Netflix is in final negotiations to acquire Anna Kendrick‘s serial killer thriller Woman of the Hour, which premiered to rave reviews this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival — including my own.
Deadline broke the news, reporting that the streamer is wrapping up a deal for $11 million. That makes sense, as not only are serial killers Netflix’s bread-and-butter, but the streamer has a huge pipeline to fill, and with nothing in production, it’s hungrier than ever for finished content with recognizable stars.
Woman of the Hour tells the shocking true story of Rodney Alcala, a Los Angeles photographer who was convicted of murdering at least women, though authorities believed his true number of victims to be closer to 130. Alcala appeared one of the bachelor contestants on a 1978 episode of The Dating Game, and Kendrick plays the bachelorette at the center of that episode. Alcala is played by Daniel Zovatto, who is chilling in the role.
Ian MacAllister McDonald wrote the script, and Kendrick produced the film with Vertigo’s Roy Lee and BoulderLight’s J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, as well as Stephen Crawford and Andrew Deane. CAA Media Finance and Stuart Ford‘s AGC negotiated the deal with Netflix, which brought multiple movies to Toronto, including Reptile, Rustin, Nyad, and Pain Hustlers, which will premiere later tonight.
While I would’ve liked to have seen Woman of the Hour get a theatrical release, Netflix may make the most sense, a strategy echoed by the Sundance sensation Fair Play, which will debut on the streamer next month.
