Jack White Nearly Played Eddie Vedder Inspired Character In Huge Film

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Bradley Cooper has detailed the heavy influence Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder had on his character Jackson Maine in A Star Is Born (there are also Chris Cornell similarities), and it turns out that Vedder’s friend and former White Stripes frontman Jack White almost played the role. Variety reported:

The idea of remaking “A Star Is Born” had been kicked around at Warner Bros. since the ’90s. “Anytime a big pop star broke, we would talk about it,” says producer Bill Gerber. “Hey, should we do ‘A Star Is Born’ with Lauryn Hill or Aaliyah? Whitney Houston had been talked about way back when.”

In 2011, it looked like there would be some movement. Clint Eastwood was briefly attached to direct, with Beyoncé in talks to star with Cooper. The deal didn’t come together, but in 2014, Cooper started eyeing the project as his directorial debut. “I love acting,” he says. “I think it’s the best way to direct for sure.” Still, Cooper initially considered someone else to play Jackson. “I saw this other person that I wanted to do this, who is an actual musician,” Cooper says. “But [the studio] wouldn’t make the movie with him.” A source with knowledge of the talks says that Cooper had met with Jack White, the former lead singer of the White Stripes. But this was all before Gaga came on board.

Cooper told Yahoo that his friend Eddie Vedder helped him create the character Jackson Maine, and gave him tips on songs he was writing for the film. Vedder wrote music for Into the Wild in 2007, featuring the hits “Hard Sun” and “Rise” that have become classics.

“I went up to Seattle and spent four or five days with him and I asked him 9,000 questions,” Cooper revealed. “And he gave me minor, little things that only musicians know about what to do, just aesthetically and the inner workings.”

Vedder’s did have trepidation though about Cooper doing the film. “He thought it was crazy I was going to do this movie,” Cooper laughed. “He was like, ‘What? Bro, don’t do that.’ Cooper said that Vedder was ‘wonderful.’