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Source: Giorgio Zucchiatti/La Biennale di Venezia

Pedro Almodovar

A Manual For Cleaning Women will no longer be Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language feature directorial debut after the Spanish directorr withdrew, citing “a very painful decision”.

Cate Blanchett will star and produce through Dirty Films, however Almodóvar said he was not ready to tackle a project of such magnitude. No replacement director has been announced yet.

A Manual For Cleaning Women is an adaptation of Lucia Berlin’s short story collection of the same name comprising 43 tales of women in challenging jobs. Almodóvar and Berlín co-wrote the screenplay adaptation.

The feature is also being produced by Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer’s New Republic Pictures in association with El Deseo, the Spanish company ran by Agustín Almodóvar.

Speaking to Deadline Hollywood, Pedro Almodóvar said he had taken “a very painful decision”, adding, “[U]nfortunately, I no longer feel able to fully realize this film”.

The next English-language work by Almodóvar will be previously announced Strange Way Of Life, a 30-minute western starring Ethan Hawke and Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal.

The multi award-winning director of Talk To Her – which won the original screenplay Oscar in 2003 – directed short film The Human Voice in English and Spanish. The adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s monodrama starring Tilda Swinton filmed during the lockdown and debuted at 2020 Venice Film Festival.