by Shayley Blair and Dov Kornits
What You Wish For (2023) is an edgy and creepily entertaining feature film written and directed by Nick Tomnay. Although based on a radically fictional premise, there is an unnerving realness underlying the tone, an effect which could be attributed to the seductive qualities of good storycraft, with strong characters and acting also enabling a suspension of disbelief. As a result, it is possible audiences might even be convinced the events depicted are happening literally, in the world.
We asked one-time Sydneysider, now California-based writer director Tomnay, about the film’s genesis. “What You Wish For started out very differently. It was set in the desert and was a rise-to-power story set in the 1980s, then it was a suspense story set in the 1950s on an ocean liner – but it actually took the form it is now after a fairly disastrous trip with a couple of old friends, one I hadn’t seen in 15 years – plus my horror watching the insatiable greed that is so endemic in our world now, especially by those in positions of power.
“I often start out with a concept and begin very loosely working out what the story is,” he says. “Characters often reveal themselves to me through this process and then I try and stay out of their way. There is always a tug-of-war between what a character wants to or will do, and what the plot needs – a lot of my time is sitting with that and getting those things aligned.”
The action and suspenseful moments of What You Wish For instil terror, in an anticipatory ride through unpredictable twists and turns. “I always saw it as a suspense film, subjectively told through the main character,” he explains. “And because of that, we learn information with our protagonist, and because the protagonist does not have a full understanding of what he’s getting himself into, the audience won’t either, and perhaps that style of storytelling is inherently suspenseful. Also, once Ryan [our protagonist] finds out what’s really going on, he is mostly working to find a way out of this situation, which for him is stressful, but hopefully for us is entertaining. We also use silence frequently in the film, which can sometimes create a good amount of tension.”
Nick Tomnay moved to the United States in 2004, armed with his accumulated experience from roles directing and editing commercials. “I spent the next 5 years in New York editing commercials by day and writing The Perfect Host at night. The Perfect Host premiered at Sundance, which is where I found an agent at ICM. Soon after that, I moved to the Bay Area and continued to work in advertising, but I was also determined to become a better screenwriter. I was seeing a lot of ODAs (open directing assignments) through ICM but the majority were not for me. The ones I did like didn’t work out; either didn’t happen at all or they went with a different filmmaker. So, I really dedicated myself to screenwriting, writing on average 2 scripts a year for about 7 years – several went into development, but there’s always an asking for permission that needs to happen to get a film going, you’re relying on other people to let you make the film. And even after that, the money with the right actor and their schedules all have to align – it can be very frustrating.
“The last straw for me, was when one of my more commercial scripts had a movie star attached, we had the money, we had a start date – and then the movie star dropped out, then the money did. After that, I decided to make one of my screenplays myself. To write, direct, produce and edit myself – no permission. Looking through my projects, I decided that What You Wish For was the most producible on a budget and also one of my better scripts in my view – that was 4 years ago.”
What You Wish For was produced with what Tomnay describes as “a very low budget.” Private equity raised with the help of his wife allowed the script to be brought to life, “on the proviso that we would attach a name actor in the lead role.” Securing Nick Stahl to play Ryan set the project on track.
Location was the next important factor. “The script required a South American locale – and because of the tight budget, we could only afford to shoot in a region that offered a production offset.” Columbia was the country that ticked all boxes, but there were still challenges. “The shoot was difficult. I don’t speak Spanish and communication was at times challenging with the crew. It was a 23-day shoot, which meant we had to move quickly. The last day of production was 18 hours in our only studio set – it was exhausting. Fortunately, we had some really talented actors.” In a significant support role, Australian Penelope Mitchell (Star Trek: Picard) makes an eye-catching appearance.
Since wrapping, Nick Tomnay has navigated through green lights all the way. The film is now set to premiere this month at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and then at A Night of Horror International Film Festival in Sydney, on September 30.
