Pearl Jam tapped teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg to appear in the music video the rock band released Thursday for the group’s new single, “Retrograde.”
The 17-year-old, whose activism earned her the title of Time’s 2019 Person of the Year, makes a cameo in the “Retrograde” video as a hooded clairvoyant presiding over a crystal ball.
The animated video begins with a male protagonist visiting a fortune teller while Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder is heard singing about rain, thunder and lightning.
Peering into a crystal ball, the man then sees visions of floods destroying large cities such as the group’s hometown Seattle. Greta is eventually revealed to be the psychic before other scenes of extreme weather of shown.
Josh Wakely, an Australian filmmaker who directed the music video, said that Greta was “the only person” he envisioned for the role and called her “an absolute stone cold hero” for her activism, Variety reported.
Mr. Wakely said that with the video was produced remotely as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic and that he used existing footage of the teen that with her permission he grafted onto the body of an actress, according to the outlet.
“She never had to act a frame, but she provided that emotion I was looking for. It was a huge thrill to see an email in my inbox from her saying that she loved it,” Mr. Wakely said, Variety reported.
“Retrograde” is the fourth single released off of “Gigaton,” Pearl Jam’s eleventh studio album. The band’s earlier output her previously earned them two Grammy Awards out of 15 nominations.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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