Cameron Crowe discusses Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Lester Bangs in Almost Famous

Cinema prematurely lost one of its true modern greats over the weekend when Philip Seymour Hoffman passed. Now, in the wake of his death, former collaborator and movie director Cameron Crowe has discussed the actor’s portrayal of renowned journalist Lester Bangs in his cult film Almost Famous.

Speaking on his own website TheUncool.com, Crowe discusses his initial intent for a famous scene in which Hoffman’s character delivers some late night advice to his budding muso protege.

“My original take on this scene was a loud, late night pronouncement from Lester Bangs. A call to arms,” Crowe says. ” 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.”

Crowe continues: “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.”

You can watch the scene in question below. Hoffman passed away on 2 February, age 46.

[via CoS]