On top of landing the news that Jeff Bridges is in talks with director Peter Bogdanovich about a third sequel to the American classic The Last Picture Show, Steve learned at the press junket for the upcoming TRON: Legacy that Bridges is currently hard at work on a full length album.

"I'm making an album with T-Bone Burnett right now. After I leave here I'm goin' to the studio and we're cutting some more tracks with this band that's just phenomenal."

Bridges said to expect the album to be released “sometime next year.” When asked if he was going on tour, he replied “Absolutely,” so The Dude may soon be coming to a venue near you! So what’s the band called, and what’s its Big Lebowski connection? “We’re calling ourselves The Royal We.”  If that’s a bit too “Lebowski inside” for you, we’ve included the clip after the jump. But it’s a quote from the Coen brothers film in which The Dude has some fun with grammar. For more on Bridges’ band, including his reunion with Crazy Heart producer T-Bone Burnett, hit the jump.

Regarding the band, his Oscar-winning role in 2009’s Crazy Heart seems to have permanently awakened an itch for music that’s been with the man for quite a long while.

“The music is a big force in me now. I really feel like—I’m goin' on 61 years old now and I’ve been playing music since I was a teenager, and now for some reason all the stars are aligned and it’s just comin' out. That’s my big dream that’s being realized as we speak.”

Crazy Heart was one of my favorite films of 2009, especially because of its music.  Producer T-Bone Burnett is a musical genius, and has been responsible for some of the greatest music of the past few decades (including the phenomenal O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack).  Said Bridges about working with Burnett:

“What’s so weird about it is that the Oscar was about a musician and it’s all connected. And with my dear friend T-Bone Burnett and my friend Johnny Goodwin—he’s my oldest friend, we go back to the fourth grade making music and art together. He wrote a song in Crazy Heart and on this new album he’s got a bunch of songs. So it’s kind of all these dreams coming through.”

As to if there was anyone in particular to blame for Bridges’ renewed passion for music, he mused, “I’ve gotta say I blame Scott Cooper, the director of Crazy Heart, for making that happen. He was one of the best directors that I’ve ever worked with.”

Look for the full interview with Bridges, which is plenty entertaining, a bit closer to when the Tron sequel hits theaters. TRON: Legacy opens nationwide on December 17th.