'Big Fish' Song Real Catch For Pearl Jam

'Man Of The Hour' Up For BFCA, Golden Globe Awards

"Big Fish" has made a big splash with awards voters so far this year, with multiple nominations from both the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Golden Globes: Not only are they hooked on Tim Burton's magical direction and Albert Finney's heartfelt performance, the song "Man of the Hour" has voters buzzing, too.

Written by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and performed by the group, the soulful ballad has earned Best Original Song nominations from both organizations. And while Pearl Jam is used to receiving accolades from their work in the music industry, their recognition for a movie contribution is, for the lack of better words, a whole different kettle of fish.

"We're totally psyched about it. It was a huge surprise to us that we're even up for any nomination for anything, so we're very honored," lead guitarist Mike McCready (pictured, second from left) told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "Our band has never really operated on a plan of trying to win awards, so when it happens, it's like icing on cake. It just makes you smile -- I don't know how to put it into words."

While Pearl Jam (which also consists of Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) has been big on the music scene since the early 1990s, the Seattle-based group rarely participates in film projects. They were a part of Seattle-grunge band scene featured in Cameron Crowe's 1992 comedy-romance "Singles"; and McCready joined Crowe again for "Almost Famous" -- the filmmaker's semi-autobiographical tale of the filmmaker that chronicles his early days as a rock journalist.

"I did some guitar leads for the band Stillwater -- when you hear those leads, that's my stuff," said McCready. "(Crowe's wife and Heart singer/songwriter) Nancy Wilson brought me in on the film and asked me to play '70s-type leads and I got to hang out with Peter Frampton. It was a lot of fun."

The character that "played" McCready's leads in the film was Billy Crudup, who oddly enough is one of the stars of "Big Fish."

The film chronicles the relationship between Ed Bloom (Finney) and his estranged son William (Crudup), which became strained by William's frustration over his father's lifelong habit of telling tall tales.

But when William learns his father is very ill, he relives the memories of the stories (told in flashback, featuring Ewan McGregor as the young Ed) in an effort to gain a greater understanding of who his father really is. Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman co-star as the older and younger versions of Ed's wife and William's mother.

While many movie soundtracks feature existing music, "Man of the Hour" was written specifically for the film. Burton specifically sought Pearl Jam to come up with a song for the opus, which plays over the end credits. The timing of the song's introduction is perfect, as it punctuates the movie's poignant final scenes.

"We were so blown away by the movie," McCready recalled of the circumstances that inspired the song. "Eddie and I were standing around talking about it afterwards and were teary-eyed. We were so emotionally charged and moved by the imagination and humanity that we felt because of the movie."

McCready said it didn't take Vedder long to come up with "Man of the Hour" -- in fact he went home and wrote the song the same night they screened the movie. McCready said Vedder already had a demo of the song for the group to listen to the next day, and they recorded it four days later.

And while five days is no doubt a short time for a song to be written and recorded, McCready is glad that the group went with its creative impulses instead of ruminating about it. The spontaneity, he says, really helps breathe life into the song.

"As a musician, if you tend to overanalyze a part of a song or the song itself, it will suck the soul out of it," McCready said. "You can grab the feeling of the song if you record it quickly -- if you get the feeling of it, that's what's most important."

McCready said it's the ultimate reward when you can leave a project knowing it's changed you in some way, if only a little. But the feeling he walked away from the "Big Fish" project was, well, big.

"It affected me in a spiritual way," McCready explained. "It made me think about the relationship between my father and myself. My dad isn't like him, but I know a lot of guys like the character Albert Finney plays, in how they tell tales. Are they really true? Does it really matter? I still love him anyway."

The guitarist said the group was so excited about the song that they performed it live the day after they recorded it. And the setting couldn't have been any more perfect -- it was during a benefit performance for Seattle's YouthCare Organization, a group that helps out homeless youth. McCready says it has always been in the band members' hearts to give back to the community in any way they can.

"I feel it would be neglectful in our humanitarian efforts not to do it, since we have a platform where we can speak from, put on shows and raise money and awareness for organizations like YouthCare," McCready said. "We're going to do it because it's the right thing to do. We've always operated that way and hopefully we always will. It makes you feel great to hopefully be part of a solution to a problem."

More Info: Official Pearl Jam Web Site

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