Filmmaker Cameron Crowe takes 'The Uncool Book Tour' to Chicago; John Cusack to moderate

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Cameron Crowe is an Oscar-winning filmmaker and author, who just debuted his memoir, called "The Uncool."

He's in Chicago Saturday, where he toured with powerhouse bands as a teenage journalist.

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Crowe recently talked about how he got a life full of movie stars and rock idols.

"Rock was my friend who I couldn't find in school cause my mom was a schoolteacher who skipped me, ultimately three grades, which is lethal at that age. I felt like music was a place where I could find people who understood me," Crowe said. "I just love the feeling that you get when you disappear into a world that inspires you. And music was always that for me. And movies, too. And I wanted the book to feel like something you could visit and revisit like an album and a chapter, make a personal connection that you believe in like a letter to a friend. That's what the 'Uncool' book is for me. That also is what people relate to the most when they say, 'I thought you were talking to me.' It's the greatest privilege to tell a story like that."

Crowe's first movie as a director was "Say Anything."

He came to Chicago and met with a bunch of other actors including John Cusack, who he said he "really appreciated."

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And the movie got great reviews.

"I admire 'Say Anything' very, very much," Gene Siskel said.

"It's a movie about values, about how you want to live your life and what your standards are, and that's pretty rare," Roger Ebert said.

Crowe said the studio lost excitement about the film until Ebert and Siskel reviewed it.

"Before that happened, it was a desert of a lack of enthusiasm. So once again, Chicago comes to wave the flag for my first movie," Crowe said. "If you can wear the uncool like a badge of honor, you might find other people like you. And in your own quiet way, that's kind of cool."

See Cameron Crowe at the Athenaeum Center in Lakeview at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The moderator is Cusack, who the director convinced to be his leading man in his first movie.

Visit athenaeumcenter.org for more information.