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    • Is ‘Woman of the Hour’ a true story? We actually checked the film
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    Is ‘Woman of the Hour’ a true story? We actually checked the film

    Vaseline Posted on

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    Spoiler alert! We discuss plot points in the new Netflix movie ‘Woman of the Hour’ (streaming now), so take note if you haven’t watched it yet.

    Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, ‘Woman of the Hour’ has an unlikely plot that is unfortunately ripped straight from the headlines.

    In the film, Kendrick plays Sheryl, a close replacement for Cheryl Bradshaw, a 28-year-old woman who in 1978 participated in a popular TV show called “The Dating Game.”

    The premise of the show was simple: the bachelorette asked a few scripted questions to three bachelorettes hidden behind a large wall, and ultimately selected one to take a paid mini-vacation together. Bradshaw chose Rodney Alcala, unaware that he was not only a convicted sex offender who had already served time in prison, but also a serial killer.

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    “I can understand why it might be surprising to people that this is something I would choose for my first time as a director,” says Kendrick. But what intrigued her about the grim story was its ability to twist a well-worn police drama that focused on men.

    “On paper, this story was ready for Hollywood, with the focus perhaps on a young detective finally taking on the case, and a determined prosecutor keeping the criminal behind bars,” she says. “But even though those are facts in this case, it felt emotionally unfair to have included that in my film.”

    Kendrick chose to focus “Woman of the Hour” on the countless women who were victimized by Alcala.

    We discuss the facts of this true crime drama:

    Was Rodney Alcala in ‘Woman of the Hour’ really a serial killer?

    Yes, Texas native Rodney Alcala was eventually captured in 1979 and subsequently convicted of murder. It is believed that Alcala attacked hundreds of people and possibly killed more than 100 during his ten-year stint.

    Alcala was arrested in July 1979 after police found earrings belonging to one of his victims in a Seattle storage unit he had rented. He was sentenced to death, but died of natural causes in 2021 at the age of 77.

    Did Rodney Alcala attend NYU and study with Roman Polanski?

    In “Woman of the Hour,” Alcala impresses women by telling them that he is a professional photographer who sees something promising in their beauty, and mentions that he studied with Roman Polanski at New York University. The real Alcala enrolled at NYU but did not complete his studies. There is no indication that he encountered Polanski, then the celebrated director behind films such as ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, at school.

    This was a period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Alcala was on the run from crimes in California and had moved to New York to live under an assumed name, John Berger. In “Woman of the Hour”, while in New York, Alcala seduces and kills a flight attendant, played by Kathryn Gallagher, an allusion to several crimes he has committed in the area.

    How did Rodney Alcala end up on ‘The Dating Game’ in 1978?

    Alcala landed airplay with “The Dating Game,” a Los Angeles TV show, simply by signing on as one of three bachelors featured in each episode. There are no rigorous background checks conducted; otherwise show producers probably would have discovered his criminal record.

    On the show, as in “Woman of the Hour,” Alcala, with long hair and a grin between his teeth, was introduced by the show’s host (played by Tony Hale in the film) as a photographer “working between the recordings by skydiving and motorcycling. .” Although Bradshaw chose Alcala, she felt something was wrong and ultimately did not go out with him, a decision that probably saved her life. Alcala is said to have killed a few other women after her rejection.

    Did the real Cheryl Bradshaw choose her own questions to ask the singles on ‘The Dating Game’?

    No. Kendrick decided to have her character, Sheryl, bypass the “Dating Game” protocol and ignore the silly and often sexist and suggestive questions the bachelorettes would have to ask the three singles. Her clever questions highlight the men’s lack of cleverness, with the exception of Alcala.

    Hale says, “That was a great device that Anna used to show how this was her character’s opportunity to turn the tables on that sexist culture, even though it ultimately brings her closer to that dangerous place because it makes her brings Rodney to choose.”

    Vaseline
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