''Woman of the Hour'' is a 2023 American period

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film directed by

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Satellite Award, five Teen Choice Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

in her directorial debut and written by Ian MacAllister McDonald. It is based on the life of serial killer

Rodney Alcala Rodney James Alcala (born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor; August 23, 1943 – July 24, 2021), dubbed the Dating Game Killer, was an American serial killer and sex offender who died of natural causes while on death row in California. He was senten ...

, who in 1978 appeared on the television show '' The Dating Game'' in the midst of his murder spree. The film revolves around the events of the game show and stars Kendrick as contestant Cheryl Bradshaw. ''Woman of the Hour'' premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on September 8, 2023 and will be released on October 11, 2024 by VVS Films in Canada.

Synopsis

In 1978, serial killer

appeared on '' The Dating Game'' and won a date with bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw. At the time, Alcala had murdered five women, and his strange facade during the episode later nicknamed him "The Dating Game Killer".

Cast

as Cheryl Bradshaw *

Daniel Zovatto Daniel Zovatto-Blanco (born July 12, 1991) is a Costa Rican American film and television actor. Since 2012, he has starred in films of the horror genre, '' Beneath'' (2013), ''It Follows'' (2014), and ''Don't Breathe'' (2016), as well as the roma ...

Nicolette Robinson Nicolette Kloe Robinson (born April 18, 1988) is an American stage and television actress. She is known for her role as Jane in the television show '' The Affair'' and Jenna in the stage musical ''Waitress'', the latter of which marked her debut ...

as Laura * Tony Hale *

Kathryn Gallagher Kathryn Gallagher (born July 23, 1993) is an American singer and actress best known for her portrayal of Bella Fox in the Broadway musical ''Jagged Little Pill'', for which she received a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and a nominat ...

* Kelley Jakle * Autumn Best

Production

In December 2017, Ian MacAllister McDonald's screenplay ''Rodney and Sheryl'' was featured on the Black List, an annual survey of the most popular scripts yet to be produced. In May 2021,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

announced it had bought a package around McDonald's script with Chloe Okuno on board as director and Anna Kendrick attached to star. In April 2022, with Netflix no longer attached, the film was sold at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. It was revealed that Kendrick was now on board as director and producer as well as appearing as Cheryl Bradshaw, with the working title of the project now ''The Dating Game''. In December 2022, a producer sued another producer for alleged fraud and breach of contract; ''The Dating Game'' was one of three films mentioned in the lawsuit.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

took place in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

with Zach Kuperstein as cinematographer from October to December 2022.

Release

''Woman of the Hour'' premiered at the

on September 8, 2023, with Kendrick and the cast unable to attend due to the

2023 SAG-AFTRA strike From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) was on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer ...

. Shortly after,

, which was to distribute the film worldwide early in its development, reacquired distribution rights to the United States as well as some international territories for $11 million. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release in Canada on October 11, 2024 by VVS Films.

AGC Studios AGC Studios is an American film and television production studio. It was founded and launched by Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford in February 2018 as a platform to develop, produce, finance and globally license a diverse portfolio of feature films ...

sold international rights to the film; among the companies which acquired the film were VVS Films in Canada,

Signature Entertainment Signature Entertainment is a British film distribution and film production company founded in 2011 in the UK. Overview Signature Entertainment was founded in 2011 by Marc Goldberg. The company released over 1,000 films since its inception and ...

in the United Kingdom and Ireland,

Roadshow Films Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, Production (film), production and Distribution (film), distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow H ...

in Australia and New Zealand, Empire Entertainment in South Africa,

Kino Świat Kino Świat ("world cinema") is a Polish independent film distributor and producer. The company was founded in Warsaw in 2001. It was honored by the Polish Film Institute Polish Film Institute ( Polish: Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej ) is a s ...

in Poland,

Sahamongkol Film International Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. ( th, บริษัท สหมงคลฟิล์ม จำกัด, also Sahamongkolfilm, Mongkol Film or SM) is a Thai motion picture production and distribution company. It is the leading movie co ...

in Thailand, Central Partnership in the CIS, Telepool in Germany and Lionsgate in India and Sri Lanka.

Critical response

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woman of the Hour Biographical films about serial killers Films about real serial killers 2020s English-language films Films shot in Vancouver American drama films 2023 drama films 2023 directorial debut films 2023 films Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike Films produced by Roy Lee Films scored by Dan Romer Vertigo Entertainment films Films set in 1978 Films about quizzes and game shows