s only woeful films that have disproportionate ethnic casts, because the Oscar-winning The Descendants was also cited by MANAA as a prime example of a film that used Hawaii simply for its exotic backdrop and then excluded the native population when it came time to cast supporting roles. Aoki insists that this type of casting is "an insult to the diverse culture and fabric of Hawaii," and is bringing up the issue tied to Aloha to help prove his point.

In pointing out the places where Aloha allegedly stumbles with its casting, Aoki argues that the roles that have been made available to Hawaii locals in the film are only known as "Indian pedestrian," "upscale Japanese tourist," and "upscale restaurant guest." He even points out that none of these characters have names. (It’s unclear, though, how Aoki or MANAA saw Crowe’s film – that point isn’t made clear in the NY Post report.)

What makes the situation even more complicated is that Cameron Crowe had previously taken to social media to insist that Aloha would riff off of the history of Hawaii and make it central to the film’s plot, themes and aura. Aoki remarks that this statement proved to be completely wide of the mark, as he questioned:

Aloha does possess a terrific cast in the shape of Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Alec Baldwin, Danny McBride, John Krasinski, and Bill Murray. However, it has been blighted with issues during production. Not only was its release date moved forward from December to May 29, but leaked Sony emails revealed that the studio behind it have called its script "ridiculous" and said that "it never, not even once, ever works." We’ll see if it’s all that bad when it’s released next week.

Heartbreak has never looked so good! In the new clip from Cameron Crowe’s Aloha, actors Rachel McAdams and Bradley Cooper hash out the details of their breakup, and it’s rather emotional. Take a look below:

In this short scene from Aloha - which comes to us from E! - Brian and Tracy, played by Cooper and McAdams, finally discuss why their relationship ended, to Brian’s dismay. It’s apparent in the clip that Brian was not prepared to discuss the topic at that particular moment in time. Tracy, on the other hand, is clearly ready to discuss their breakup and even hopes for an opportunity for catharsis. It seems she has been patiently waiting for the chance to get her ex to acknowledge his absenteeism during their relationship, ultimately causing its demise in her opinion.

While there are some points in this scene that do hit a certain comedic pitch, it doesn’t take long for it to actually become emotional, with the two characters debating about the merits of an "ultimatum vacation," making accusations of workaholism and simply craving some kind of gesture or sign of caring. No doubt fans of the two A-listers at the center of the drama will see a heartbreaking familiarity between this scene as it plays out and other moments in some of the actors’ other previous films, such as The Notebook and The Words. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

Aloha is a romantic comedy written and directed by Cameron Crowe, the genius screenwriter behind Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Say Anything, and director of Almost Famous, Jerry McGuire and Vanilla Sky - just to name a few. The plot of the movie revolves around Bradley Cooper’s character, Brian Gilcrest, who is a defense contractor that falls for Emma Stone’s character - an Air Force pilot named Alison Ng - after he is assigned to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite from Hawaii. As with pretty much all Crowe films, we can likely expect some laughs, some tears, and a killer soundtrack.

As seen in the clip of Aloha, Crowe—who is known for his ability to write character-driven, personal films—has indeed put his stamp on this movie, as evidenced in the lines being delivered by Rachel McAdams and Bradley Cooper. And if this clip is any indication of what the rest of the film is like, then moviegoers may just get the opportunity to witness another award winning film by the writer/director.

Aloha also features the acting talents of John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Bill Murray, Jay Baruchel and Alec Baldwin, and is due in theaters on May 29th.

We've known it for years as Cameron Crowe's Untitled Hawaiian Romantic Comedy, but the Almost Famous director's latest feature now has a name - Aloha - and a brand new trailer to trailer to go with it. Check it out below!

This trailer comes to us via People, and I'm kind of sad to say that I'm a touch underwhelmed by it. When descriptions of the movie's plot first started leaking online back in 2013, they painted a picture of a rather oddball romantic comedy that would see mystical forces and a sentient computer convince Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone's characters to sabotage a weapons satellite launch that he was assigned to Hawaii to protect. That, however, is not the movie that is being presented here.

