Cameron Crowe’s ‘We Bought A Zoo’ Script Came With A Soundtrack By Eddie Vedder And Neil Young
Leave it toCameron Croweto make the soundtrack for a moviebefore he’s shot a single frame. In a recent interview with MTV,Matt Damonsaid that when he got the script to Crowe’s new film,We Bought A Zoo, it came with a soundtrack that featured “a lot ofEddie Vedder” and “a lot ofNeil Young.”
The film, scheduled for release almost one year from today, July 31, 2025, stars shooting next month. It’s based on a memoir byBenjamin Meechronicling how he and his family decided to buy and run a dilapidated zoo after the death of his wife. Written and directed by Crowe, Damonstars as Meealongside a love interest played byScarlett Johansson, his brother played byThomas Hayden Church, and zoo employeesElle Fanning,Patrick FugitandAngus McFadyen. See Damon’s interview and more after the break.
Here’s Matt Damon.
In case you’re able to’t watch the video, here’s the summary. Basically, Damon got a CD of music with the script toWe Bought a Zooand burned it to his iPod so he could listen to it while running in Central Park. When pressed as to what kind of music he was, he dropped the names Eddie Vedder and Neil Young.
Vedder and Young are both very serious, political rockers whose themes and riffs can be simultaneously catchy and thought-provoking. And knowing Cameron Crowe’s insane knowledge of music, he didn’t make a CD of their hits. He didn’t send Matt Damon theInto The Wildsoundtrack, Pearl Jam’sTenand Neil Young’sRockin' In the Free WorldandDown by the River(thoughOld Manwould fit, right?) I’d be willing to be Crowe went deep into each rocker’s catalogs so that Damon, and one would assume his other actors, would immediately understand the tone Crowe will be going for.
Much like Scorsese, Tarantino or Wes Anderson, Crowe’s use of music is so good that he can take a song that everyone knows, such as Elton John’sTiny Dancer, and completely change our perception of it. Who hears that song now and doesn’t think ofAlmost Famous?
And while there’s no guarantee either Eddie Vedder or Neil Young will be on the soundtrack for the film, if Crowe wants them in, he’ll get them.
What songs of Vedder’s or Young’s do you think would fit inWe Bought a Zoo? And does this news change your perception of the movie at all?
