Adding elements of The Shawshank Redemption to anything is like inviting T-Pain to sing a verse on your hip-hop album – it always makes the original work better. I didn’t see We Bought a Zoo because it was a Cameron Crowe film about a family that lost its mom and bought a damn zoo. I keep watching The Shawshank Redemption because it’s a film about life in prison that features Morgan Freeman.

It’s virtually indisputable that the latter shines brighter than the former, and Crowe’s purebred rock soundtrack meshes surprisingly well with the droning chants of “fresh fish.”

Scarlett Johansson is there too in the form of a ho zookeeper, so that Matt Damon will have someone to keep him distracted from watching his kids around all those jungle animals.

“How old were you and where were you when music started being a thing for you?”

It’s a valid question, but fortunately, the rest of the trailer seems to rely much more heavily on band interviews and archive footage than it does on Mr. Lynch’s inquiring mind.

Of course, the trailer makes the doc out to be something of a puff piece, which is no surprise given Cameron Crowe‘s love of music in general and working class rock specifically. That said, the band has maintained popularity and a degree of relevance for twenty years now (hence the name) so perhaps they deserve a little love.

In case you think this is just about the money for Crowe (SHUT YOUR DIRTY MOUTH! THIS IS ABOUT THE MUSIC!), the film will only enjoy a limited theatrical run after its premiere before it film pops up on PBS, where everyone can see it, even if they’re too lazy to get a job and pay for cable. The film will presumably screen in Alpine Valley, WI, over Labor Day for the band’s proper birthday celebration, though no specifics have been announced.

Though he is a fanboy of the Seattle sound, Crowe is a skilled enough filmmaker that PJ20 should look more like a film than a tribute piece.

“Man, if they don’t play ‘State of Love and Trust” in the documentary. I’m gonna be so pissed. SO PISSED!”

If you already follow Crowe, you know that he tweeted these set photos from his new movie, We Bought A Zoo. Check out the photos above. Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, the film is about a family where the mother dies, so the husband does the most natural thing in the world: he buys a zoo, which he runs with his kids. Nothing reminds me of my mother more than hosing the feces off the floor of an orangutan cage.

We Bought a Zoo stampedes into theaters December 23rd, because late December weather is perfect for a zoo trip. (@CameronCrowe)

“‘Black’ is a really good song.”

No, but really:

“I just saw a rough cut. It was so fucking weird seeing footage of stuff I didn’t know anybody was taping at the time. The whole movie is Cameron’s love letter to us – but it’s equal parts complimentary and really painful. It shows our growing pains and some real bad times, including Roskilde [the 2000 Danish festival where nine fans were trampled to death during the band’s set]. It was just really hard to watch.”

I believe it. Being really hard to watch is a common theme in Crowe‘s later works. Did you see Elizabethtown? Yeesh.

This isn’t the only thing connecting the band with Cameron Crowe. The Almost Famous auteur also directed the anti-establishment band in a Target commercial (!) and the video for their song “The Fixer.” In addition to that, it’s also being reported that head Pearl Jammer Eddie Vedder is a big part of the soundtrack for Cameron Crowe’s new movie We Bought a Zoo.

So expect to be learning a lot about Pearl Jam in 2011, especially if you’re like me and your only direct knowledge of the band comes from the copy of Ten that you can’t bring yourself to get rid of for some reason. (via The Playlist)

Higgins joins the wildly over-scheduled Matt Damon, as well as Elle Fanning, Patrick Fugit, Angus McFayden, Scarlett Johansson, and Thomas Haden Church in Crowe’s first outing since the divisive Elizabethtown in 2005. Only two things are known about Higgins character at this time. He’s a zoo inspector (!) who’s got it out for Damon, and he’s “cursed with an active and loud stomach.” Dial up the wacky to 11!

Because Cameron Crowe films are required by law to have thoughtful, nostalgic rock soundtracks, Eddie Vedder and Neil Young will feature prominently in the soundtrack. I wouldn’t rule out an appearance by Crowe’s wife, Nancy Wilson on the soundtrack as well. The project has been fast tracked for a December 23, 2011 release. (Playlist)

Matt Damon is talks to star in director Cameron Crowe‘s (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) adaptation of the memoir We Bought a Zoo. Tell us what it’s all about, Variety: "Zoo revolves around a widowed father who buys a dilapidated zoo in hopes of making a fresh start. He and his children, along with a small but loyal staff, work to get the zoo reopened."

Crowe’s last directorial effort was Elizabethtown (faaaaaaart), so everyone’s looking for another win from the coming-of-age master of Singles, Say Anything, and Almost Famous. Maybe Crowe should consider Tom Cruise for the part instead of Damon. He pulled a terrific performance out of him in Jerry Maguire, and Lord knows Cruise could use a career boost at the moment. I could totally see him running a zoo. A zoo full of little, angry Tom Cruises that cage walls and insist you keep up the facade that you’re his loving and devoted wife.

When it comes to gifts, what do you get the man who has everything? The answer: a new Muppet movie!

Disney has announced the latest installment from Kermit and the gang will hit theaters on Christmas Day, 2011, just in time for the Christ child’s birthday.

Writen by Jason Segel and directed by "Flight of the Conchords" co-creator James Bobin, the project is aimed at introducing the Muppets to a whole new generation of fans.

According to Variety, the film will be up against Steven Spielberg’s Adventures of Tintin and Cameron Crowe‘s We Bought a Zoo, both of which can kiss my ass. It’s Muppet time, bitches! Wakka Wakka Wakka!