The Deep Dark Woods Make Cameo in New Nicholas Sparks Movie

BY Alex HudsonPublished Feb 6, 2013

Nicholas Sparks' novels have previously been turned into cheese-tastic movies like The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, but Canadian indie music fans will have a reason to check out the latest Sparks adaption, Safe Haven, since it features a cameo from Saskatoon alt-country outfit the Deep Dark Woods.

Safe Haven, due out February 14, is a romantic thriller that stars Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel and Cobie Smulders. It's about a young woman with a mysterious past who moves to a small North Carolina town. In it, the Deep Dark Woods play themselves and perform a song called "My Baby's Got to Pay the Rent" during a scene at a July 4 party.

The band said in a statement, "We filmed the movie in Southport, NC, after coming from the Newport Folk Festival and a couple other shows around Boston, New York and Philadelphia. There was a whole lotta waiting around before filming, but once it started they only went through five takes, then off we were eating pizza and drinking soda pop at the restaurant across the street from our hotel."

The song was written specifically for the scene. It was named by Elvis Presley collaborator Red West, who is in the film and was on the set. Listen to the bouncy number at the bottom of the page.

A studio version of the song appears on the Safe Haven Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which came out yesterday (February 5) via Relativity Music Group/Republic Records. The band recorded the track live off the floor at a studio in Brooklyn. The soundtrack also features songs by the likes of Brandi Carlile, Amos Lee, Colbie Caillat, Gavin DeGraw, and others.

Deep Dark Woods will tour Europe this spring. See the dates here. They have reportedly set their sights on a new album. Their last LP was 2011's The Place I Left Behind.

Latest Coverage