Instead, this trailer paints the movie as much more standard fare from Cameron Crowe that has Bradley Cooper torn between a new, younger woman and a former lover (Rachel McAdams) whom he doesn't seem to be quite over. I will give the spot some credit, as the presences of both Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski are good for a laugh in their short segments, but over all I think my expectations were set for a much weirder movie.

In actuality, the only thing "strange" in this Aloha trailer are the title cards that really don't do a great job of selling Cameron Crowe. First off, why promote him as the director of Jerry Maguire when he's also the filmmaker behind the most recent and universally beloved Almost Famous?

Furthermore, why is Cameron Crowe simply called an Academy Award nominee when he won the prize for Best Original Screenplay for - again - Almost Famous?

I will admit that the bit at the end with the star-gazing and close-ups on eyes gives me some hope that Aloha will wind up being the film I was expecting, but for right now I'm just a tad bit skeptical about it. And that fact makes me pretty damn said considering it feels like forever since we've seen Danny McBride on the big screen. Aloha, which also stars Bill Murray, Ivana Milicevic, Jay Baruchel and Edi Gathegi in addition to all the actors mentioned above, will be in theaters on May 29th.

There are a ton of impressive TV projects in development out there, but few have my eyes (and ears) perked as much as Cameron Crowe’s upcoming HBO comedy, which sounds like it could be a spiritual successor to Almost Famous. Roadies, currently in the pilot stage, now has a talented new cast member entering the fray, as Mad Men star Christina Hendricks is joining Luke Wilson and the rest of the previously announced cast.

Roadies’ plot is not an outlandish one, as it takes place during a huge rock tour, only from the points-of-view of the guys who get things up and running behind the scenes. Hendricks will be playing the band’s production manager Shelli. (You can always tell the quality of a person by whether an “I” or a “y” is at the end of the name.) She’s kind of a hardcore gal that deals with her problems privately rather than publically, and she also excels at her job. Which is good, since she’s doing it all the time. I can easily picture Hendricks putting the kibosh on many an ill-advised band member’s ideas for Party Time.

For Roadies, Wilson will play the sleepless tour manager Bill, who is working through five years of sobriety, and will be partnered up with Shelli in keeping the band in line. Imogen Poots (Need for Speed) will play Kelly Ann, a bubbly and personable electrical tech, while Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) is set to play the outspoken sound mixer. For a guitar tech, the show has Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles), whose charm is as sizeable as his grunginess. Rounding out this talented squad is Rafe Spall (Prometheus), who will play a wealthy financial advisor who tags along for the tour to keep the budget intact, regardless of the gaps in his musical knowledge.

Cameron Crowe has written the pilot for Roadies and is set to direct it as well. J.J. Abrams is also on board as an executive producer through Bad Robot, along with My So-Called Life creator Winnie Holzman. This is obviously an all-star bunch on both sides of the camera.

Hendricks, who is set to return to Mad Men in 2015, can be seen in recent features such as John Slattery’s crime drama God’s Pocket and Ryan Gosling’s fantastical directorial debut Lost River. She’ll be seen next year on the big screen in Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places, as well as Campbell Scott’s revolutionary drama A Book of Common Prayer.

Roadies is set to go into production on its one-hour HBO pilot in early 2015 in Vancouver. Somebody get Patrick Fugit involved, stat.

Yesterday, we learned that NBC was putting together yet another TV series idea based on a classic film. This time around, the network wants to turn Say Anything into a TV show. However, the original cast and crew who shot the movie are none too pleased about Say Anything’s new premise and TV potential. Both director Cameron Crowe and actor John Cusack have spoken out to say they won’t be touching the new Say Anything project with a ten-foot pole.

After hearing about NBC’s big announcement, Crowe took to Twitter to exclaim his disdain over what NBC wants to do with his directorial debut.

John Cusack was also asked about the project via social media. Cusack played Lloyd Dobbler in the original film, the romantic, hopeful just-graduated high school student who falls for Diane. His character will be a key part of the updated Say Anything, but the man is adamant he will stay as far away from the new project as possible.

NBC’s latest project will pick up ten years from the events in the original movie. Despite the fact that the movie was originally released in 1989, the new Say Anything will be set in the present day. The central plotline will follow Lloyd Dobbler, who has long since been dumped by Diane. Lloyd finds out Diane is returning to town and there might just be some hope for the relationship. It’s not the worst premise I’ve ever heard the network come up with, but if Cusack and Crowe have their way, the potential series will not come to fruition.

