Anna Kendrick fought for the bold opening of Woman of the Hour

Anna Kendrick makes her directorial debut with new Netflix film Woman of the hourand she definitely took a ‘be bold or go home’ approach.

The excellent thriller is based on the stranger-than-fiction story of aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw who, in 1978, ended up dating serial killer Rodney Alcala when she appeared in The dating game.

Woman of the hour is primarily a fictionalized account of the surreal events that took place on the show. However, it is also careful to highlight the women Alcala killed and the brutality of his crimes, without sensationalizing them.

As such, the film begins with the hard-to-watch murder of one of Alcala’s victims. It’s a bold opening that Kendrick had to fight to keep in the film.

Related: First trailer for Woman of the hour

“I was frankly shocked at myself for being so firm. I think I said something like, ‘If it’s really important to you that the film opens in a nightclub and has a certain feeling, that’s fine, but I don’t know how to do that. movie,'” she said. Digital Spy.

“I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this. This is like my first opportunity to direct and I’m being kind of brave.’ So there was a part of me that thought, ‘Who do I think I’m saying this?’ But yeah, I love that opening scene.

“I also feel like I should say that, of course, when you really fight for something, at least you feel very, very happy with the result. You remember it very well and you kind of mythologize it.

“The times I fought for something and made a mistake, those memories are more vague, I couldn’t even tell if that happened.”

Related: Anna Kendrick’s New Film Finally Confirms UK Release

It appears to be a move that has paid off for Kendrick, as Woman of the hour – which she also executive produced and starred in – debuted with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes following its world premiere last year.

Ahead of its release on Netflix this week, the thriller still maintains a 91% rating, which marks the second-highest of Kendrick’s career to date.

Woman of the hour is released on Netflix on October 18th.

Film editor, digital spy Ian has over 10 years experience in film journalism as a writer and editor. Starting as an intern at Trade Bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyze box office results in the UK, as well as carving out his own niche with horror films, participating in genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became a film editor in 2019, a role in which he interviewed hundreds of stars including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, became a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on stage at MCM Comic-Con. Whenever he can, he continues to promote his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.