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© 2000 Dreamworks SKG AsianConnections is proud to present the adventures of Ben's a featured character in "Almost Famous," written and directed by Cameron Crowe. (A true story written and directed by Crowe - his first since writing and directing Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire.") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A friend of mine saw me in the trailer for "Almost Famous," the new Cameron Crowe movie, on Entertainment Tonight. It wasn't me, actually, but actor Terry Chen portraying me, circa 1973, when I was an editor at Rolling Stone. Crowe, back then, was a rock and roll boy wonder, a 15 year-old who lived in San Diego and wanted to write about rock. I gave him his first assignments, and edited his first articles in Rolling Stone. Now, he'd turned those early experiences into a gem of a movie, his first since "Jerry Maguire." Anyway, my friend made note of the likely impact of my being a character in "Almost Famous." "It's an Asian face in an entirely surprising context," he said. I hadn't really thought of it that way. These days, Asian faces are no longer a novelty in films or on television. But, with "Almost Famous," we're talking about a film set in the world of rock, almost 30 years ago. This Asian face pops up in the offices of a national rock magazine - the best known of them all, Rolling Stone. I am the only person of color in those scenes, and that happens to be an accurate portrayal of how it was back then. Soon after my friend's observation, I went to a screening of the film (It opens nationally on September 29th; earlier in some cities). I'd met Terry, who'd won the role over dozens of other actors, and watched him on the set. (You can find an article I did for the San Francisco Chronicle about Terry and me on my home page, www.benfongtorres.com. Go to "What's News" and look for the Chronicle reference and link.) Still, it was a shock when he first came on. He looked younger and more handsome than I could ever hope for - even back in '73. He sounded authoritative and forceful. That's a tone I learned to adopt, although, in real life, I leavened it with lots o'laffs.
But here's the strange thing: Because Cameron had me slotted, in the film, as his boss - from this feared and famous rock magazine - he underscored my four or five appearances with my name. "This is Ben Fong-Torres�from Rolling Stone," Terry would announce. And a character would repeat: "Oh! It's Ben Fong-Torres! Of Rolling Stone!" Crazy. Now, truth be told, I'm a behind-the-scenes character, with only a line or two per scene. But I can see how the Asian image, and the name - odd as it may be, and the result of my father's machinations to get into America in spite of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1888 - could snake into the subconscious; to plant into moviegoers' minds the idea that, yes, 'way back in those days of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zep; of Simon & Garfunkel and Joni Mitchell, there was this Chinese guy in the hierarchy at Rolling Stone. "Almost Famous" is about a kid and his passion; about initial encounters with two of life's greatest phenomena, love and rock and roll. But if, while recalling how a teenager could make it into the major leagues of rock journalism, it also hints that an Asian-American was among the players, I'm a happy minor character. Related: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rotten to the Core When I was on Wheel of Fortune, one of the first puzzles I solved, on my way to almost $99,000 in cash and fabulous prizes, was: TURNABOUT IS FAIR PLAY. I suppose. For a guy whose entire career is based on interviewing, quizzing, and probing other people - most of them celebrities - it seems only fair to agree to the occasional request for an interview. When the producer of Johnny Rotten's Internet radio talk show called, however, I was stunned. What could Rotten, the former leader of the Sex Pistols, a lightning-rod character in the history of punk rock, one of the most caustic critics of�well, of everything - want with me? It turns out that he'd read Not Fade Away, my compilation of past articles, and wanted to have me on for an hour or so. And, when we began talking, it was apparent that he'd really read Not Fade Away. Years ago, when I sat with Larry King to talk about Hickory Wind, my biography of Gram Parsons, I learned quickly that King deserved his rep, for not reading the books of his guests. On the air, he read part of the dustjacket aloud, then came up with questions based on what he'd just read. Johnny (real name John Lydon) was the flip side to Larry King. Rotten not only read most of the 30-plus pieces in the book, but had specific insights on everyone from Neil Diamond and Elton John to Marvin Gaye and Tina Turner. He astounded me with what he'd gleaned from these profiles, and he sparked fresh illuminations, discoveries we made together, on the air, in cyberspace. Yes, he was acidic as ever - he is truly a man who, unlike Will Rogers, has never met a man he's liked - but we had a blast.
------------------------------ Ben Fong-Torres, long-time writer and editor at Rolling Stone magazine, is the author of four books, including his memoirs, The Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese-American, and his latest, Not Fade Away: A Backstage Pass to 20 Years of Rock & Roll. He is Editorial Director of myplay.com, an Internet music site that offers free Web space, where users can grab, store, mix, play, and share music of all kinds. Click to Ben Fong-Torres Articles
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