‘Pearl Jam Twenty’ Documentary Will Premiere On PBS

The release plans for 'Pearl Jam Twenty,' the highly anticipated documentary from filmmaker and journalist Cameron Crowe, have been revealed. The film will premiere on PBS this fall as part of the first-ever 'PBS Arts Fall Festival,' a network event that will include nine films total covering multiple genres.

Capping off a year of celebration marking Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary, Crowe's documentary distills 20 years of history culled from more than 1,200 hours of rare footage. Additionally, the film includes material taken from over 24 hours of newly shot interview and performance footage.

Crowe recently dished some details regarding the documentary in a conversation with Rolling Stone, stating "It's the best souvenirs of the past. Some fabled footage you've heard exists but have never seen, and some interviews." For Crowe, 'Pearl Jam Twenty' provides the answer to the question "how do we do 'The Kids Are Alright' of Pearl Jam, and sonic blast the best stuff?"

'Pearl Jam Twenty' will be accompanied by both a book and a soundtrack album, the contents of which we can't wait to see. Crowe himself selected the tracks for the soundtrack album, which will be released by Columbia Records.  The book version of 'Pearl Jam Twenty,' which features a foreword penned by Crowe,  was co-written by journalist and 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' music booker Jonathan Cohen and author Mark Wilkerson. Design elements for the book came from Brad/Satchel drummer Regan Hagar who also is Pearl Jam's in-house designer.

Following the recently announced weekend of anniversary performances by the group, 'Pearl Jam Twenty' will premiere on PBS on Friday, October 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Theatrical screenings for 'Pearl Jam Twenty' prior to the PBS screening are reportedly a possibility, but there have been no details released.

Watch Pearl Jam perform 'State of Love and Trust'