Anna Kendrick is sharing how she pitched herself to take on the role of director in the new Netflix film Woman of the Hour.
The crime thriller, directed by Kendrick and written by Ian McDonald, is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala, portrayed by Daniel Zocatto, who appeared and won an episode of The Dating Game. Alcala was eventually dubbed The Dating Game Killer.
Kendrick, initially attached in just an acting capacity, found herself pitching herself to take the director’s chair, but she said she only wanted the role if producers thought it was the best move. “I genuinely felt so strongly about the film that I just wanted to do whatever was best for the movie, and if that meant somebody else, being in the director’s chair, I was fine with that,” Kendrick, who also played The Dating Game contestant Cheryl Bradshaw in the film, told The Hollywood Reporter at Thursday night’s L.A. premiere.
“I think it was perhaps the most ambivalent pitch in the history of Hollywood because I can’t really do false confidence,” Kendrick joked. After she nabbed the job, there was one director she called for advice.
“Funny enough, the first person I called was Paul Feig, and the only reason I say that that’s funny is because this is a movie about a serial killer, and we mostly know him for comedies like Bridesmaids,” Kendrick explained.
“I admire him so much as a filmmaker and a collaborator, that I really wanted his perspective, and he had kind of a tough love thing for me,” she said. “It was a very, ‘No excuses, the buck stops with you,’ kind of talk, so I’m very, very grateful to him.”
The actress and director credited her fellow cast and crew members for helping her with the process. “I was really surrounded by people who were incredibly talented and supportive, and they’re really the reason why it didn’t all fall apart all the time,” she said.
Her fellow cast members seemed to feel the same about her. “I have only amazing things to say about her. She’s a great leader,” Zocatto said. “She’s an actress first, so she understands the process that it takes.”
Nicolette Robinson, who plays Laura in the film, added: “In this world, she’s a straight A student.”
Several members of the cast said the film being told through the female perspective drew them to the project. “I love that this story is told through the lens of the victims. I think that flips the script on the serial killer narrative, and it honors the victims,” Kelly Jakle, who plays Sarah in the film, said.
Pete Holmes, who plays the neighbor of Kendrick’s character, seemingly felt similarly. He explained: “I’m the father of a daughter, and it seemed like something that needed to be told, not just another slasher movie or something like that.”
Kendrick said that she would love to direct again but she’s not sure yet what her next project will be. “Right now, it’s daunting to try to find something that I am as passionate about as this [Woman of the Hour],” she said. “I really hit the jackpot in terms of this script, and certainly the cast and crew, so it’s been a challenge for me to find something that I love as much as this.”
Woman of the Hour premieres Oct. 18 on Netflix.
