'Almost Famous' Nearly Starred Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, and Natalie Portman

Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous, about the fictional folk rock band Stillwater in the early 1970s, was a breakout hit for star Kate Hudson. Hudson played the mysterious Penny Lane, winning a Golden Globe and earning an Academy Award nomination for the role. But according to Crowe, Natalie Portman, who was a much more well-known actress at the time, was originally in the running. In fact, several of the film's major parts were initially intended to be occupied by bigger n...