William (Patrick Fugit)’s Timeline and Summary
- As a precocious middle-schooler, William learns he is actually eleven years old instead of twelve, as he believed before.
- William's sister, Anita, leaves home. She leaves him her record collection.
- Now fifteen and an aspiring rock journalist, William meets Lester Bangs, who offers him an assignment to cover Black Sabbath.
- William meets the legendary Band Aid Penny Lane as well as Russell Hammond and his band Stillwater, who invite him up to Los Angeles for their next show to continue an interview. William drives up with Penny.
- William receives an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to cover Stillwater.
- Now on the road with the band, William does his best to land an interview with Russell. He fails repeatedly. Their relationship is not aided by Russell's "I am a golden god" night in Topeka.
- Running out of time to complete his interview, and facing the wrath of his mother at home, William consults Lester for help. There, in Greenville, South Carolina, William loses his virginity.
- William witnesses Russell allowing the sale of Penny Lane. He has a confrontation with her shortly after, his emotions getting the better of him.
- In New York, William tells the band that his story on them will make the cover of Rolling Stone.
- Fed up with the band, William hunts down Penny. He saves her life after she overdoses on drugs.
- Later, Penny shares with William her real name. He accompanies her to the airport.
- William and Stillwater have a near-death experience on an airplane. "Write what you want," says Russell after they make it out alive.
- At the Rolling Stone offices, William struggles to complete his story. Told to be "honest and unmerciful" by Lester, he finishes his piece, which criticizes Stillwater. Later, William is shocked to learn that Russell has denied the truth of what he has written.
- Burnt out and alone, William runs into his sister in the airport. They return home together.
- Russell eventually visits William at his house. There the two reconcile and finally have their interview.