Could Cameron Crowe one day do a Say Anything sequel?

Well, he kind of teased at the possibility recently, according to The Film Stage:

Cameron Crowe seems to be using the next twelve months as the launchpad for a return to the spotlight, with two documentaries and a new feature all coming from the director, after he had been gone since Elizabethtown bombed in 2005. If this barrage of projects pays off, he might end up going back to familiar territory, as ThompsonOnHollywood learned from him that a sequel to his 1989 hit Say Anything… might become a reality.

The idea of follow-ups to movies that you wouldn’t expect to have a sequel isn’t all that new —Before Sunset is one of the more famous examples — but I still can’t say in all honesty that I ever imagined this. His details on it are admittedly scant, but this seems to be the first we’ve heard of it. His quote on the project can be read below:

“I do kind of think there might be another chapter to that. I’ve thought about it from time to time, and talked to John Cusack about it. Lloyd Dobler might be back. It’s the only thing I’ve written that I would consider doing that with.”

I don’t know if Crowe would want to go back to old territory, seeing as he’s just getting back into filmmaking after a long break — aren’t there more original stories for him to tell? I know that you can do new things with old characters, but the thematic purpose behind it doesn’t seem entirely clear to me. One can make the argument that this would be used as a way of exploring the effects of aging about 25 years, and yet it eludes me how these people who we’ve already seen are the best way of doing that. So, while I am admittedly curious what a sequel could bring, that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t quite get the point.

Would you want a sequel to Say Anything…? What direction do you think the characters could be taken in?

-Joey's Two Cents: If he were to make it, I'd certainly be in...thoughts?

Curious who is doing the score to Cameron Crowe's new film We Bought a Zoo?

Well, wonder no further, according to The Playlist:

It was just over a week ago when director Cameron Crowe teased on his website that despite earlier indications that the soundtrack to his forthcoming “We Bought a Zoo” would contain lots of Neil Young and Eddie Vedder, another mystery artist was vying for the gig. “I think it’s going to lean heavily into one or two artists, but not necessarily either of them. We did play a lot of Eddie, Neil and PJ during the movie. It’s kind of revealing itself now,” Crowe explained. “There is another artist who is campaigning in the editing room with his music ala Cat Stevens in ‘Harold and Maude.’ We’ll see how far it gets.” Well, Crowe hasn’t taken too long to let the secret out.

Todd VanDerWerff, TV editor for The A.V. Club is currently attending the TV Critics Press Tour—where Crowe was on hand to promote “Pearl Jam Twenty” which hits PBS in the fall—and he broke the news over Twitter saying, “Jónsi from Sigur Rós is scoring We Bought A Zoo. Everybody add him to your Oscar predictions all at once.”

It’s definitely a name that’s a far cry from the likes of Young or Vedder, but this history between Crowe and Jónsi is significant. Sigur Rós licensed their first pieces of music for use in a film when they allowed Crowe to use “Svefn-G-Englar,” “Agaetis Byrjun” and a live version of “The Nothing Song” in “Vanilla Sky.” At the time, Jónsi joked that he thought it would be funny for Tom Cruise to act over their music, but also said “Almost Famous” made him want to be in a band.

As for Crowe, he had gushed, “Sigur Rós is one of the great bands to know this simple fact — the best music creates a movie in your mind. Making ‘Vanilla Sky,’ we played Sigur Rós constantly. It inspired us and gave us grooves that became part of the DNA of our own movie. But that’s just us. Play Sigur Rós yourself. In every sound and song, they will reach deep into your soul. Sigur Ros is some of the best filmmaking you’ll ever hear.”

And that positive spirit carried through to “We Bought A Zoo” as Crowe explained at TCA, “It was a music-filled experience. Matt Damon loves Sigur Ros. We played some of the music on his first day on set, and he said, ‘Keep it coming man, keep it coming.’”

Of course, any other details are unavailable and it’s unknown if Jónsi is creating new music, will be using some cuts from his solo album “Go” or perhaps will dip into the music he has created with his other side project, Riceboy Sleeps. Also unknown is if he’ll stand as the film’s lone voice or if Crowe will be adding any others to the mix.

Regardless, it’s a great twist to the upcoming film, adding an interesting dimension to the domestic drama. Based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee, with a script from “The Devil Wears Prada” writer Aline Brosh McKenna, the story follows Mee (Matt Damon), a single father who attempts to fulfill his late wife’s wish of moving their family to the titular animal sanctuary. Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning and more co-star. There is definitely a big risk going with Jónsi whose voice in the right mix is deeply moving and in other’s can be somewhat treacly and perhaps over the top. But Crowe has proven himself to be a master of music and song placement, so we’ll definitely give him a huge benefit of the doubt.

“We Bought a Zoo” opens on December 23rd.

-Joey's Two Cents: Works for me...thoughts?