March 17, 2009 16:19

Modest Mouse to release Heath Ledger-directed video

The tragic actor directed 'King Rat' before his death in 2008

A Modest Mouse music video directed by the late Heath Ledger is set to be released.

The video for 'King Rat' - a bonus track from Modest Mouse's 2007 album 'We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank' - was directed by Ledger after the actor randomly met frontman Isaac Brock in Australia.

Speaking to VH1 in 2007, Brock explained the original meeting between the two.

He said: "Heath and I have a mutual friend and when we were in Australia, my fiancé and some of us in the band went out on a boat with him and his family and friends and talked about the idea. The idea sort of dropped, but then he just sent me an email saying that he wanted to do it."

The video, which features animation from Terry Gilliam, doesn't have a scheduled release date, but fans have been told to expect to see it in the near future.

Another Ledger-directed video is also set to see the light of day. The Australian reports that Ledger directed a cover of David Bowie's 'Quicksand' by Grace Woodroofe, which is due to be released with her debut solo album later this year.

In other Modest Mouse news, the band are preparing to release an eight-song EP called 'No-One's First and You're Next' this August.

Ledger died in January 2008. A teaser for his final film, 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' (directed by Gilliam), appeared on the internet last month. After the actor's death (which came midway through filming) Gilliam vowed to finish the picture, with actors including Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepping in to finish Ledger's role.

Watch the trailer for 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' below.