The Big Picture

Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut,
Woman of the Hour,
on Netflix, offers a fresh take on a serial killer story.
The film explores true events surrounding the “Dating Game Killer” and focuses on the perspective of the victims.
Tony Hale praises Kendrick’s directing style, emphasizing her clear vision and collaborative approach in storytelling.

Anna Kendrick’s critical smash-hit directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, finally drops on Netflix this week. Her film finds a fresh, modern way to tell a so-called “serial killer” story. Adored by her cast of fellow actors, the widely anticipated film has been described as expertly directed by Kendrick, storytelling with a powerful foundation to explore violence and misogyny in American society.

Woman of the Hour explores the true stories of the victims surrounding “The Dating Game Killer.” In 1978, Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) appeared on the iconic TV program, The Dating Game, winning a date with Chery Bradshaw (played by Kendrick), who had no idea Alcala had already murdered five women. The film co-stars Tony Hale (of Veep, Arrested Development, and Inside Out 2 fame) as Ed Burke, the unpleasant host of The Dating Game.

Collider’s Steve Weintraub sat down with Hale to talk about Woman of the Hour. They discuss Hale’s role, inspired by a true person. They also dug deeper, discussing Hale’s early side roles in The Sopranos, Dawson’s Creek, and Sex and the City, and commercial acting work as “the goofy guy who’s not all there.” Check out the full conversation in the video above or in the transcript below

Director Anna Kendrick Knew How To Captain Her Ship
“It’s almost like she knew what we were gonna ask.”

COLLIDER: Congrats on this movie!

TONY HALE: Thank You.

Anna did a fantastic job.

HALE: She did a great job. An amazing job.

Honestly, it does not feel like someone’s first film.

HALE: No.

Not even a little.

HALE: No, no, no. Not to blow smoke, but it’s worth it because every actor wants to feel like someone’s captaining the ship. Even though we’re like, “I want freedom.” No, we need to know that somebody is captaining the ship, that they know what they want so they can convey that to us. She was always spot-on with exactly what she wanted. It did not come with an arrogance. It did not come with an entitlement, which I think sucks creative energy out of a space. She was so open, of like, “Hey, let’s tell the story, and do it together.” It was just a real free environment.

Image via Netflix

What was she actually like giving you direction? Obviously, she’s worked with so many talented directors and she’s an actor. How was she conveying what she needed?

HALE: That’s a great question. It’s from the perspective that, it’s almost like she knew what we were gonna ask. It’s kind of like, “You’re probably thinking this, ‘Where’s the camera here? What’s going on? What am I needing right now?'” And I’m like, [laughs], “Yeah! Yeah, that’s exactly it.” She gave the answer to the question that we were already gonna ask, which was nice. She also knows that we are needy artists, that we’re like, “Was that right? Is that what you want?” The encouragement and the guidance. But guidance in a way that is simple, but is on point. It’s not vague. She just knew the game, which was great.

The Female Perspective of ‘Woman of the Hour’
Image via Netflix

One of the things I really enjoyed about the film is the way she doesn’t focus on the gruesome details. It’s very much told from the perspective of the women. Can you talk about that?

HALE: I play this character, Ed Burke, who is really detached and not a nice guy and a part of a culture that was incredibly, and continues to be, demoralizing and objectifying to women. [Kendrick] parallels that with the story of Rodney Alcala, who had left a string of victims. You heard these victims’ stories — you also heard their voices muted and the culture playing into that. But you’re right; it’s not glorifying the serial killer. It’s not putting that person on a pedestal. If anything, it’s kind of a B-story. Rodney is what he left in his path, their stories, and what was going on in the culture at the time.

I would like to think that I’m not a fan of social media the way some people are. I’m not a fan of having cameras everywhere in society. But the one good thing is, I would like to think a monster like this couldn’t exist in today’s day and age.

HALE: Yeah, same, same. I’m a kid of the ’70s and I remember the show. I remember watching it, but I didn’t have enough of a memory to know how much I saw of it. But just the fact that this guy got on the show is baffling to me. It’s heartbreaking because it’s the seven or eight stories that were actually documented, but they think it was like 130. You just go, “How did that happen?” And you’re right. There’s so much more focus and attention on what’s going on because of media, and you would hope that it wouldn’t happen today.

