Actor (clip) - Philip Seymour Hoffman (as Lester Bangs)

Once you go to L.A., you're going to have friends like crazy, but they're going to be fake friends.

They're going to try to corrupt you.

When you've got it on his face, they're going to tell you everything.

You cannot make friends with the rock stars.

You're going to be a true journalist.

No, a rock journalist.

At first, you never get paid much.

But you will get free records from the record company.

There's nothing about you that is controversial, man.

God, it's gonna get ugly, man.

They're gonna buy you drinks, you're gonna meet girls, they're gonna try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs, and I know it sounds great, but these people are not your friends.

You know, these are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of rock stars, and they will ruin rock and roll and strangle everything we love about it.

Right?

And then it just becomes an industry of cool.

I mean, I'm telling you, you're coming along in a very dangerous time for rock and roll.

That's why I think you should just turn around, go back, you know, and be a lawyer or something.

I can tell from your face that you won't.

I can give you 35 bucks.

Give me a thousand words on Black Sabbath.

Yeah.