Movies becoming TV projects have been a big trend recently. NBC already has About a Boy on the network, and a Real Genius remake is in the works. Big and Minority Report might also be returning via TV. Whether or not Crowe and co. are happy about it, movies are owned by the studios that finance them, not the directors and actors who create them. The studios ultimately get to decide what happens to each property, whether or not everyone involved with the original movie agrees. Clearly, this latest trend is a divisive one in the industry, but, ultimately, each of the remakes will live and die by their own merit or lack thereof.

Writer-director Cameron Crowe's next project may not have a name yet, but The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project is gaining some curious buzz thanks to a big shift in its release date.

Coming Soon reports The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project was originally being eyed for a Christmas 2014 release, but that Columbia Pictures and Regency Enterprises have backed out of yuletide timings in favor of a potentially more eye-catching opening in the late spring/early summer of 2015. To that end, The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project will now open on May 29, 2015.

Had Cameron's unnamed rom-com hit this December, it would have faced off against stiff competition in the forms of likely award season frontrunners like Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice; flashy epics like Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings or Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies; and family fare like Annie, and Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

In its new spot at the end of May, The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project will compete against the latest installment of the popular haunted horror saga Insidious Chapter 3 and the animated action movie Monster Trucks. Here it seems far more likely The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project could stand out, being a potentially excellent date option amid terror and kiddie pics.

Fleeing a Christmastime spot is often a signal that a film isn't strong enough to pull in award season attention. But rom-coms are rarely noticed by the Oscars anyhow, so this could well be a case where distributors figured Cameron Crowe's distinctive brand of feel-good love story would play best after the intensity of award season has come and gone. Speaking about the shift, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures chairman Jeff Blake said, "Once we saw the film, we knew that it would make a perfect summer release. The movie is Cameron at his best."

The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project will star Bradley Cooper as Brian Gilcrest, a lauded military contractor who travels to the US Space program in Honolulu, Hawaii to revisit the site of his greatest professional triumph. While there, he reunites with an old flame (Rachel McAdams), but unexpectedly begins to develop feelings for the tenacious Air Force soldier (Emma Stone) assigned to work with him. Co-starring are Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Jay Baruchel and Bill Murray. Essentially, the cast on its own offers plenty of reasons to be pumped about The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project. However, Cameron himself is a bit of a wild card.

Of course, in 1997 Cameron Crowe captured the hearts of America with Jerry Maguire, a romance that was a huge hit at the box office and earned five Oscar nominations, as well as one win for Cuba Gooding Jr. Then in 2001, Crowe won an Oscar of his own for the screenplay to the four-time nominated Almost Famous, which surprisingly flopped at the box office pulling in just $47 million worldwide - coming well short of its $60 mil budget. Next came a pair of critically loathed dramas, Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown. Lastly, 2011 brought We Bought A Zoo, a sentimental family-drama that brought in $120 mil worldwide and won mostly good--not great--reviews from critics, earning praise like "likeable," "pleasant," and "a sweet-natured slog."

Basically, it'll be interesting to see where The Untitled Cameron Crowe Project will fit into his mixed bag filmography.

With its latest original offering Penny Dreadful, Showtime reteamed Skyfall's Oscar and Emmy-nominated screenwriter John Logan and Oscar-winning director Sam Medes, and the results have been nothing less than spectacular. The network has attracted an even more impressive supergroup in ordering the comedic pilot Roadies, which was created by multi-award-winning director Cameron Crowe with a cast of executive producers including My So-Called Life creator Winnie Holzman, everyman J.J. Abrams and his fellow Bad Robot Production co-founder Bryan Burk (Lost). So obviously Roadies is either going to get cancelled after one great season, or it’s going to last way too long and collapse beneath the weight of its own stories.

Not only did Crowe write the script for the pilot, but he’ll also be directing, making this his first trip into the world of TV. (Unless you count the music videos he directed playing on MTV.) Interestingly, Roadies is getting a one-hour pilot, though they’re aiming to make it a half-hour series should Showtime give it a full order. And seriously, how vile would the show have to be in order to get left behind?

