Heath Ledger Music Video Completed

Late actor Heath Ledger was in the process of directing a music video for Modest Mouse before his death in January 2008. However, the video for the song "King Rat" was finished in his honor and has been released online at the same time as the new Modest Mouse EP "No One's First, and You're Next," writes the Seattle Times.

Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock spoke about the conception of the idea. "Heath and I have a mutual friend and when we were in Australia, some of us in the band went out on a boat with him and his family and friends and talked about the idea," he said.

The music video is meant to raise awareness about the illegal commercial whaling that occurs off the coast of Ledger's native Australia, BBC News reports. The video depicts a reversal of roles wherein a group of whales go out on a fishing boat and spear and net a bunch of humans. The humans are then skinned, sold, and processed. It gets a little bloody.

E! Online writes that the video's style was inspired by his friend Terry Gilliam, a filmmaker known for his imagination.

The video will be available for download on iTunes this Friday, and the proceeds from the first month's downloads will be donated to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.