EXCLUSIVE: Get ready for a thrilling ride at the Toronto Film Festival as Netflix closes in on its first major acquisition deal. Brace yourself for Woman of the Hour, a gripping fact-based thriller that marks the directorial debut of the talented Anna Kendrick. Rumor has it that the deal is worth a staggering $11 million. While some films signed SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements to ensure their cast members could attend the festival, many didn’t. Why? Well, signatories, especially streaming platforms, were hesitant to make quick deals due to ongoing negotiations with both WGA and SAG-AFTRA for a new agreement. However, Woman of the Hour didn’t sign the IA, which is why this exciting deal happened during the festival’s first weekend.
Prepare to be captivated by the unbelievable true story of a young woman who won a date on The Dating Game with a man who turned out to be a notorious serial killer. Meet Rodney Alcala, a convicted murderer responsible for at least eight deaths, though investigators suspect the number could be as high as 130. Alcala, a handsome and charming man, lured his victims by posing as a photographer searching for models. Shockingly, he had already been a registered sex offender and had recently been released from prison. Somehow, he managed to appear on the popular daytime show The Dating Game, where a woman would ask questions to three bachelors hidden behind a wall. In this chilling tale, the contestant Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Anna Kendrick) unknowingly chose the killer, but thankfully, she never went on the date. Daniel Zovatto portrays the date from hell. This gripping film premiered on Friday as a Special Presentation at the festival.
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The script for this captivating film was written by Ian McDonald, and it was produced by Anna Kendrick, Roy Lee, and BoulderLight Pictures’ J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules. Stephen Crawford and Andrew Deane serve as executive producers, while Tracy Rosenblum is the co-producer. The financing for this project was provided by Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios. The deal was brokered by CAA Media Finance in collaboration with Range Media Partners.