Roadies, as you may have assumed, is centered in the music world, only with the focus placed on the behind-the-scenes heroes who do everything but the actual songwriting. According to the press release, the pilot takes place during a high-profile tour, with an “inside look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of characters who live for music, and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way.” In other words, it’s a series that J.J. Abrams can’t possibly insert a massive mystery into. Or can he? (It’s a mystery.)

Showtime president David Nevins calls the script “brilliant, original and full of life.” No big shock, really, considering Crowe seems incapable of forming flat, boring narratives. The fact that he’s returning to the music world that he treated with such finesse in Almost Famous is more than enough to get me behind this project. Crowe is currently in the post-production phase of his STILL untitled romantic comedy with Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone, but it seems likely he’ll be free and ready to go as soon whenever the casting is complete. In the meantime, “you can tell Rolling Stone magazine…”

Holzman, who will serve as Roadies’ showrunner, was also the developer and executive producer on the short-lived ABC Family weight camp dramedy Huge. Abrams and Burk – who saw Bad Robot’s Almost Human, Revolution and Believe get cancelled all in the last few months – are busy working on Star Wars: Episode VII, which you may have heard about on Cinema Blend a time or two.

Does Roadies sound like a certified smash, or just a one hit wonder?

Just because Cameron Crowe’s untitled next feature has been in production for around a month now, that apparently doesn’t mean casting for the film is anywhere near complete. Just last week, Bill Murray got attached for an undisclosed role, and the comedy actor streak may continue now that John Krasinski, formerly of The Office, is in talks with Sony to join the laundry list of actors already signed up.

Crowe scripted the island-set romantic comedy based on an old idea he had called Deep TIki, and it will tell the story of a defense contractor (Bradley Cooper) who is sent to Hawaii to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite. While there, he falls in love with a younger Air Force pilot (Emma Stone), all while running into his ex-girlfriend, played by Rachel McAdams. Krasinski would be playing a military man who is married to McAdams’ character according to THR. I bet those two would make some good looking babies.

Somewhere in the midst of this narrative, the island displays mystical qualities, and there’s a sentient computer in it to boot. (Or maybe it boots itself.) The cast is filled out by Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin and Jay Baruchel.

It sounds like much more of a screwball comedy than I’d originally thought, sounding like the premise for some 1960s sitcom that tried to cash in on the success of I Dream of Jeannie. There aren’t enough of those made anymore, and while Krasinski may or may not have a large role, he’ll still be able to adapt to whatever the tone of the film is. Even though in some way every role he gets will always strike me as “Jim Halpert playing such-and-such for a prank.” It’s my fault, not his.

With The Office now behind him, it’s possible Krasinski may be coming back to TV in a completely different role if the proposed HBO Aaron Sorkin-scripted historical drama Life at the Marmont should ever get started. Until then, you can see him in Gus Van Sant’s character-driven drama Promised Land, which Krasinski co-wrote with co-star Matt Damon. Additionally, lend an ear out for his voicework in Pixar’s Monsters University which came out for home release recently, and the upcoming animated anthology The Prophet, based on the classic work by Kahlil Gibran.

At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve Carell also joined this all-star cast in the next few days. Until that day comes, here’s Krasinski at his most silly in a few outtakes from The Office, a show that I can’t seem to stop referring to.

Can we all just take a second to appreciate how wonderful it is to never have to worry about seeing Bill Murray in a movie like Larger Than Life again? I guess it’s technically possible, but doubtful anytime soon, as he’s currently in the latest of several career peaks. Since he’s already worked with directors such as George Clooney and Wes Anderson this year, I guess there’s no harm in him throwing a Cameron Crowe movie on the pile. He’s currently in talks to join the stout cast of Crowe’s still-untitled romantic comedy, and I’m certain the film’s in-progress production in Hawaii won’t be on his list of “cons.”

