Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn vaguely recall first meeting each other “backstage at some kind of multi-artist concert.” But their proper introduction came when Tim Robbins hooked them up to collaborate on some music for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. Later, they worked together on I Am Sam. They’ve talked about several projects since then, but it wasn’t until Penn showed Vedder a rough cut of his new film, Into the Wild, until they knew what their next project would be. (Into the Wild is based on the 1996 book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, which tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who cut ties with his family and took off for Alaska with plans to live off the land and the kindness of strangers.) Everything immediately fell into place. Vedder reflects on his songwriting process: “It was startling how easy it was for me to get into his head. I found it to be uncomfortable how easy it was, because I thought I’d grown up. I think all this stuff was right under the surface for me, barely.” Julia Clarke has more in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
The film is in wide release. Find a screening near you.
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