If you were not sold by the concept for We Bought a Zoo, in which Matt Damon plays a sad widower with two kids who … purchases a zoo, know that you are not alone: Damon himself was more than a little skeptical. As in, he was pretty sure it would turn out to be “the Disney version†of the story, and he didn’t want in. But Cameron Crowe would not be deterred, and so he launched a full-scale bromance attack on Damon, flying to Austin to give his intended the script, a copy of the 1983 movie Local Hero (in which an oil exec buys a small village in Scotland), and a mix CD. He did not, as far as we can tell, blast the CD from a boombox raised high above his head, but still: classic. If you’re curious, here are the songs that convinced Matt Damon to make a movie about living with exotic animals:
- Save It for Later … Pete Townshend
- I’m Open (Live) … Eddie Vedder
- War of Man (Live) … Neil Young
- Soul Boy … The Blue Nile
- Mohammed’s Radio … Jackson Browne
- Sanganichi … Shugo Tokumaru
- Airline to Heaven … Wilco
- Buckets of Rain … Bob Dylan
- The Heart of the Matter (Live) … Don Henley
- I Will Be There When You Die … My Morning Jacket
- Ain’t No Sunshine … Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
- Child of the Moon … Rolling Stones
- If I Am a Stranger … Ryan Adams
- Concrete Sky … Beth Orton
- Helpless (Live) … Neil Young
- Don’t Be Shy (no piano) … Cat Stevens
- Nerstrand Woods … Mark Olson And The Creekdippers
As far as Vulture can tell, only one of these songs (“War of Manâ€) is even remotely related to the important topic at hand (purchasing and running a zoo). And most of them are just sad. Guys, this is a movie about a zoo! Why aren’t you having more fun?