A new film based on a true story arrived in theaters on Thursday (10). Directed and starring the actress Anna Kendrick 39, the feature film “The Girl Now” It was inspired by a case that happened in the 1970s, in the United States. Find out more about the case in the article below.
The film follows aspiring actress Sheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) who meets Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) on a TV dating show that promotes blind dates between participants. When she agrees to go out with him, she doesn’t know that the man is, in fact, a serial killer on a murder spree.
Discover the real story that inspired the film “The Girl Next Time”
Rodney Alcala actually existed in real life and was convicted of several murders. As in the film, the man even participated in a TV program called “The Dating Game”, in 1978, which consisted of bringing a competition for single men with the focus on winning over women. One of them, Cheryl Bradshaw, chose the serial killer against two other options.
The woman, however, never went out with him. She refused the meeting claiming there was a strange vibe around the man.
Before casting him, the program didn’t know, but Alcala already had a history with the police. According to information from CBS News, the man’s first problematic record was at the age of 17, when he enlisted in the Army and was discharged after suffering a nervous breakdown and “sexual misconduct”.
According to information from People magazine, before being cast on the show, Alcala had served 34 months in prison for the “brutal rape and beating” of an 8-year-old girl.
He was arrested in 1979 on charges of murdering at least seven women.
In 1980, Alcala was sentenced to death for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe. The trial was mistrial twice until 2003. Over the years, the police discovered other murders committed by the serial killer. In 2010, he was sentenced to death once again.
Rodney Alcala died in 2021, at age 77, of natural causes while awaiting execution. According to the Associated Press, it is estimated that the man killed at least 130 people.
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With information from Marina Toledo, from CNN.
This content was originally published in “A Garota da Vez”: discover the real story that inspired Anna Kendrick’s film on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
