Editing Cameron Crowe (section)

==== ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' ====
When ''Rolling Stone'' moved its offices from California to New York in 1977, Crowe decided to stay behind. He also felt the excitement of his career was beginning to wane. He appeared in the 1978 film ''[[American Hot Wax]]'', but returned to his writing. Though he would continue to freelance for ''Rolling Stone'' on and off over the years, he turned his attention to a book.<ref name="WP1"/>

At the age of 22, he came up with the idea to pose undercover as a high-school student and write about his experiences. [[Simon & Schuster]] gave him a contract, and he moved back in with his parents and enrolled as Dave Cameron at [[Clairemont High School]] in San Diego. Reliving the senior year he never had, he made friends and began to fit in. Though he initially planned to include himself in the book, he realized that it would jeopardize his ability to capture the essence of the high-school experience.<ref name="WP1">{{cite news |date=August 12, 1982 |last=Harrington |first=Richard |title=Cameron Crowe's School Feat |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/08/13/cameron-crowes-school-feat/87047ab4-3ddf-48df-990e-9bb82fcd8fc9/|archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128151811/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/08/13/cameron-crowes-school-feat/87047ab4-3ddf-48df-990e-9bb82fcd8fc9/|url-status=live|access-date=September 27, 2024}}</ref>

His book, ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story'', came out in 1981. Crowe focused on six main characters: a tough guy, a [[nerd]], a surfer dude, a sexual sophisticate, and a middle-class brother and sister. He chronicled their activities in typical teenage settings—at school, at the beach, and at the mall, where many of them held afterschool jobs—and concentrated on details of their lives that probed into the heart of adolescence. This included scenes about [[homecoming]] and graduation, as well as social [[clique]]s and sexual encounters.<ref name="WP1"/>

Before the book was released, ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' was [[optioned]] for a film. Released in 1982, the movie version lacked a specific [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] and featured no major name stars. The studio did not devote any marketing effort toward it. It became a [[sleeper hit]] via word of mouth. The reviews of ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'' were positive, and the film ended up launching the careers of some previously unknown actors, including [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]], [[Eric Stoltz]], [[Judge Reinhold]], [[Phoebe Cates]], [[Anthony Edwards (actor)|Anthony Edwards]], [[Nicolas Cage]], [[Forest Whitaker]], and [[Sean Penn]].