In ALMOST FAMOUS, loving yet strict Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand) is a single mother who distrusts rock music and fears drug use. Her children react in different ways. Anita (Zooey Deschanel) drops out of school and becomes a stewardess. William (Patrick Fugit), meanwhile, uses his love of rock 'n' roll by writing album reviews for an underground newspaper. He gets a big break when Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), editor of renegade rock magazine Creem, hires him to cover a Black Sabbath concert. His work for that concert leads to attention from Rolling Stoneeditor Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), who assigns William a cover story on band Stillwater. Williams joins the band on tour.