Philip Glass Contributes Piano Piece To STOKER

Acclaimed and internationally recognized composer Philip Glass has contributed a piano piece to the new Chan-Wook Park film STOKER, out now.

The minimalist composer, celebrated for his operas such as the Walt Disney biographical piece THE PERFECT AMERICAN and his experimental pieces like EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH, as well as his many memorable film scores from MISHIMA to THE HOURS and beyond, Glass is a unique and impossible to describe artist whose sensibilities seem to fall ideally in line with the sparse, tense, moody style of Park's most well-known movies to date - and, now, the horror-tinged STOKER.

In the film, stars Matthew Goode and Mia Wasikowska take to the piano to plunk out the eerie tune, though that effortless moment of music took quite a bit of rehearsing to get just right on film since the actors actually play the melody themselves onscreen in the pivotal scene.

Park describes the process of getting the actors comfortable enough to play an instrument naturally while acting at the same time, stating, "They were trying to focus on getting the fingers right, but at the same time they perfectly encapsulated the emotions of the characters during those moment."

Wasikowska says of taking on the challenge of playing piano on film, "We had just playback going, and it's such an intense piece... the crew was sort of wilting around us but we were completely into it. When the music is there, all you have to do is surrender." Yet, with a musical piece this memorable, surrender is sublime!

Goode - currently finishing up a run as the headliner of a music-heavy UK TV series, DANCING ON THE EDGE - humorously adds, "I don't play the piano, so the fact that they picked f*cking Philip Glass is perfect. We were able to play certain sections, so we were able to give Park options to shoot from behind. Because we all know the language of film, when you see someone playing something you say, 'I bet they're not playing that.' And then to show you that they are, in a way it's f*cking with the audience. It's quite nice."

STOKER is in theaters now.

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