Cameron Crowe Remembers Philip Seymour Hoffman

Writer and director Cameron Crowe took to his blog on Monday to remember the great late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who tragically died after a suspected drug overdose on Sunday. Rather than a strongly worded epitaph, Crowe instead decided to recount Hoffman’s performance in a key scene from ALMOST FAMOUS, the 2000 music based comedy drama that joined these two great talents. The scene is one in which Patrick Fugit’s William Miller calls Lest Bangs (Hoffman) for advice in his journalistic career.

My original take on this scene was a loud, late night pronouncement from Lester Bangs.  A call to arms.  In Phil’s hands it became something different.  A scene about quiet truths shared between two guys, both at the crossroads, both hurting, and both up too late.  It became the soul of the movie.  In between takes, Hoffman spoke to no one.  He listened only to his headset, only to the words of Lester himself.  (His Walkman was filled with rare Lester interviews.) When the scene was over, I realized that Hoffman had pulled off a magic trick.  He’d leapt over the words and the script, and gone hunting for the soul and compassion of the private Lester, the one only a few of us had ever met.  Suddenly the portrait was complete. The crew and I will always be grateful for that front row seat to his genius.

Source: The Uncool – Cameron Crowe’s Blog