This article contains references to murder and sexual assault.
Woman of the hourWhich begins streaming October 18 on Netflix, is based on the strange but true story of serial killer and rapist Rodney Alcala. Known as the “Dating Game Killer” because of his 1978 appearance on a popular game show amid his violent and terrifying crime spree, Alcala was eventually caught and given the death sentence – but the movie focuses on one of his potential victims rather than the Criminal. Anna Kendrick stars as aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw, who meets Alcala on national television as a contestant on The dating game.
Kendrick also directs Woman of the hour From a screenplay by Ian McDonald, making her film directorial debut quite an ambitious undertaking. The most improbable true stories I’ve ever heard. Her zeal seems to have paid off, as the film received rave reviews on the festival circuit ahead of its Netflix release, and her costar David Zovetto (Station Eleven) is praised for the line between Alcala’s charm and restless demanence. But the true balancing act of Woman of the hour Kendrick chronicles the stories of Cheryl and other women in the face of society’s failure to protect them while still bringing the laughs with the dating show’s ridiculous premise.
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ShCreepy rant Interviewed Kendrick and Zovatto about combining the job descriptions of lead actor and director for Woman of the hourAs well as the research that went into portraying the emotional truth of Cheryl Bradshaw’s story in the face of Rodney Alcala’s evil actions.
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut is surprisingly easy for one reason
“The fact that the lead actress and the director are going to be on the same page every day is so great.”
Screen Rant: Anna, I’m so proud of you. You are not only directing, but also acting the lead role along with this. What was the most challenging or surprising aspect of the experience?
Anna Kendrick: Oh, God. This is an overwhelming question. But I think, if anything, I knew that I didn’t really see the idea of ​​directing and acting as a deficit. It sounds like I’m stupid when I say this, but I’m not. The fact that the lead actress and the director will be on the same page every day is so great.
It’s really just one less thing I have to think about. Because there are so many little things, like I knew that I wanted a certain moment to happen in a certain way, and you have to explain it to someone and get them involved with it if they want to do something different? That would be stressful. So, at least I don’t have to worry about that.
Screen Rant: From your perspective, Daniel, how do you think it changed your experience to have a fellow actor direct you?
Daniel Zovatto: It’s someone who understands the process of what you do during the scenes – some things you want to talk about, some things you don’t want to talk about. Sometimes you need some space to yourself. Anna, she is not only a great leader, but she is also a great colleague to have. She always just made me feel like I could trust myself, I could trust my insects so I could follow through with what I believed was Rodney and just encourage me.
And man, it was a great experience. It feels like she’s done it before. I think she did, and she’s not telling anyone, but it really feels that way.
Woman of the Hour strives for emotional resonance over historical accuracy
“I felt heartbroken and enraged at over a decade of injustice and law enforcement negligence.”
Screen Rant: You both have the dating game footage and court records; The story to depict the true crime aspect of the movie. But is there anything else you used to get into the minds of Shirley and Rodney, or even the time period?
Anna Kendrick: Yes, we did. We were able to hire a researcher for a very short window. A lot of the research was just me and a laptop and a Newspapers.com subscription. At some point, Matt Murphy, the prosecutor who was involved in the 2010 retrial, made himself available. I can’t overstate how generous it was of him to do that. While I may call him for a research chat, they are often more emotionally grounding chats. Because, like the prosecutor, he is focused on the victims, and we have never really tried to perfectly in detailed accuracy recreate the situations or the characters.
I could have made the dress that Cheryl [Bradshaw] Worn more than the actual dress she wore, but it was almost like a nod to the fact that we’re trying to tell an emotionally resonant story. We will not get involved in certain minutes because it will get in the way. The thought for me is really, after really diving into all that research, “What is the feeling that I’m left with?” I felt heartbroken and enraged at over a decade of injustice and law enforcement negligence.
Although it was eventually a story that was frankly ready-made for Hollywood, where a young detective comes in and really takes the case seriously and changes things – and then there is the prosecutor. The story happened, but it also feels pretty emotionally dishonest to have focused on things like that because that’s not really the emotional crux of the story. It was always, for me, about trying to serve something that would leave the audience with a certain emotional feeling rather than making sure that every prop or every day is exactly how it happened.
Screen Rant: I love that it still resonates today. Daniel, did you feel this reflected on women in society today?
Daniel Zovatto: Yeah, sure. Just some things like going to your car and how that’s a thing for women.
For me, what really impacted my research was the photographs that were released by the police of all the victims that were never found, and why that was. Because most of the research and most of the stuff we know about Rodney is after that era, right? He’s older, he’s caught, he’s on trial – all that stuff. But the whole decade was a little less information, so the photographs really allowed me to realize that this person is a person who is able to attract people.
He has charisma, he is smart, but he also has the ability to make the other person feel comfortable enough to photograph them and capture the essence of that person. And there are so many beautiful photographs that he took – and unfortunately, they are beautiful. But it gave me an idea of, “Oh, that’s Rodney. I can play with that.” And then all the other research, the bipolar [disorder] And all that stuff.
It’s kind of grab it all together and make your own recipe; Having discussions with Anna while we’re at a coffee shop and everyone’s like, “Are you Anna Kendrick?!” There was a lot of dialogue between us; Just encouragement from you and you trust me.
More about Woman of the Hour (2024)
The stranger-than-fiction story of an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles and a serial killer in the midst of a year-long killing spree, whose lives intersect when they are cast on an episode of The Dating Game.
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Source: Screen Rant Plus