Focus Film's Mr. Right Soundtrack Achieves Unique Balance of Energizing Action Scenes and Sweet Romantic Storylines as Stars Anna Kendrick "...Scores Again…" and Sam Rockwell "…Kills It…"

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - May 23, 2016) - Audiences and critics have been applauding Mr. Right since its release in April. Directed by Paco Cabezas (Neon Flesh, Rage), written by Max Landis (American Ultra, Victor Frankenstein) and starring Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell and Tim Roth, the film is accessible entertainment for fans of romance, comedy and action movies. The director's vision of mixing genres is executed brilliantly in the Focus film, as evidenced by the film landing at No. 4 on iTunes overall, as well as No. 1 for indie films and comedies, opening weekend. 

What's not always evident in successful films is the role music plays in tying the package together, while at the same time underscoring critical scenes at an almost subliminal level.

This musical journey takes front and center stage on the Mr. Right soundtrack, released digitally on April 8^th and in physical formats this coming July by Lakeshore Records. Featuring original music by noted film composer Aaron Zigman (The Notebook, The Other Woman, John Q, The Bridge To Terabithia, The Proposal, Sex And The City), and an electrifying performance by fast-rising new Lava/Republic artist, 18-year-old singer/songwriter Maty Noyes, on the soundtrack debut track, "Love You With a Bang." Noyes was first introduced to audiences on the Weeknd's track "Angel." Her song "Haunted" appeared in the 2015 film/soundtrack The Secret in their Eyes. Mr. Right both stands on its own and reveals much about how an excellent soundtrack can complement and energize a film.

For Mr. Right, Zigman's challenge involved composing music for the film's unusually broad range, embracing sweet romantic moments, character-driven comedy and fast-paced action adventure. "This is what filmmakers call a 'mixed genre' film," says David Helfant, President/CEO of Arpeggio Entertainment and co-music supervisor with Maureen Crowe on Mr. Right. "When you're doing an action/adventure, the music has a certain feel. When you're doing a romantic comedy, it has a very different feel. We had a tremendous challenge in trying to marry the two genres, especially on the small budget of this independent production."

"The score was very important to this film," Crowe adds. "You have a short amount of time in a romantic comedy to set up characters. It's about trying to understand these characters very quickly and you need music to help support that. Pop songs can work for that, but for the action scenes you need to underscore the visual images with compelling original music. It was very important to deliver on both fronts and make sure they worked harmoniously."

As the music supervisor team, Helfant and Crowe brought wide experience and major success to the project: Helfant is a former in-house film studio exec at Paramount Pictures (School Of Rock, The Longest Yard, The Italian Job, Mean Girls, Get Rich Or Die Tryin'), while Crowe is credited with three of the most successful selling soundtracks in motion picture history -- The Bodyguard, Wayne's World and Chicago.

One of Helfant's first tasks on the picture was to recruit Zigman. "His contribution to Mr. Right was classic Aaron," Helfant says. "He did a tremendous amount of work and totally nailed it. The score came out amazing. We are so proud of what he accomplished musically."

"It was a pleasure doing this film with Paco Cabezas because he had such original ideas, and because he made a film that was atypical of its genre," says Zigman. "It was Paco's ideas and incredible talents that drew me in, and inspired me to write and collaborate on this score with Paco and the rest of the music and production team."

The score for Mr. Right ranges from very short cues to extended musical compositions that link various storylines seamlessly. One example involves the moment when Kendrick's character Martha realizes that her boyfriend Francis, played by Rockwell, works as a hit man. The music alternates between Zigman's ominous cues and excerpts from Minnutes' upbeat "Sunshine Goodtime." Against all odds, these contrasting elements blend into an emotional statement that unifies the action overall.

Zigman's work is critical even from the film's opening moments, which lead from a wistful flashback to Martha's childhood into the present, where she is desperately cleaning her apartment before a visit from her boyfriend. For this scene, Meghan Trainor's appropriately titled hit "Dear Future Husband" captures Martha's frenzy, as well as their relationship's imminent collapse.

"Paco had expressed the importance of the action world in this film, so that's precisely where I began," Zigman explained. To achieve this, Zigman used his own palette of electronic pulses, which he and his team created for the film, augmented with orchestral elements. "In this film the action was, in a sense, what brought these two characters together -- it created this underlying, superhuman energy that bonded them together, though it was ultimately Mr. Right who was able to successfully help his counterpart, Martha, discover her own sense of self-empowerment."

For the more romantic parts of the film, Zigman used organic instruments, "including ukulele and interesting, imaging-type guitars, as well as a rhythm section in which the guitars often carried the melody in order to make things a bit more hip and modern," he described. "I basically approached it as if it were a track coming from a modern-day pop record featuring a melodic, but groove-heavy tune sitting on top of a track with pulse and rhythm."

Later, right after the high-impact final seconds of the closing scene, music is provided by new Lava/Republic artist Maty Noyes, whose original tune "Love You With A Bang" provides a perfect coda, as well as an irresistible "marketing track" for the Mr. Right trailer.

"Maty was so blown away by the movie that she was inspired to immediately write the song," Helfant recalls. "She is a new artist, but when her debut album is released, I'm sure its visibility will draw people back to Maty's original composition for the film."

"It's magical when a song captures the feel of a film," observes Lava Records CEO Jason Flom, adding, "Maty Noyes's 'Love You With A Bang' fits like a glove with this fantastic movie, Mr. Right."

Maty shared the spotlight on Good Morning America recently, in a duet with Kygo, performing his new single, "Stay."

As much as audiences are enjoying Mr. Right on various platforms throughout the United States, movie and music buffs will find much to appreciate on the Lakeshore Records' soundtrack release.

"The Mr. Right soundtrack is a great addition to the Lakeshore Records catalog of fun, high-profile, action-comedy soundtracks," says the label's President/CEO Brian McNelis. "This album fits in as great company to our releases like The Heat, Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express and The Nice Guys."

For more on Mr. Right, visit:

http://www.focusfeatures.com/video/mr_right_trailer
http://www.lakeshorerecords.com/
http://amasiaentertainment.com/

"…with the slick, frenetic confection, 'Mr. Right,' (Kendrick) dips into that tricky genre…hybrid action thriller and romantic comedy…and scores again; …screwball effervescence…"
--New York Times

"The chemistry between Rockwell and Kendrick drives the movie…fast and wonderful together..."
--Chicago Sun Times

"Off the charts…"
--NY Post

"…carnival of blood and romance hard to resist…"
--Entertainment Weekly