The French Cannes Film Festival has just got underway and along with a slew of international films being screened for nearly two weeks, filmmakers are stocking up on pre-production projects in hopes of being picked up by big Hollywood players.

One of the films looking for a buyer in Cannes is The dating game. The film, previously linked to Netflix, is a true-crime thriller about the late San Antonio-born serial killer Rodney Alcala and a woman named Cheryl Bradshaw.

Bradshaw and Alcala met in 1978 while they were contestants on the popular game show The dating game. Bradshaw was invited into the program to choose one of three bachelors so far after asking them a series of questions behind a partition. Alcala applied to date Bradshaw as Bachelor #1.

The dating game is intended to tell the story of Bradshaw and Alcala’s brief, albeit stranger than fictional, encounter.

According to meetingOscar-nominated actress Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air, Pitch Perfect franchise) is in “advanced talks” to portray Bradshaw, which will likely improve the film’s prospects.

“As popular as the true crime genre is, we know audiences have never seen anything like it,” said co-producer Raphael Margules meeting.

By the time of his appearance on the game show, Alcala had already killed several people, mostly women. The following year he was arrested The dating game episode aired and charged with the murder of Robin Samsoe, a 12-year-old girl from Huntington Beach.

Ultimately, Alcala was sentenced to death for that murder and four others. Officials believe he killed up to 130 people. Although sentenced to death, Alcala died of natural causes in prison in 2021 at the age of 77.

“Looking back, it’s chilling to realize that this iconic show that celebrates love and romance unknowingly featured a ruthless killer,” said Matt Murphy, a former assistant district attorney for Orange County, California, in a 2021 episode 20/20 that contained part of the history of Bradshaw and Alcala.

The dating game Film is directed by Chloe Okuno (slut) and screenwriter Ian MacAllister McDonald (Some freaks).

This isn’t the first time a media outlet has stuck by the convicted killer’s weird game show appearance. 2017 called a TV movie Dating Game Killer Premiered on Investigation Discovery. A 2017 episode of Reelz Channel Murder made me famous and a 2020 podcast series, The dating game killeralso covered Alcala’s crimes.

Five More San Antonio Tales That Would Make Great Feature Films

While Rodney Alcala’s exploits have big-screen prospects, here are five more San Antonio-related stories that Hollywood should transform into feature films. Documentary filmmakers have already recognized the narrative potential in everyone.

Frederic Bourdin — Audiences love the bizarre, and the story of French con man Frédéric Bourdin has plenty of it. In 1997, Bourdin, then a grown man living in Spain, tricked everyone into believing he was a young boy from San Antonio who had been kidnapped three years earlier. His story was told in the critically acclaimed 2012 documentary The cheater.

Richard Turner — The story of Richard Turner, considered one of the best close-up magicians in the world, is even more incredible when you learn that he is blind. The San Antonio resident lost his sight at age 9 when he contracted degenerative retinal disease. During his career he was awarded the Close-Up Magician of the Year Award. Turner’s story was told in the critically acclaimed 2017 documentary Treated.

Tim Jenison — San Antonio inventor Tim Jenison set out on a mission to emulate the painting techniques of the 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Believing that Vermeer used optical devices to aid these creations, Jenison set out on a quest to paint his own Vermeer, using a camera obscura to guide him through the complicated process. His story was told in the critically acclaimed 2013 documentary Tims Vermeer.

San Antonio Four – In the 1990s, four openly gay San Antonio women – Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh and Anna Vasquez – went to prison on charges of raping two young girls. With help from the Innocence Project of Texas, all four women were released from prison years after their conviction. The stories of Ramirez, Rivera, Mayhugh and Vasquez were told in the critically acclaimed 2016 documentary Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four.

Flaco Jiménez — It’s time to explore the origins of conjunto and norteño music in a biopic starring one of San Antonio’s most popular musicians, Flaco Jiménez. Imagine hitting the dancefloors of the West Side during the accordion master’s rise to fame, all accompanied by a soundtrack of his infectious music. The story of Jiménez made its way into the critically acclaimed 1976 documentary Chulas Fronteras.

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