Eddie Vedder, Hollywood. Hollywood, Eddie Vedder.

The past few months have seen Mr. “Wes C. Addle”—Eddie Vedder—looking more like Mr. Tinseltown than just another (incredibly talented) Easy Street customer. Times don’t look like they’ll be a-changin’ in 2008.

Vedder recorded a song for the Cate Blanchett Bob Dylan study I’m Not There, penned two for the documentary Body of War, then a whole soundtrack for Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. He’ll appear in the upcoming singer-biopic spoof Walk Hard. He’s just added two Golden Globe noms to the list of accolades for his Wild work. And he already has a new film project lined up.

This time he’ll team with R&B star John Legend to write music—songs? lyrics? score?—for a documentary miniseries adapted from Howard Zinn’s two People’s History of the United States books. Production on “The People Speak”—which seems a likely candidate for HBO—begins in January.

Vedder’s long been a fan of Zinn’s anti-war philosophy and politics, so this must be an exercise in dream-fulfillment. But we doubt he ever imagined he’d rub shoulders with the Hollywood A-list. Per Spin:

The project will feature onscreen performances from the likes of Matt Damon, Marisa Tomei, and Danny Glover, plus Viggo Mortensen and Josh Brolin, and will showcase readings based on America's struggles with war, class, race, and women's rights.

"It's going to be a great piece of entertainment but more importantly something people can watch and learn and remember how great this country has been and how individual people have changed the course of history," executive producer Chris Moore said. "It's going to make them think, laugh, and cry and be proud to be American."

We know Vedder can musically facilitate such pointed emotions in few-minute chunks. (See: "Grievance," "Lukin," "Guaranteed.") We know less about John Legend, but he’s worked with Snoop Dogg and Kanye West—both dudes who’ve changed the course of (hip hop) history. The pairing of masterful folk/rock/R&B sensibilities is nothing if not intriguing.

It’s also an indication that Pearl Jam is in Vedder’s rearviewmirror for now. Factor in time for acceptance-speech writing and support for Ralph Nader Democratic Candidate X, and it’s gonna be a while before the group convenes in the studio.

And no, we’re not complaining.