Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown, Slightly Inspired from the Director's Life

The first film Crowe directed, the 1989 comedy "Say Anything", was initially a box-office failure. It suddenly became a hit after Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert put it on their Top 10 list.
That proved that, sometimes, it's just a week that separates fail from smashing success. And that's the lesson learnt by Cameron in his own life. He used that experience when directing the movie "Elizabethtown", now on screen, as the movie is slightly inspired from his life.

Cameron Crowe, talking about that past experience, mentions the reactions he was getting when "Say Anything" was still in its failure stage:
"One of the people involved in the movie called me when we were beginning a little press tour for "Say Anything", and he said, 'Listen, why don't you just take all the credit for this movie yourself? Don't mention anybody else'."

After Siskel and Erbert put the film on the Top 10 list, Crowe got phone calls from the same people, saying "Mention me."

Crowe's father died of heart attack just as his son's success with "Say Anything" was being celebrated.
Cameron now regrets never spending enough time with his father. He thus dedicated "Elizabethtown" to the memory of the loved, but not very well-known parent. As Cameron says: "I loved him; I just didn't know him very well."