25 years later, Penny Lane is still the heart and soul of Almost Famous

"From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground."

"The poster for Cameron Crowe's rock-band-on-the-road odyssey Almost Famous, which turned 25 this week, depicts an extreme close-up of the actor Kate Hudson, in character as the ambiguously aged muse and groupie Penny Lane. Her eyes are hidden by reflective shades, and her face is framed by tight blonde curls. But despite being the face of the film's advertising campaign, Hudson isn't the star of Almost Famous. In reality it is Patrick Fugit's bright eyed and bushy tailed music journalist, William Miller."

"Crowe wrote Almost Famous based on his own experiences touring across the US with rock bands throughout the Seventies. He was just 15 when he began writing cover stories for Rolling Stone magazine profiling acts such as The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He remains the youngest journalist to ever do it."

The Independent sends reporters across the United States to cover major issues such as reproductive rights, climate change, and Big Tech and produces documentaries like 'The A Word' that spotlight American women fighting for reproductive rights. The outlet investigates matters including the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC and emphasizes parsing facts from messaging. The Independent refuses paywalls, aiming to make quality journalism available to everyone and relies on donations to fund on-the-ground reporting. Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous is presented as a semi-autobiographical film centered on a teenage music journalist and the muse Penny Lane, rooted in Crowe's early Rolling Stone experience.

Read at www.independent.co.uk