Aspiring true crime directors, take note please: Anna Kendrick is making sure real-life victims of assault are in the highlight for her directorial debut, Woman of the Hour.
In an interview with SiriusXM, Kendrick shared that she donated her income from the film to nonprofit organizations helping victims of violent crime.
“Once I realized, ‘Oh there’s going to be money exchanging hands,’ I asked myself the question, ‘Do you feel gross about this?’” Kendrick explained to the hosts. “And I did. So I’m not making money off the movie. The money is going to RAINN and the National Center for Victims of Crime.”
This is really impressive when Netflix bought the rights to Woman of the Hour Anna Kendrick took all the money she would have made and donated it to the National center for victims of violent crime.
— Steven T (@steventphoto) October 27, 2024
Known for her comedic roles in Pitch Perfect or A Simple Favor, Kendrick took a serious pivot with Netflix’s Woman of the Hour. The true crime thriller is based on the real-life events of serial murderer Rodney Alcala — known as “The ‘Dating Game’ Killer” — who appeared on the primetime game show in 1978, in the midst of a spree of violent attacks and murders of women. Kendrick also stars in the film as Sheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actor and “Dating Game” contestant who selected Alcala as the winning bachelor on the show, but, like her real-life counterpart Cheryl Bradshaw, gets out of the encounter alive.
While the film isn’t 100% accurate, Kendrick shared that she wanted to focus on the lives of the victims, highlighting their humanity instead of focusing on Alcala’s depravity.
“I felt like the question in the air for a lot of Sheryl’s story is ‘Hang on, do you see me as human or something else?’’” Kendrick told Rolling Stone.
Woman of the Hour is playing now on Netflix. (Editor’s note: The film is rated R, so check content warnings before watching.)
