Although he was sentenced to death, Alcala died at 77 of natural causes in 2021.
It was just an amazing collaboration, said McDonald.
Her notes were really astute both on a macro level and also on a micro level.
‘Woman of the Hour’ director and star Anna Kendrick and director of photography Zach Kuperstein on set.Leah Gallo/Netflix
And Annas like: This feels weird to say.
I like that youre giving your female characters this much agency, but you should probably give them less.
And youre not contradicting them.
Tony Hale and Anna Kendrick inWoman of the Hour(Netflix)Leah Gallo/Netflix
And so the whole thing was just sort of scaled down and made to be more subtle.
And there were a handful of scenes like that, that she improved immeasurably through these very detailed notes.
Theres a lot of shitty guys in the world who are not serial killers, explained McDonald.
And the idea was to explore not [just] him per se but the spectrum.
Rodney basically created this story.
And so I really didnt know what to expect from the script.
So I just loved the script and of course, wanted to be in the movie.
And kind of Oh God, I feel like Im describing Frankensteins monster, like Im the mad scientist.
DEADLINE:Well, youve obviously been in the industry for a while now.
Had you been thinking about starting directing or was this just kind of an opportunity that came along?
Why would we do this?
Why would we rock the boat?
So I was definitely fighting the impulse to stay comfortable.
But Im very glad I fought through that, I guess.
Was that intentional, and did you draw from your own experiences in Hollywood?
So there was something really satisfying about casting them as pigs.
And I think they had fun doing it.
I hope they had fun doing it.
That happened to me when I was 19.
And then in the one test screening that we did, it was the first laugh.
So I was like, OK, great.
Because I think after the opening scene, the audience is not sure if they have permission to laugh.
DEADLINE:Switching up a little bit, how did you approach the violent scenes as director?
And we found that panning role focus shot.
And I was like, What if we just hear it?
Because I think your imagination is always gonna be worse in some ways.
DEADLINE:I also loved the shot of Kathryn Gallagher through the skylight.
I thought that was very beautifully shot, given the situation.
KENDRICK:And I knew that I wanted to jump wide for the start of any assault.
So yeah, I like that kind of repeat imagery as well.
DEADLINE:What was it like as both director and actor releasing the movie during the strikes?
KENDRICK:It was heartbreaking.
I dont know if theres a certain answer that Im supposed to say.
So it meant the absolute world to me to premiere at TIFF.
So theyre gonna do extraordinary things, and theyll have plenty more opportunities to get moments like that.
But selfishly, I really wanted to take them.
DEADLINE:Who have been some of your favorite directors to learn from?
It was very bracing in the best way.
DEADLINE:On that note, can you tell me anything aboutA Simple Favor 2?
KENDRICK:Obviously, Im sure theres not a lot I can say.
And secondly, how do we top the first one?
And my God, did he deliver on the crazy.