The story follows Bradley Cooper as a defense contractor on assignment to oversee a weapons satellite launch in Hawaii, where he soon falls for with an Air Force Pilot (Emma Stone), all while reconnecting with a love lost long ago. Mysterious island forces and a sentient computer convince them to sabotage the satellite mission. (It has to stay on the island!) The film also stars Rachel McAdams, Alec Baldwin, Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel, none of whom get any character descriptions. Details on the role Murray was offered are also being guarded for whatever reason. Perhaps he has something to do with those mysterious forces at play. Could he be playing a deity of some kind? It wouldn’t be out of his range, as he already played God in Ghostbusters. Venkman!

According to The Wrap, Crowe is working on the project with producer Scott Rudin, a longtime behind the scenes guy on Wes Anderson films. Anderson is arguably the guy that ultimately set Murray’s career on the path of consistent relevance, directing the actor in some of the most memorable performances of his career. Having last worked together for last year’s Moonrise Kingdom, they worked together again on The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is due out next year at some point.

Also out next year is Theodore Melfi’s all-star comedy St. Vincent De Van Nuys, which somehow already has awards buzz going for it. Earlier this year, we saw Murray in an unorthodox performance as FDR in Hyde on the Hudson and in Roman Coppola’s comedy A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. But the best of the three will probably be The Monuments Men, which Murray will co-star in with director Clooney and a bunch of other awesome actors. Take a look at the film’s latest trailer below, seeing as how it’ll probably be at least a year until we see Crowe’s next flick hit theaters.

A director known for his affecting dramas will soon team up with a comedic actor known for making profanity-laced references to genitalia, as Danny McBride will continue his side streak of dramatic features by joining Cameron Crowe’s untitled next project. The news was unveiled by the film’s star Bradley Cooper while giving an interview with The Huffington Post about the DVD release of Derek Cianfance’s The Place Beyond the Pines. Is it just me, or is everybody else also picturing McBride riffing on Tom Cruise’s manic agency departure in Jerry McGuire? “I’m not gonna do what you all think I’m gonna do…”

This probably isn’t what everybody thought McBride was going to do, especially coming off of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s hit comedy This is the End. McBride will co-star with Cooper, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams in the drama, but the film’s plot is being kept under wraps for now. That doesn’t mean there aren’t clues and speculations abound however.

General consensus is the film will be a rewritten version of Crowe’s Deep Tiki, a project that was first conceived as a Ben Stiller/Reese Witherspoon project back in 2008. The Wrap’s sources say Cooper will star as a defense contractor on assignment in Hawaii to oversee a weapon satellite launch, and that Stone will be playing his liaison, an Air Force pilot. Mysterious island forces, as well as a sentient computer, help to convince them to sabotage the mission. There’s no word on who McBride will be playing, but it seems like a talking computer would be right up his alley.

This all jibes with the initial description of the film, which The Playlist detailed back when the project was first reported. As well, there was a casting call put out last week for a young Caucasian boy to play a kid “obsessed with Hawaiian myths and folklore, and always has a video camera in his hands, taping everything.” Does that mean this will have some kind of a found footage element from a child’s point of view? Boy, I hope not.

McBride will be taking over HBO in the next few months, as Kenny Powers will be back to kick ass and kick more ass in the fourth and final season of Eastbound & Down which premieres this September, and he’ll also star in Larry David’s made-for-TV comedy Clear History, which is set to air in August. On the feature film front, he’ll team up once more with James Franco for Franco’s next directorial effort, an adaptation of William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, while their other Faulkner adaptation together, As I Lay Dying, will see a limited release on September 27.

Expect more info on Crowe’s next feature in the coming months, as Cooper confirmed the film is set to begin filming in September.

You may still think of Bradley Cooper as the handsome, possibly douchey guy who's starred in the Hangover movies and unsuccessfully tried to get serious with this September's The Words, but he's about to have a serious breakthrough thanks to his role in The Silver Linings Playbook, due out next month. Cooper plays a man recently released from a mental institution, where he was placed after a severely violent outburst; he moves back in with his parents and plots how to win back his wife, an idea that everyone but him thinks is delusional.

Cooper's performance in Silver Linings can probably be partly attributed to director David O. Russell, but if a great director is what it takes to get Cooper to be at his best, he's preparing to make another very good move. Deadline reports that Cameron Crowe has decided he wants Cooper to star opposite Emma Stone in his next film, which is set to shoot next spring. When the project was announced over the summer it was described as "a two-hander," with a tone similar to Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire (and, presumably not that similar to more recent flops Elizabethtown and We Bought A Zoo). The fact that Stone was cast first suggest she's got the meatier part, but Cooper should have plenty to work with as well.

