Monthly Archives: June 2011

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

Comments Off

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

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

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

Filed under News
Jun 29, 2011

Eagles: Track by Track

Comments Off

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

Filed under News
Jun 28, 2011

Inquire Within: Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Comments Off

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

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

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

Manic Pixie Dunst Girl?! – Claire Colburn

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

 

Filed under News
Jun 27, 2011

Door Reviews: Frampton, Croce, New Riders, Black Oak & Hank Snow

Comments Off

Happy Friday everyone. I’d like to share 5 mini-reviews that Cameron did for the San Diego Door. He completely dominated the Stereoscopes (i.e. review) section of the July 28, 1972 issue, so I’ll be sharing all of his reviews over three or four posts. For now, he’s pretty harsh on Black Oak Arkansas and Jim Croce, while being mixed on the latest albums from Hank Snow and New Riders of the Purple Sage. On a better note, he’s very favorable on the first solo album from some guy named Peter Frampton (who used to be the group Humble Pie). Could be the start of a beautiful friendship…

 

 

 

Filed under News
Jun 24, 2011

Billy Wilder: Happy Birthday!

Comments Off

I know it’s getting late today, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to mention and celebrate the late Mr. Billy Wilder’s birthday. Mr. Wilder would have been 105 today. Luckily, you can honor the man by checking out the Conversations in Wilder section of the site . You’ll find an excerpt from the book, Wilder quotes, a filmography and mini biography. You could also watch one of his fabulous films. The Apartment would be a good place to start. You really can’t go wrong with Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, Some Like it Hot, Kiss Me Stupid or countless others in his filmography. Billy directed 27 films, but many people forget what a great writer he was as well.  I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Wilder quotes:

“You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.”

Filed under News
Jun 22, 2011

The Guess Who Makes It 175!

Comments Off

Today’s May 1974 Rolling Stone profile of the Guess Who marks the 175th Journalism entry for the site. That’s a big number, but we have plenty more Cameron Crowe penned articles in the coming months. This includes interviews and reviews from the San Diego Door, L.A. Times, Rolling Stone, Musician magazine, Interview magazine and much, much more. We’ll continue to add these pieces between entries about Pearl Jam Twenty, We Bought a Zoo and The Union.

OK, back to the Guess Who article. It focuses on the split between Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman with some interesting (and juicy quotes) on both sides. Over the years, the band (with Cummings and Bachman) has reunited multiple times, but are unable to use the Guess Who name due to legal issues.

Filed under News
Jun 21, 2011

Splinters of CSNY: Harvest, Manassas & Nash/Crosby

Comments Off

In June 1972, just prior to his 15th birthday, Cameron wrote this epic review of three new albums from the members of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. At this time, this was definitely the most in-depth review that he’d done for the San Diego Door. Neil Young’s Harvest gets the bulk of the attention and you can feel Cameron’s disappointment as you read his review. It’s very clear that Cameron prefers the “stripped down-acoustic” versions of these Harvest songs that Young had previously debuted on tour. Stephen Stills’ Manassas doesn’t fare too well either, but Cameron really enjoyed the Crosby contributions on the Nash/Crosby LP quite a bit.

Filed under News
Jun 19, 2011

EW First Look: Pearl Jam Twenty

Comments Off

Entertainment Weekly has a small feature on Pearl Jam Twenty in their latest issue (#1160 dated June 24, 2011), which just hit the newsstands. They shared the above picture (essentially a behind the scenes image that is not in the documentary) and had this to say:

Cameron Crowe Directs Pearl Jam Doc

It’s been nearly 20 years since Crowe first put the members of Pearl Jam on the big screen as a fictional Seattle band in Singles. Now, in the documentary Pearl Jam Twenty (due this Fall), he’s taking a look at the band’s real-life accomplishments in their two decades together. Crowe (left, with frontman Eddie Vedder) tells EW, “People who’ve seen the movie tend to say one of two things: (a) When can I see the band play live again? or (b) Did we really look like that in the ’90s? – Jason Adams

Filed under News
Jun 17, 2011

David Crosby: Remember My Name-Out Now on DVD/Blu-ray & Digital!


  • Almost Famous- Paramount+
  • Aloha- Starz, DirecTV
  • David Crosby- Starz, DirecTV
  • E-Town- FUBO
  • Fast Times- TUBI
  • Jerry Maguire- Netflix
  • Say Anything...- FUBO,Paramount+,MGM+
  • Singles- Vudu
  • Vanilla Sky- Prime Video,Pluto TV
  • We Bought A Zoo- Disney+