When director Yam Laranas first saw the creepy, imposing house where he would shoot his new horror film “The Wanting,” he knew the film’s score would need a dense, avante-garde vibe — the kind composer Mark Korven created for “The Witch.”
But he assumed hiring Korven would be a lost cause. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, and Laranas needed a Canadian composer under terms set by his Canadian investors, Lazarus Effects Inc., and the production and tax support he received from Ontario Media Development Corporation.
Then Laranas’ editor, Diane Brunjes, asked him something that surprised him: “You know that Mark Korven is Canadian, right?”
It was the best possible news. Laranas met Korven in a loud, packed Starbucks in Toronto — where “The Wanting” was in editing and post-production — and pitched him on the “Exorcist” and “Rosemary’s Baby” inspired film, which stars Adam Brody (“Jennifer’s Body” and Amanda Crew (“Silicon Valley.)
“I knew then that he liked the story already, but was convinced to get on board when he saw the rough cut,” Laranas told TheWrap.
As a director, Laranas is obsessed with tone and sound — as he explains in this exclusive video with TheWrap.
Based on a short story by Laranas and Gin de Mesa, “The Wanting” is about a couple whose dream of starting a family shatters when they move into what seems like an idyllic New England neighborhood. Rob Heydon is producing the adapted screenplay from Donald Martin (“Milton’s Secret”). Sid Ganis and Joni Sighvatsson are the executive producers, and Lakeshore International became the film’s sales agent at Cannes.
A release date for the film will be announced soon.