Much as I'm starting to like Cooper, and much as I'm dying to see Crowe work with two actors this talented, I'm not sure what to make of this current trend of Cooper starring opposite much, much younger women. At 37, Cooper is a full 15 years older than his Silver Linings Playbook co-star Jennifer Lawrence (though the age gap is briefly acknowledged in the film), and he's 13 years older than Stone. I'm guessing Crowe's script is also written in a way that acknowledges the serious age gap, but it's one more little knife in the side of actresses who reach their 30s and, for whatever reason, never get the chance to start opposite actors their own age.

While The Amazing Spider-Man wasn't a great movie, it did have a lot working for it, and certainly one of those things was Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy. In addition to being a better chemistry match with Andrew Garfield than Kirsten Dunst was with Tobey Maguire in the Sam Raimi movies, Stone brought an interesting strength and independence to her character. We look forward to seeing her reprise the role in the sequel, but between now and then she may be taking part in a new project with a terrific director.

Deadline reports that Stone is set to play the female lead in the next Cameron Crowe movie. While the website doesn't give the movie a title or a plot description, it is said that it's a "two-hander" (Hollywood term for a project with two central leads) and that she will be partnered opposite a man - though he has not been cast yet. The tone is said to be closer to Crowe classics such as Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire. Scott Rudin will produce the movie, Crowe has already written the script, and Sony Pictures has made a deal to acquire and distribute it. The love story will start up production in the spring.

Stone's next film, Gangster Squad, was originally going to be released on September 7th, but due to the shooting in Aurora, Colorado a couple weeks ago Warner Bros. has opted to do some reshoots and will instead release the film next January. The actress also plays a role in one segment of the upcoming Movie 43 and voices the character Eep in the animated film The Croods.

I’m not really sure what people hoped Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo was going to be. Critical reviews of the family film have not been all that high, but We Bought a Zoo was exactly what I expected it to be: a very human, very emotionally driven tale set within the context of an oddball storyline and featuring a slick soundtrack. What seems to be the problem is critics comparing Crowe’s best work, like Say Anything or Almost Famous, to We Bought a Zoo and finding it wanting. Compared to some of Crowe’s earlier work, maybe the zoo flick is not quite perfect, but it is still far better than the average movie. We Bought a Zoo is certainly worth a watch, and maybe even a Blu-Ray or DVD purchase.

If you did miss the live-action family film, you won’t have to wait long. We Bought a Zoo will hit Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital download on April 3rd. The story, about a man and his kids who buy a struggling zoo in the attempt to save it, is packed with some strong performances, including Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, and Angus Macfadyen. To supplement the multiple awesome performances, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has put together a really nice Blu-Ray set, replete with over 2 ½ hours of special features.

Deleted scenes make up a bulk of these extras. The We Bought a Zoo set comes with 20 deleted or extended scenes, including “Sorry About the Rain” and “Benjamin’s Big Speech.” A gag reel and several featurettes will also be included on the Blu-Ray. The featurettes include “We Shot a Zoo,” “The Real Mee,” and “Their Happy Is Too Loud.” Finally, the disc will come with commentary from Crowe, editor Mark Livolsi, and actor J.B. Smoove, as well as an audio track for the movie. Not bad for a Blu-Ray that is pre-ordering for only $29.99 over at Amazon.

If you're of my generation or older, it's a time-honored tradition for the chronically romantic: the mixtape. The lovingly crafted compilation designed to tell that special somebody (or potentially special somebody) just how you feel, in words and phrases far more eloquent and catchy than anything your sorry ass could come up with. The phenomenon is no stranger to the big screen, having been celebrated in movies like High Fidelity and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and while the concept may have gone digital and become the "playlist," the basic concept is still there. If there's any director out there who definitely understands the mixtape, it's Cameron Crowe. The soundtracks to his movies are nearly as important as the script and the actors. So it's no surprise that when Crowe decided to try and convince Matt Damon to star in his new movie, We Bought a Zoo, he turned to his secret weapon: he made Damon a mixtape (fine, playlist, whatever).