Tony Hale Talks About Working on Iconic Series
Image via HBO

I’m gonna throw a curveball now.

HALE: Oh, snap!

Very early in your career, you did an episode of The Sopranos , Dawson’s Creek , and Sex and the City in the same year.

HALE: Was that the same year? Really?

I did a little research. What was that like? Those three projects very early in the career?

HALE: I was living in New York; this was the late ’90s. Sex and the City, and I would say maybe Dawson’s Creek, also, they were really the hot shows, and I was doing commercials at the time. My type was “not all there,” so I was always just a goofy guy, which I was loving. Then I remember getting these roles. I was a nurse oncologist on The Sopranos, and then I was a photographer’s assistant on Sex and the City. I was a doctor on Dawson’s Creek.

I was so stoked to be playing them. I don’t even know if any of my characters had names, but I was so stoked to be on those sets and so nervous, Steve. I was so nervous. I remember on Sopranos, I was a nurse oncologist, Uncle Junior, and I had to give him chemo. When I get nervous, sometimes my hands will shake. I was like, “I’m gonna be the shaking nurse giving chemo to Uncle Junior, a gangster.” Thankfully, I didn’t, but I was petrified and excited at the same time.

Related Anna Kendrick Has a Date with a Killer In ‘Woman of the Hour’s Latest Trailer Kendrick also celebrates her feature-length directorial debut with the Netflix film.

The key thing landing those roles early in the career is, it had to be a boost to your ego. Like, “Oh, what I’m doing is working!”

HALE: I would like to say it was a boost to my ego. [Laughs] Man, I was always just like, “Is this okay?” Which has played into my career, but I was nervous. “Is this all right? Is that right? Is this gonna happen again?”

Nothing’s changed since then to Woman of the Hour ?

HALE: To Woman of the Hour. [Laughs]

“Am I doing it right?”

HALE: “Am I doing it right? Is that right? Is this guy a douche enough?” Soon after that, I think, is when I booked Arrested Development, and then I came out to LA.

Tony Hale Teases More From Pixar’s World of ‘Inside Out’
Image via Pixar Animation Studios

I also have to touch on, of course, Dream Productions: From The World of Inside Out .

HALE: Oh! Which I have not seen.

Well, I haven’t seen it either yet. It comes out in December on Disney+. Are they mini-episodes? What do you know?

HALE: I don’t know. I don’t know. I should know, Pixar, and I apologize. I should know. I think I remember doing Toy Story and doing Forky Asks A Question. I think they’re episodes.

I could be wrong, of course, and anyone watching this should not take this as fact, but I wanna say there are mini-interviews or mini-episodes of each character. Like there’s one on Fear. But I could be so wrong about this.

HALE: You, I think, know more than I do. Because I remember recording them a couple of years ago, and I was in Rome doing The Decameron.

As what you would do.

HALE: [Laughs] Exactly. I don’t think I was very focused, so I don’t remember much. I was too stuffed with pasta.

Tony Hale Loves His Beautiful New Film ‘Sketch’
“We describe it like Inside Out meets Jurassic Park.”
Image via TIFF

I’m just about out of time. All I heard was good things about Sketch .

HALE: Oh, dude!

Perri, who did the interview with you, just raved about it.

HALE: Yes! I didn’t see you that day at Collider. Were you there?

I was there, but got there later. I was doing half the interviews, and I arrived later. For people that don’t know anything about [ Sketch ], what can you tell people about it?

HALE: Well, speaking of Inside Out, we describe it like Inside Out meets Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg. It’s about a little girl who is drawing out her grief, and they come to life. Seth Worley directed it, and it’s such a beautiful movie. I really can’t wait for people to see it.

Woman of the Hour hits Netflix on Friday, October 18

Cheryl Bradshaw, a single woman looking for a suitor on a hit 1970s TV show, chooses charming bachelor Rodney Alcala, unaware that, behind the man’s gentle facade, he hides a deadly secret.Release Date September 26, 2023 Runtime 94 Minutes Writers Ian MacAllister McDonald Distributor(s) Netflix

Watch on Netflix