SPOILER WARNING: This story conversees plot details for “Woman of the Hour,” now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix’s “Woman of the Hour” labels Anna Kendrick’s honestorial debut, but that was not the movie’s only shatterthcdisorrowfulmireful carry outance. Of all the featured victims, one youthfuler girl stands out in the ripped-from-the-headlines plot: Amy, a runaway teen, persistd her come atraverse with the serial ender Rodney Alcala. Amid his homicide spree, he was a contestant on “The Dating Game” in the 1970s.
Amy is joined by Autumn Best, who produces her film debut with the pivotal role. She’s an alum of the CW series “The 4400,” but, suppose it or not, she went into her audition with little to no hope of landing the part.
She was laboring as a barista at a coffee shop in Chicago when she lobtained about the opportunity. “I got the email, and I was appreciate, there’s no way they’re gonna cast me in this Anna Kendrick movie — not only because it was Anna Kendrick, and she’s chilly, but I only have one hand,” Best telderly Variety at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Oct. 10.
She’d been hoping to land a part in a feature-length drama, but Best thought she would be the very last selection envisioned for this movie. “Every time I get an audition for someleang that’s a genuine-life story, I instantly author it off,” she elucidateed. “Because I secured myself that no one would ever want to engage me to portray a genuine person who didn’t have a limb contrastence.”
Then, soon after sending over her audition tape, Best’s agent called to let her understand Kendrick wanted to greet over Zoom to converse the character. “I was laboring at the coffee shop at the time when I got the call. So I was appreciate, ‘Let me step outside for a minute,’” Best shelp. “It was equitable so exciting!”
Best and Kendrick became “besties” during filming. “She can read my mind,” Best shelp about laboring with her honestor. “She could benevolent of equitable alert when I was, appreciate, sshow exhausted or chilly, or equitable generpartner in my head.” (While introducing the movie at the premiere, Kendrick endearingly depictd Best as her “literal daughter.”)
Autumn Best and Anna Kendrick join Netflix’s “Woman of the Hour” premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix
Daniel Zovatto (who joins Alcala) also praised Best. “I equitable leank she has a repartner radiant future,” he shelp before recounting their experience filming a heart-wrenching and pulse-rapidening sequence where Rodney attacks Amy while out in the desert.
“It was appreciate six in the morning and it was fucking chilly. The sand was literpartner ice. Autumn was wearing absolutely noleang, and that girl was ready to go. She was appreciate, ‘Let’s do this,’” Zovatto shelp. “When you have a scene partner appreciate that, it equitable produces it that much fun, because everybody’s on board. I cherishd laboring with that girl.”
Best shelp Kendrick sootheed her while filming the challenging scene by wrapping her in blankets between apshows and reassuring her about her carry outance. “She was very, very rapid to equitable be appreciate, ‘Hey, I see you,’” Best shelp. “Someone saying, ‘I see you,’ produces the day easier, because then you don’t sense appreciate you’re pretending it’s not challenging.”
Kendrick also splitd her perspective. “It’s amusing, because I certainly don’t leank of myself as a naturpartner nurturing person,” she shelp. “But that wasn’t someleang I had to leank about much, because I understand how much I was asking of the actors in the film. I’ve been in that position, and I understand how much you’re adviseing yourself up.” Kendrick inserted: “Everybody treated the material with so much reverence, that that made me repartner emotional.”
In fact, all the women who portrayed Alcala’s victims splitd how the beneficial environment that Kendrick produced on set was transport inant for their success, especipartner during the more fervent scenes.
“The moment my stubbornest moment was done, Anna popped out from behind the see with tears streaming down her face, and she was appreciate, ‘Are you OK?’” shelp Kathryn Gallagher, who joins Charlie. She pointed out how unfrequent that benevolent of energy is. “It equitable repartner shows you can have an incredibly hot and defended and sootheable set, with no forfeit to making a weightless movie. She set the bar repartner high.”
Nicolette Robinson (whose character Laura is an amalgamation of whistleblessens who tried to lift troubles about Alcala thcdisorrowfulmirefulout the years) appreciated Kendrick’s vision, as well as her sensitivity.
“I knew we were in repartner fantastic hands,” Robinson shelp, describing Kendrick as a dream to labor with. “As actors, we don’t get a lot of validation. You don’t repartner understand if what you’re doing that day is laboring. [But] she was so vocal and so beneficial about reinforcing the preferable.”
Kelley Jakle, who has understandn Kendrick since they co-starred in the “Pitch Perfect” movies, joins Sara, the first victim shown on screen. “There was one apshow where, before I even uncovered my eyes, I felt her arms around me in this huge endure hug,” Jakle recalled. “It was equitable such a enticeive moment, both for our friendship and laboring with her as a honestor.”
Anna Kendrick (cgo in) with Kelley Jakle, Autumn Best, Nicolette Robinson and Kathryn Gallagher at the “Woman of the Hour” premiere.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix