Almost Famous (2000)

Philip Seymour Hoffman: Lester Bangs

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Quotes 

• Lester Bangs : Aw, man. You made friends with them. See, friendship is the booze they feed you. They want you to get drunk on feeling like you belong.

  William Miller : Well, it was fun.

  Lester Bangs : Because they make you feel cool. And hey. I met you. You are not cool.

  William Miller : I know. Even when I thought I was, I knew I wasn't.

  Lester Bangs : That's because we're uncool. And while women will always be a problem for us, most of the great art in the world is about that very same problem. Good-looking people don't have any spine. Their art never lasts. They get the girls, but we're smarter.

  William Miller : I can really see that now.

  Lester Bangs : Yeah, great art is about conflict and pain and guilt and longing and love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love... and let's face it, you got a big head start.

  William Miller : I'm glad you were home.

  Lester Bangs : I'm always home. I'm uncool.

  William Miller : Me too!

  Lester Bangs : The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool.

  William Miller : I feel better.

  Lester Bangs : My advice to you. I know you think those guys are your friends. You wanna be a true friend to them? Be honest, and unmerciful.

• Lester Bangs : Here 's a theory for you to disregard - completely. Music, you know, true music - not just rock 'n' roll - it chooses you. You know, it lives in your car, or alone, listening to your headphones, with vast scenic bridges and angelic choirs in your brain. You know, it's a place apart from the vast, benign lap of America.

• Lester Bangs : So, you're the one who's been sending me those articles from your school newspaper.

  William Miller : I've been doing some stuff for a local underground paper, too.

  Lester Bangs : What, are you like the star of your school?

  William Miller : They hate me.

  Lester Bangs : You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.

• Lester Bangs : So, you're talking to Ben Fong-Torres, right? Here's what you do. Tell him it's a think piece about a mid level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom.

  [Chuckles] 

  Lester Bangs : He'll wet himself.

• Lester Bangs : You *cannot* make friends with the rock stars... If you're going to be a true journalist, you know, a rock journalist - first, you never get paid much. But, you will get free records from the record company. Fuckin' nothin' about you that is controversial. God, it's gonna get ugly. And they're gonna buy you drinks, you're gonna meet girls, they're gonna try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs. I know, it sounds great. But, these people are not your friends. You know, these are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of the rock stars and they will *ruin* rock 'n' roll and strangle everything we love about it. Right? And then it just becomes an industry of - cool.

• Lester Bangs : You like Lou Reed?

  William Miller : The early stuff. In his new stuff he's trying to be Bowie, but he should just be himself.

• Lester Bangs : The Doors? Jim Morrison? He's a drunken buffoon posing as a poet.

  Alice Wisdom : I like The Doors.

  Lester Bangs : Give me The Guess Who. They got the courage to be drunken buffoons, which makes them poetic.

• Lester Bangs : Don't let those swill merchants rewrite you.

• Lester Bangs : Give me some "White Light/White Heat". Iggy Pop!

  [smiling effusively] 

  Lester Bangs : Amen!

• Lester Bangs : What are you listening to?

  William Miller : Stillwater.

  Lester Bangs : Stillwater?

  [to himself] 

  Lester Bangs : Fucking kid's doing drugs.

• Lester Bangs : Hey, you have to make your reputation on being - honest and, you know, unmerciful.

  William Miller : Honest. Unmerciful.

  Lester Bangs : If you get into a jam, you can call me. I stay up late.

• Lester Bangs : Your writing is damn good. It's just a shame you missed out on rock 'n' roll. It's over.

  William Miller : Over?

  Lester Bangs : It's over! But, you got here just in time for the death rattle. Last gasp. Last grope.

  William Miller : At least I'm here for that.

• Lester Bangs : Beware, beware of Rolling Stone magazine; because, they will change your story, they'll rewrite it, you know, turn it into swill.

  William Miller : But besides that, what would be wrong with it?

  Lester Bangs : You got starry eyes, my friend. Look, do the story. Who cares, you know? It'll be good for ya. Remember this: Don't do it to make friends with people who are trying to use you to further the big business desire to glorify worthless rock stars like Stillwater!

• Lester Bangs : I used to do speed. You know, and sometimes a little cough syrup. I'd stay up all night, just writin' and writin'. I mean, like 25 pages of dribble. You know, about The Faces or Coltrane. You know, just to fuckin' write. Alright.

• Lester Bangs : You're flippin' out. It's good. All right.

• Lester Bangs : What do you type on?

  William Miller : Smith-Corona Galaxie Deluxe.