Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Contributes Music to New Film ‘Fat Kid Rules the World’

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has been dipping his toes into the film world in recent years, and his latest effort comes as part of the Matthew Lillard-directed movie ‘Fat Kid Rules the World.’

Lillard, a newbie behind the lens, is more known for his work as an actor in films like ‘Scream,’ ‘She’s All That,’ ‘SLC Punk,’ ‘Scooby Doo,’ and more recently the Oscar-nominated movie ‘The Descendants.’ And for his first time behind the camera, he paid particular attention to the music.

Lillard tells Spinner.com that it was a major coup to land McCready for his musical contributions. “It’s one of the few times in my entire life where the agent has made a direct impact on my life,” says Lillard of the contact who put him in touch with the Pearl Jam guitarist. “She said, ‘Do you need music for your movie? What about Mike McCready from Pearl Jam?’ and I was like, ‘That would be heaven on earth.’”

The director adds that his agent made the phone call and much to his surprise he was dining with and pitching his film to McCready four days later. “It was one of the best collaborative relationships I’ve ever had,” says Lillard.

As a member of Pearl Jam, McCready earned a 2004 Golden Globe Award nomination for ‘Man of the Hour,’ the group’s contribution to the film ‘Big Fish.’ Plus he served as one of the musicians aiding Christopher Lennertz’s score to last year’s comedy, ‘Horrible Bosses.’ He’s also worked as a guest composer for episodes of the TV series’ Hawaii Five-0 and Fringe.

‘Fat Kid Rules the World’ deals with an overweight and depressed teen whose life is saved when a former classmate and a local guitar legend convince him to form a band. The film has been making the festival circuit rounds and won the South By Southwest Audience Award for Narrative Feature Spotlight back in March. The movie will close the TIFF Nextwave Festival this Sunday, and Lillard is currently seeking distribution opportunities.