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‘Mumford’ Video Director Spills

Band wanted to use a different song to parody.

Stop, there’s no way the Mumford and Sons video could be any better—even if the band had last-minute changes. The video for “Hopeless Wanderer,” which stars Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Jason Bateman, and Will Forte, was released Monday and has become an Internet sensation—but the writer-director says the band wanted to use a different song and maybe even different actors. Sam Jones, who directed the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, pitched the idea to the band, who accepted it—although soon after the actors were signed on, the band asked for input, but Jones nixed the idea. One of the toughest selling points was that Mumford wanted to change the song to “Babel,” but Jones insisted that the song wouldn’t work with this concept.