When Canadian director Michael Stasko signed veteran U.S. actor Ray Wise of Twin Peaks fame for his debut feature Iodine, the pieces fell into place for a DVD distribution deal with Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment.

‘It’s incredible that we got him,’ says the Windsor, ON filmmaker, who wrote the feature with Wise in mind.

In the film, which bowed at the Montreal World Film Festival Tuesday, Wise plays a conspiracy theorist hoarding iodine in the event of a nuclear holocaust, while Stasko stars as the film’s main protagonist John Clem, who returns to his family’s rural Ontario cabin in search of his missing father, and begins to suspect the neighbor (Wise) in his disappearance. The film is produced by Toronto’s Dot Film Company.

‘It’s part mystery, part drama,’ offers Stasko. He says Anchor Bay/Starz, which is planning a 2010 Canadian DVD release, would only come on board if the veteran actor agreed to do the part.

‘The day I had the meeting with them, I got the call [Wise] would do it,’ he recalls.

Wise, who spoke to Playback Daily before the screening, says the script won him over.

‘When [Stasko] sent it over to me he included a CD of mood music that he felt would best represent the atmosphere. I immediately connected with it. It deals with issues I believe in strongly, and I’m able to understand the science behind it,’ he explains.

Whitewater Releasing is handling worldwide sales and Iodine‘s Canadian theatrical release, set for late 2009 or early 2010.