Crowe realized he had a hard sell on his hands. While Crowe's involvement automatically made the project worthy of interest, the core concept -- a grieving dad tries to move on from the death of his wife by buying and restoring a run-down zoo with his kids -- could easily veer off into schmaltzy territory. Crowe was all too conscious of this, and knew Damon would be as well, so he gave the actor the personal touch. According to an interview with THR, Crowe flew to the set of True Grit and hand-delivered Damon a package that included Aline Brosh McKenna's script for We Bought a Zoo, a CD playlist he had burned, and a copy of the 1983 movie Local Hero, which apparently echoed the tone he was going for. Crowe told Damon, "I know what you're going to be afraid of; the bad version of this movie is really a movie you don't want to be in. That's what I'm afraid of too." But he invited Damon to give the playlist a listen and then join him in trying to make the good version of the movie. Damon listened to the mix, liked what he heard, and signed on to star.

So, what was the magical mix that won Damon over? Courtesy of THR, here's the list:

• Save It for Later … Pete Townshend
• I'm Open (Live) … Eddie Vedder
• War of Man (Live) … Neil Young
• Soul Boy … The Blue Nile
• Mohammed's Radio … Jackson Browne
• Sanganichi … Shugo Tokumaru
• Airline to Heaven … Wilco
• Buckets of Rain … Bob Dylan
• The Heart of the Matter (Live) … Don Henley
• I Will Be There When You Die … My Morning Jacket
• Ain't No Sunshine … Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
• Child of the Moon … Rolling Stones
• If I Am a Stranger … Ryan Adams
• Concrete Sky … Beth Orton
• Helpless (Live) … Neil Young
• Don't Be Shy (no piano) … Cat Stevens
• Nerstrand Woods … Mark Olson And The Creekdippers

We Bought a Zoo opens in theaters on December 23rd.

Cameron Crowe has to bounce back. He just has to. There’s no way the heartfelt filmmaker responsible for Say Anything, Jerry Maguire and the masterful Almost Famous can deliver another misfire after Elizabethtown. While he has flexed his creative muscle on two impressive musical documentaries in The Union and Pearl Jam Twenty (both worth your time), Crowe fans are waiting with bated breath for his next feature, We Bought a Zoo, to see if the beloved storyteller can get back on track. Today, a poster dropped on TheUncool.com, Crowe’s official fan site. We have it below:

It’s a simple design for what could be a simple drama about a wayward soul (Matt Damon) who moves his young family to a large tract of California land that happens to house a semi-defunct zoo. It’s a rebuilding project, much like Crowe, himself. But I love when Crowe has a dependable leading man in his back pocket (Tom Cruise, John Cusack), and Damon certainly qualifies. The trailer, recently released online, also gives me hope.

We Bought A Zoo is based on Benjamin Mee’s book, and is being adapted by Crowe and Aline Brosh McKenna (Morning Glory, 27 Dresses). It co-stars Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning, Thomas Haden Church, John Michael Higgins and Patrick Fugit. It hits theaters on Dec. 23.

Unlike the rest of the world, I am extremely excited for Cameron Crowe's upcoming We Bought A Zoo. Why? Because Cameron Crowe has written and/or directed three wonderful movies and two totally watchable films, which means when I walk into his next movie, I know there's a higher percentage chance of greatness than with most other directors. Beyond that, We Bought A Zoo is about a family who bought a rundown zoo to fix up. How cool is that? Throw in Matt Damon and possible bear attacks, and this film has at least a seventy percent chance of being above-average, which is in turn, is a sixty percent higher chance than would have of survival, if attacked by a bear. No word on how those figures change if he's in a Jason Bourne costume.

So, with all that being said, here's a little casting news for you. According to Pajiba, Colin Ford has been cast to play Matt Damon's son in We Bought A Zoo. For those of you who can read faster than use IMDB, Colin Ford is Young Sam Winchester on Supernatural, a terrible show I would never recommend anyone watch. He's also popped up in a slew of TV shows and has filmed scenes in movies not released yet.

In all honesty, I lobbied pretty hard for Dwight Schrute here, but apparently, the role called for a certain level of bear fear he just couldn't fake.